Helping Hands for Rhinos at Risk: Communities work to save rhinos in Nepal

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 21:00:00 GMT

It may be hard to imagine but it is true that the species that rubbed shoulders with the prehistoric dinosaurs are once again in great risk of being wiped out due to the avarice of human beings. The rhinos lived in grasslands, forests and wetlands of South and South East Asia long before humans arrived, their ancestors were here 40 million years ago. Indricotherium, the most impressive of all the extinct rhinos was the largest land mammal ever to live on earth.

Currently, five types of rhinos are found worldwide. White rhinoceros are the largest and most common, with a broad square-shaped mouth, found mainly in South Africa. Black rhinoceros are the fastest with a hooked upper lip, found in east and southern Africa. Javan rhinoceros are the rarest, only 60 remain in the thick forests of West Java, Indonesia. Sumatran rhinoceros are hairy, and they like to wallow in muddy pools. There are only 300 left in Burma, Indonesia and Malaysia. The greater one-horned rhinoceros are found in India and Nepal.

The greater one-horned rhinoceros population faces a grave threat from poaching. Once, there were 600 rhinos in the wild in Nepal, but the population slumped down to 372 due to security problems caused by the insurgency in Nepal. However, with intense conservation efforts, the number has gone up to 435 by 2008.

Poached for its Prized Possession

"The rhinos are poached for their horns and the poaching is well organized," said a local in Chitwan, home to the second largest population of one-horned rhinos. "Most poachers work in gangs and the methodology is such that each member of the gang has to do only a specific task."

A member of the gang would locate the rhino and get a meager sum of money, sometimes even a bottle of beer might work for him. They are generally poor local people. They are well-aware of the rhino's habits: they like to wallow in water and they leave dung in big piles, using the same paths again and again.

Another member of the poaching gang shoots the rhino and the third member hacks the horn from the dead rhino. Then one member takes the horn to cities like Kathmandu from where the horn can be passed on to either China or India. The amount earned by the gang members increases with each buyer and finally the rhino horn lands at a prized amount of approximately 800,000 Nepali rupees (around US$ 10,000).

Historically rhinos have been hunted for their horns, a prized ingredient in traditional Asian medicines. Even today, traditional Chinese medical practitioners use rhino horn to treat life-threatening fevers. However, current clinical evidence is inconclusive about its medicinal properties.

In a number of the Gulf countries, men traditionally wear daggers and the most expensive handles are made from rhino horns. The daggers still command respect in society.

In Greek mythology, rhino horns were said to possess the ability to purify water. Rhino horns were carved out into beautiful ornamental drinking cups to detect poisons. The ancient Persians of 5th century BC thought that cups carved from the rhino horn could detect poisons by creating bubbles. This belief persisted until the 18th and 19th centuries among the royal courts of Europe.

Researchers say that many early poisons were strong alkaloids that may have reacted strongly with the keratin and gelatin in the rhino horn, thereby indicating the presence of poison.

Besides poaching, destruction of habitat and conflict with humans over living space remain the major threats to these magnificent animals.

Concerned Community Members

Communities in the vicinity of protected areas are well aware of the plight of the rhinos and they know that without rhinos their tourism business would suffer. A mahout (elephant handler) in Chitwan said, "The tourists come to see the rhinos." "If we can't save the rhinos, all of us will lose jobs."

In a shocking incident in Chitwan, a live rhino's horn was hacked off by poachers, leaving the rhino writhing in pain. The rhino died after two weeks despite medical care. The community members were so enraged that they padlocked all the offices in Sauraha and Chitwan and demonstrated on streets to pressure the government and concerned people to save the rhinos. A hotel owner in Sauraha said, "If the locals find out the culprits, they will beat them to death."

Similarly, in Khata, the biological corridor that links Nepal's Bardia National Park with India's Katerniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary, community members have formed community based anti-poaching operation units. They patrol the local forests on a regular basis and keep an eye on any new person entering their territory.

83 rhinos were located to Bardia National Park from Chitwan National Park but by 2008, there were only 22 rhinos left. One day, locals heard a bullet shot in the nearby forest. Soon, about 2,000 locals formed a human chain and remained awake the whole night to save a mother rhino and its baby. The mother and the baby rhinos regularly come from the national park to a water hole dug by the locals in the forest.

Fences of Harmony

In addition to the anti-poaching patrols, local communities started planting mentha (mint), chamomile, lemongrass and citronella plants in their lands bordering the national park in Khata. "Farming crops that are unpalatable for the rhinos has reduced the human rhino conflict," said Bhim Bahadur Pun, a farmer in Khata. "We are also getting better price for the essential oils produced from these crops."

With financial support from organizations like the World Wildlife Fund, local communities have put up electrical fences around their fields and forests bordering the parks in Chitwan and Bardia. This has also reduced the conflict.

Youths for a Secured Future for Rhinos

Not only the adults but the local youths living near the protected areas are concerned about the fate of rhinos. Most of the schools in these areas have formed eco-clubs.

Eco clubs are independent groups of students working collectively to support conservation. The students stage street dramas to raise awareness in the communities about the ills of poaching and the benefits of conserving endangered species.

An enthusiastic eco-club member in Chitrasari, Chitwan said, "The rhinos too have the right to live along with the humans."

"All of us know that they will vanish like dinosaurs if we are not able to stop the rampant poaching. So, through street dramas, we try to educate the locals on how to stop the poaching of these magnificent animals."

Adding to this, a teacher in Chitwan said, "The rhinos will continue to live as long as the young generation is concerned about them."

"The rein is in their hands."

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25-Jun-09 4:00 PM

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Helping Hands for Rhinos at Risk: Communities work to save rhinos in Nepal