No rhinos will be left in the jungles of Nepal in 10-20 years if the present rate of rhino-poaching continues, The Himalayan Times newspaper reported on Monday.
The total number of rhinos killed or died in 2006 must be around 47. One cannot even imagine that such an endangered species is being poached so rampantly. If rhino-poaching continues at this rate, no rhinos will be left in Nepal in the next 10-20 years," the daily quoted Mangal Man Shakya, chairman of the Wildlife Watch Group, as saying.
According to data made available by different conservation agencies, 29 to 47 rhinos were poached or died in 2006.
Nepal was home to over 800 rhinos until 1950, but the number went down to only 60 in 1960s. Thanks to the government's conservation efforts and international support, the rhino population increased by 2000.
According to the statistics of rhino count, Nepal sheltered 544 rhinos in 2000 but only 372 were left in 2005.
One kg of rhino horn costs 3.5 million Nepali rupees (50,000 U.S. dollars) in international illegal trade market.
"And if the number of rhinos can go down by half in mere six or seven years, how many years will it take for the rhinos to become extinct here?" Shakya said.
Anil Manandhar, country representative of the World Wildlife Fund, said that the rising poaching incidents in 2006 are indeed a lesson for conservationists.
"Rather than working on paper, time has come for the conservationists to focus on actions aimed at conserving rhinoceros," he said.
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