Nepal census shows decline in rare rhino population

KATHMANDU, May 31 (Reuters) Numbers of the great one-horned rhinoceros have fallen by more than half in one of Asia's few reserves for the endangered animals, highlighting the threat poaching poses, a Nepal government census showed.

Experts riding elephants scoured the jungles of Bardiya National Park for two weeks and discovered skeletons of the rhinos all missing the horns, which fetch thousands of dollars in China due to their touted healing and aphrodisiac qualities.

In a conservation drive between 1986 and 2003, Nepal transferred 83 rhinoceroses from its biggest rhino home of Chitwan National Park to Bardiya, several hours drive southwest of the capital.

The government census this month found only 31 rhinos.

''There might be various reasons for the decline but poaching is the main factor,'' said Phanindra Kharel, chief conservation officer of the park.

''Rhinos have fallen prey to poachers because security posts in the park were closed down due to the conflict,'' Kharel told Reuters, referring to the decade-long Maoist insurgency.

Chitwan in central Nepal had 372 animals in 2005, down from 544 in 2000. The only other area where the big rhinos are found is in the northeastern Indian state of Assam, which has more than 1,800.

With the Maoists now in the political mainstream after a peace deal to end the insurgency, official are reopening the army posts in national parks.

''The government must strengthen anti-poaching operations, improve rhino habitat and conduct regular monitoring,'' said Shant Raj Jnawali, a rhino expert with the National Trust for Nature Conservation.

Rhino poaching can fetch up to 15 years in jail and around 1,540 dollars in fines. But experts say implementation of the law is weak.

REUTERS SM DS1138