header: Great Indian Rhinoceros
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line Rhinoceros unicornis Linnaeus, 1758

THREATS

The severe reduction in range of the Great Indian Rhino over the last 300 years has mainly been caused by the disappearance of most of the alluvial plain grasslands of the Indian sub-continent.8 Hunting has also been an important factor in the species' historical decline. During the last century, the rhinoceros was hunted for sport by both Europeans and Asians. Rhinos were also killed as agricultural pests of tea plantations.

By the early 1900s, the rhinoceros population was so far reduced that rhinoceros hunting was prohibited in Assam, Bengal and Myanmar.18 Only a few scattered survivors remained in India, the main group comprising 12 individuals in the Kaziranga area of Assam; in Nepal there were perhaps another 50.11

The need for land resources by the growing human population remains a major threat to the status of the Great Indian Rhinoceros. Many of the protected areas with rhino populations have now reached carrying capacity. This leads to increased rhino-human conflict as rhinos leave the boundaries of the protected area to forage around the numerous surrounding villages.4 At Kaziranga National Park (India), rhinos have been reported to raid rice fields outside the Park, especially when the rice shoots are first transplanted.18 Rhinos, mainly females, reportedly kill several people each year in India and Nepal.11

A continuous threat is poaching for the rhinoceros' horn for use in traditional Asian medicines.5 In South Korea the horn is used primarily for the treatment of a variety of ailments ranging from epilepsy, fevers, strokes, to AIDS.1,3 A reputable Taiwanese doctor recently argued that rhino horn was irreplaceable in medicine, a statement that was supported by a survey of medical practitioners; 60% stocked rhino horn whilst 27% maintained that it was essential to their work.10 Asian Rhino horn is believed to be more effective than African horn; consequently the horn of the Great Indian Rhino is in great demand and commands a high price.22 In 1994, a kilogramme of rhino horn was worth approximately US $60,000 in the Far East, the major consumers being China, Yemen, Taiwan and South Korea.10,12 Despite protection in both Nepal and India, rhino horn is still traded extensively throughout Asia. A major threat to African Rhinos is use of horn for handles of ceremonial daggers in Yemen. Research at the US National Fish and Wildlife Forensic Laboratory recently produced preliminary results identifying a unique pattern for keratin protein found in rhino horn. This may enable the identification of the presence of rhino products in Oriental medicines. The process is currently undergoing refinement.24

Between 10 May and 31 July 1990 5 rhinos were killed in and around Chitawan National Park, Nepal2 and in late 1995 and early 1996 four rhinos, including a pregnant female, were killed by poachers in the Park.25 In Assam, the stronghold of the Great Indian Rhino, poaching is estimated at 5%, a figure approximately equal to the annual rate of rhino population growth.7 In the late 1980s Manas National Park was estimated to contain 80 or more rhinos. The Park has been occupied by Bodo tribesmen since 1987 and rhino hunting within the Park has risen; some estimates suggest that more than half the rhino population has been killed. Manas is thought to be the origin of 22 rhino horns seized by Hong Kong customs officials in 1993.21 In some societies, rhino hunting has a deeply embedded socio-cultural significance. Formerly, each Nepalese head of state would perform a religious ceremony at least once in their life involving the killing of a rhinoceros, and offering its blood to their ancestors.2

Concern has been expressed over the possibility that population fragmentation may lower genetic variability within the species, leading to a reduction in species fitness. However, studies have demonstrated that populations of Great Indian Rhinos have an unusually high level of genetic variation, and fears about the genetic fitness of the small rhino populations may be unfounded.13 Nevertheless, the death of 5 Javan Rhinos in Ujung Kulon National Park, Indonesia, during 1981/82 as a result of a viral infection emphasised the vulnerability of small rhino populations to disease.5

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