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10 endangered rhinos relocated in Nepal zoos |
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November 30, 2000
KATMANDU-- (AP) - Conservationists have successfully relocated 10 rare one-horn Rhinoceroses from a national park in southern Nepal to two wildlife reserves in the west, to balance the population of the endangered animal, officials said Wednesday. It took the conservationists seven days to relocate the animals from the Royal Chitwan National Park, 150 kilometers (95 miles) south of Katmandu, the national capital, to the Royal Bardia National Park and the Royal Shukla Phata Wildlife Reserve. The animals were tranquilized, lifted into trucks using cranes, and were driven at least 600 kilometers (375 miles) to their new habitat. "We want to save these animals from natural disasters and diseases in future," said Narayan Poudel, an ecologist with the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation. With the move, the Royal Chitwan National Park now has 534 Rhinos while the Royal Bardia National Park has 71. The Royal Shukla Phata Wildlife Reserve has five. Conservationists say that the relocation will balance the population and prevent overcrowding. Also, if the animals in one reserve were to be struck by disease +or a natural calamity, the population in the other parks would safe, preventing a total wipeout of this endangered species. "Now that the translocation is over, we hope to have the country's second viable population of this endangered one-horned Rhinoceros," Poudel said. There are only 2,618 one-horned Rhinoceroses in the world and they are found only in the jungle of India and Nepal. This is the fifth translocation program in Nepal since 1986, when 13 Rhinos were transferred to a new habitat. The week-long project cost dlrs 30,000, which was funded by the World Wildlife Fund for Nature Conservation. |