Nepal’s unicorn rhinoceros population has risen to its highest level in more than 20 years, in part due to a break in tourism Covid-19 pandemic This allowed the habitats of the animals to regenerate, said conservationists.

According to Haribhadra Acharya, information officer at the Nepalese Ministry of National Parks and Conservation (DNPWC), the rhino population in four national parks in Nepal last rose to 752, an increase of more than 100 animals out of 645 in 2015.

Since 2000, no previous study of rhino populations by the Nepalese government has found more than 650 animals.

Acharya said the balance sheet was calculated by teams who divided the rhinos’ vast habitat into squares and then manually counted the animals and sometimes rode domesticated elephants to cover distances between areas.

It took about three weeks to count all the rhinos using a “direct view method,” with Chitwan National Park turning out to be the most difficult area due to its large animal population, Acharya said. According to the 2015 census of rhinos, 90% of the animals lived in the park.

Acharya said the population increase was the result of a number of changes, including investing in habitat management, controlling poaching and moving rhinos between habitats.

“Chitwan (National Park) is an important habitat for rhinos in Nepal, but we have relocated them to (other parks) to create an alternative population and (as a result) the population in these parks and in Chitwan has increased as well.” Said Acharya.

But Acharya said the pandemic that stopped both domestic and international travelers to the national parks was likely a factor too. “Because the tourists were almost zero, the habits were not disturbed,” he said.

The success of Nepal is in contrast to many coronavirus-affected nature conservation projects, where tourism has declined and funds have decreased accordingly. including in South America and Africa.

Less than 2,200 unicorn rhinos

The larger one-horned rhinoceros is listed as an endangered species on the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) with fewer than 2,200 animals in India and Nepal. It is already extinct in Bangladesh and Bhutan.

The rhinoceros has been threatened by poachers in Nepal because of its horn, which is used in traditional Asian medicine, according to DNPWC.

A rhinoceros horn can grow up to 21 cm longand they are traded when they have no proven medical or therapeutic benefit. Have armed guards in the past patrolled the park boundaries to deter poachers.

A 2016 article in the International Journal of Applied and Natural Sciences said local people received rewards for information about illegal rhinoceros-related activities.

“Poaching or trade in wildlife products continues to pose a serious threat to the entire country,” the report said.

Acharya said he was excited to see more single-horned rhinos, but noted that the growing population posed new problems for conservationists.

He said the rhinos’ forest area could not be increased and authorities needed to ensure the animals had adequate access to food and water.

“It’s challenging, but we manage the habitat intensely to support the higher density,” he said.