A one-horned rhinoceros found dead in a cornfield in Kawasoti Municipality in Nepal has once again drawn attention to a growing threat facing the country's endangered wildlife — illegal electric traps set either by poachers or farmers trying to protect crops from wild animals.
The rhino carcass was discovered in May in Kawasoti, around 2 kilometers north of the East-West Highway.
The area falls under the jurisdiction of the division forest office rather than the buffer zone of Chitwan National Park, but rhinos frequently move through the settlement from nearby forests.
Forest officials suspect the animal died after being electrocuted. During the investigation, authorities recovered wire hidden in a grassland about 200 meters south of where the rhino was found. A 13-meter-long wiring cable with a single-phase ring was also seized from a nearby house.
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"The initial investigation suggests that the rhino may have died from electrocution based on the condition of the site and the materials recovered," said Subash Adhikari, an information officer at the local forest office.
According to the forest officials, it is still unclear whether the trap was set by poachers seeking rhino horns or by locals attempting to stop animals from entering farmland. Wild boars, deer and rhinos regularly stray into settlements bordering forests, often destroying crops.
Tragic cause
Electrocution has become an increasingly common cause of rhino deaths in and around Chitwan National Park in recent years. According to the park records, seven of the 204 rhinos that died between the fiscal years 2015-16 and 2022-23 were killed by electric currents.
Conservation officials say the trend has continued despite repeated awareness campaigns.
In August last year, a rhino died after getting caught in an electric fence set around a paddy field in Madi Municipality of Chitwan. Farmer Hari Bhakta Shrestha was later arrested after investigators found he had channeled electricity through wires to protect his crops from wild animals.
A year earlier, another rhino was found dead in a maize field in Bharatpur after reportedly getting trapped in an electric barrier intended for wild boars.
Poachers have also used similar methods to kill rhinos for their horns. In January 2023, a rhino found dead in Madhyabindu Municipality was confirmed to have been electrocuted by poachers after its horn was missing.
The one-horned rhino is among the world's rarest large mammals, and Nepal holds the second-largest population after India.
According to the country's latest rhino census conducted five years ago, Nepal had 752 rhinos, including 694 in Chitwan National Park and surrounding areas alone.
The country's rhino population stood at 645 in its four protected areas in 2015. The number of rhinos fell sharply in the 1950s and 60s but started to rebound after the establishment of the Chitwan National Park, the country's oldest national park, in 1973.
With the conservation success, the growing pressure from habitat encroachment and human-wildlife conflict around protected areas is on the rise.
People living near the national park complain that they are affected by the frequent movements of rhinos in the settlements which damage crops and attack people sometimes.
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Locals say compensation for crop damage caused by wildlife remains inadequate and difficult to access. Many argue that improving relief payments and simplifying procedures could discourage farmers from resorting to dangerous electric traps.
"We have been urging people not to take measures that endanger both humans and wildlife," said Shivaji Gayak, chairperson of the Chitwan National Park buffer zone management committee. "There is a legal provision for compensation when crops are damaged by wild animals," Gayak said.
As per the existing conservation laws in Nepal, killing a rhino or smuggling its body parts can result in five to 15 years in prison or fines ranging from Rs 500,000 to Rs 1.5 million ($3,280 to $9,840), or both.
