Source::RSS
Chitwan,
Approximately 70 percent of rhinos in the Chitwan National Park (CNP) has started migrating towards the western side from the east in search of suitable habitat, said the CNP.
The eastern area where the majority of rhinos were living is gradually losing the grassland and sources of water. There is a lack of water for rhinos as the water in the Rapti river has been drained out for irrigation, said the CNP Chief Conservation Officer Ananath Baral.
“The river is gradually getting the water level decreased. As a result, grasslands and marshes around have been depleted,” he said, adding that deposition of silt and pebbles washed away by the river have buried grasslands.
There are distributaries of the Narayani river and grasslands in the western side which make favorable habitat for rhinos. Construction of concrete structures built to bar wild animals from entering human settlements nearby in the eastern side have stopped rhinos to make movements across the river, which also helped the migration of the animals, said Baral.
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