Kathmandu, December 4
After five elephants of Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve were transferred to Chitwan National Park, the Province 1 government has demanded that Chitwan provide some rhinoceros in exchange.
A few months after the relocation, Province 1’s Minister for Industry, Forest and Tourism, Jagadish Kushiyat, says his government has already made the request to the concerned bodies to compensate with the rhinos. Despite the provincial government’s objection, the Department of National Parks under the federal government had transferred the elephants citing lack of space there.
Kushiyat says the elephants had been an attraction for tourists visiting the reserve, hence it should receive appropriate compensation ahead of the Visit Nepal Year 2020. “We do not have any rhino yet, so it will be good,” he claims.
The minister adds that if the rhinos were not provided, the government will make efforts to return the elephants.
