Wildlife in Chitwan National Park

Chitwan National Park was established in 1973 as Nepal’s first national park and inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984. The protected landscape includes sal forest, riverine forest, grassland, wetlands and alluvial floodplains associated with the Rapti, Narayani and Reu rivers.

Wildlife Documented in April 2016

The photographs record greater one-horned rhinoceroses, also called Indian rhinoceroses (Rhinoceros unicornis), moving through tall grass, forest and wetland habitat. Nepal’s 2015 census recorded 645 rhinos nationally, including 605 in and around Chitwan. The species remains classified as Vulnerable despite its recovery in Nepal and India.

The river photographs also include a gharial (Gavialis gangeticus), identifiable by its long, narrow snout. This fish-eating crocodilian is classified as Critically Endangered and depends on large river systems with suitable nesting banks. Chitwan’s waterways also support mugger crocodiles, although distant animals should not be assigned to either species unless identifying features are visible.

Current Context

Nepal’s 2021 national rhinoceros census recorded 752 greater one-horned rhinoceroses, including 694 within Chitwan National Park, its buffer zone and adjoining forests. This represented an increase of 89 animals in the Chitwan population since 2015.

Chitwan remains one of the species’ principal strongholds. Continuing conservation priorities include preventing poaching, investigating rhinoceros deaths, protecting river and grassland habitat, managing invasive plants and limiting infrastructure development that could fragment the protected landscape.