Status of Rhinoceros
- There are three species of rhino in Asia—greater one-horned, Javan and Sumatran. Javan and Sumatran Rhino are critically endangered but the greater one-horned (or Indian) rhino vulnerable.
- Once ranging from China to Bangladesh, the Javan and Sumatran rhinos are nearing extinction.
- There are no rhinos in Bhutan, but some from the Manas National Park in adjoining Assam or Buxa Tiger Reserve in West Bengal are known to cross over occasionally.
- Indonesia and Malaysia are the other Asian countries where the last of the rhinos live.
- The current global population of the Indian one-horned rhinoceros is 3,584. Assam’s Kaziranga National Park has the bulk of 2,938 rhinos in India while Nepal 646.
- The Sumatran rhino, the smallest of all rhino species and the only Asian rhino with two horns, became extinct in the wild in Malaysia.
National Rhino Conservation Strategy
- Recently, the government of India has also launched the National Rhino Conservation Strategy for India.
- It called for active engagement between India and Nepal to protect the species.
- The plan said the single population of rhinos in Sukla-Phanta (Nepal), Valmiki Tiger Reserve (India) and Chitwan National Park (Nepal) and Dudhwa (India) is separated by the political boundary between the two countries.
- Instead of managing the two populations separately in the two countries, it needs to be managed with the same protocol.
- The strategy would pave the path for long-term conservation of rhinos.
- The plan calls for expanding distribution range as the occurrence of 90% of the rhino in one protected area is a cause of concern and conservation of existing and potential rhino habitats need to be made a national priority.
- It also calls for strengthening protection, having dedicated research and monitoring and strict enforcement