 Reference Base  Report on a survey of the rhinoceros areas of Nepal, Marc... |
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Gee, E.P., 1959. Report on a survey of the rhinoceros areas of Nepal, March and April 1959. Oryx 5 (2): 53-85, pls. 1-13, maps 1-3
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| Location: |
Asia - South Asia - Nepal |
| Subject: |
Distribution - Records |
| Species: |
Indian Rhino |
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It will be noticed that the distribution of rhinoceros when I was there, the dry season of March and April when the burnt-off grassy areas were beginning to appear green with young shoots, was almost entirely in'or very near the riverain tracts. This was not so much due to scarcity of water and grazing in other areas, as to the thick cover provided by the evergreen and thorny scrub forest in these tracts. It will also be seen that rhino in Nepal, as in NE. India, show a marked predilection for man-grown crops and vegetables, and therefore choose a habitat as near as possible to villages and cultivation. They do not object to sharing their grazing with domestic buffaloes and cattle, though it appears that in Nepal these common grazing grounds are grazed by domestic beasts by day and rhinoceros by night. It is an inescapable fact that whatever areas of unspoilt country may be set aside for rhinoceros preservation, they will probably continue to inhabit those riverain tracts which are nearest to cultivated land.
With regard to movements of rhino, I was informed that there bas been a noticeable shift from the area now being settled by the Rapti Valley Multi-purpose Development Project to the Nawalpur district and to other parts of the Rapti Valley. From all accounts, the grasslands south-west of Bharatpur down to Salbas, along the east bank of the Narayani River, used to be the best tracts for rhino; but they are no longer so. There is little or no information to be had on local migrations, though this seasonal movement is bound to take place each monsoon as the riverain tracts become partly or wholly flooded. The general direction of this movement would be away from the rivers towards the grassy tracts and kholas at the foot of the sal forested hills. The most important line of migration, as has already been pointed out, is along the Khagri Khola and the belt of unspoilt country on its western bank.
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