New Arrival: Translocated Rhino Gives Birth in its New Home
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Two rhinos born into the group WWF moved in 2000 indicate animals have adapted to their new home.
photo: WWF-Canon / Jeff Foott |
Success breeds success, the old saying goes, and it has never seemed more fitting. A set of footprints belonging to a baby greater one-horned rhino, discovered recently in Nepal's Royal Shuklaphanta Wildlife Reserve, marks the second birth among the four rhinos WWF helped moved there from Royal Chitwan National Park in 2000. The baby's footprints were found next to those belonging to one of the relocated rhinos, proving once again that the animals have successfully adapted to their new home.
"One of the main objectives of the rhino translocation from Chitwan to Shuklaphanta was to establish new viable populations. The other was to save endangered wildlife from unforeseen natural calamities and human induced threats," says Dr. Chandra Gurung of WWF-Nepal. The growing population and effective park protection indicate that WWF's efforts are helping achieve both of those goals.
Shuklaphanta now has seven rhinos: four from Chitwan, two baby rhinos born there and one that may have crossed over from the contiguous forests on the Nepal-India border. While other Asian rhino species are in decline, the greater one-horned rhino -- while still endangered -- now has a population that is steadily increasing, for which WWF and its conservation partners are partially responsible. WWF has assisted in rhino translocations since 1986 as part of an ambitious restoration effort in the Terai Arc, one of its priority landscapes.
With this successful second birth, plans for another transfer are in progress. Situated in southwest Nepal, Royal Shuklaphanta Wildlife Reserve is home to the country's largest population of endangered species, including Bengal tigers, greater one-horned rhinos and Asian elephants.
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