STATUS AND MONITORING OF THE GREATER ONE-HORNED RHINOCEROS IN DUDHWA NATIONAL PARK Citation: Sharma, R. and Gupta, M. 2015. Status and Monitoring of the Greater One-Horned Rhinoceros in Dudhwa National Park. WWF-India, New Delhi Published by WWF-India Copyright © 2015 All rights reserved Any reproduction in full or part of this publication must mention the title and credit the mentioned publisher as the copyright owner. WWF-India 172-B, Lodi Estate, New Delhi 110 003 Tel: +91 11 4150 4814 www.wwfindia.org Design by Chhavi Jain / WWF-India Cover Image: © Ruchir Sharma / WWF-India © IRSHAD ALI, MAHAVAT / DUDHWA TIGER RESERVE A male tigerstalksrhinoceros Rajshree andher onemonthold calf FOREWORD Dr. Rupak De The population of the Greater One-Horned rhinoceros is under Ravi Singh Although rhino populations are shrinking worldwide, the severe threat in India. An animal that once roamed nearly all Indian or greater one-horned rhino populations in India Secretary General IFS across north and east India is now confined to a few forest have recovered as a result of on-ground conservation actions. & Chief Executive Principal Chief pockets in Assam and West Bengal, and as a reintroduced Rhinos are found in four Indian states with the largest Officer Conservator of population in Uttar Pradesh. A part of the Terai in Uttar Pradesh population in Assam, followed by West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh World Wide Fund Forests (Wildlife) is fortunate enough to have recovered a population once lost to and a small population in Bihar. The population in Dudhwa for Nature - India & Chief Wildlife hunting and deforestation. While the reintroduced population at Uttar Pradesh was re-established three decades back with Warden has seen a rise in number, it has been imperative to establish a rhinos being sourced from Assam and Nepal. The rhino Uttar Pradesh Forest newer, more advanced method to monitor these individuals to reintroduction program at Dudhwa is a testament to the fact Department ensure their safety. that it is possible to conserve wild populations with active management measures. Dudhwa Tiger Reserve is the oldest protected area and tiger reserve in Uttar Pradesh. It is home to several endangered Even though the population has increased over the last thirty and threatened flora and fauna such as the tiger, leopard, years, scientific and systematic monitoring of rhinos has been elephant, sloth bear and swamp deer. With the rhino population wanting. With the commitment to conserve threatened species once again thriving in Dudhwa, this is an ideal example of a in Dudhwa and the entire Terai Arc Landscape, the Uttar conservation success story. Pradesh state Forest Department together with WWF-India initiated scientific monitoring of rhinos at this Park. This The rhino ID program is an interesting, positive and welcome program, utilizing new techniques in India, has come to set a effort towards the effective conservation and monitoring of the new standard in the monitoring of rhinos. We sincerely hope rhinos in Dudhwa. This compilation is the first of its kind and that this does not remain a standalone initiative and that other provides comprehensive and consolidated information about monitoring programs learn from this and further improve on it individual rhinos including photographs and identification to bring a more personalized and importantly, an intensive and marks. This publication marks a significant achievement scientifically sound method to monitor rhino populations in for front line staff and managers for formulating effective other landscapes and countries. monitoring and conservation strategies. This report is the culmination of collaborative effort between World Wide Fund for I would like to thank all concerned for taking up this work, Nature - India (WWF-India) for training and establishing such especially the Chief Wildlife Warden – Uttar Pradesh, Field an innovative program and the management and field staff of Director, Deputy Director, ACFs, Range Officers, Foresters, Dudhwa Tiger Reserve for applying this in the rhino area. Forest Guards and the Mahouts of Dudhwa Tiger Reserve; WWF-AREAS Programme Coordinator; NTNC – Nepal and Let this be a precursor to all the other parks and states to adopt a the field team of WWF-India Terai Arc Landscape programme technologically advanced, yet easily implemented protocol. working in Dudhwa. (Rupak De, Dr.) (Ravi Singh) vi vii © RUCHIR SHARMA / WWF-INDIA The ID based rhino monitoring program in Dudhwa has now This monitoring program would not have started so smoothly if it were not due to ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS become the standard method for monitoring in the Kakraha the hours of training carried out by Babu Ram Lamichhane of NTNC, Nepal, who rhino reintroduction area. For the successful implementation was very helpful throughout. A lot of the work would not have been possible without of this program, it took the will and hard work of several people the able advice of Pranav Chanchani, Research Associate, WWF-India; and Dabeer from both the Uttar Pradesh Forest Department and the World Hasan, Project Officer who helped in the coordination of the program. The WWF tiger Wide Fund for Nature - India (WWF-India). We are grateful monitoring team comprised of Ashish Bista, Rekha Warrier, Shwetha Nair, Macson to Dr. Rupak De, Principal Chief Conservator of forests -cum- D’Almeida and Rohit Ravi, and Wildlife Trust of India veterinarian Dr. Saurabh Chief Wildlife Warden for his support and keen interest in this Singhai, are all thanked for their contribution towards the project and for being the program; at WWF-India, we are grateful to Mr. Ravi Singh, best companions possible. And I would like to thank my field assistants Udan Lal and Secretary General & Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Sejal Worah, Devendra Kumar, who painstakingly carried out my field work; and Sher Singh, who Programme Director and Dr. Dipankar Ghose, Director-Species taught me almost everything I know about working and living in the wild. I am grateful & Landscapes, for pulling together the funding and supporting to Chhavi Jain and Anil Cherukupalli for the long hours spent designing and for the this program all through. publication of this report. I would also like to extend my gratitude to Dr. Satya Priya Sinha, who gave me access to all his work and without whose help the rhino family Many thanks to Mr. Shailesh Prasad, Field Director, Dudhwa trees would never have been complete. Tiger Reserve; Ganesh S. Bhat, Former Deputy Director, Dudhwa Tiger Reserve and Vinod Krishan Singh, Deputy Director, And finally, a great thanks and hand of applause is owed to the staff of the Kakraha Dudhwa Tiger Reserve, for their constant support in making rhino area : Ghanshyam Shukla, Deputy Range Officer, South Sonaripur, for pushing sure that the program faced no obstacles. A special thanks the staff to do their duties, thoroughly. I am proud to know the elephant-backed staff to Mr. Ganesh S. Bhat for all the hours spent discussing and who beat the odds and difficulties, even of illiteracy, to collect data of photographic and consolidating the ID based rhino monitoring, and to Mr. Vinod remote-sensed value; the mahavats - Chote Lal, Jagroop Prasad, Idrish Khan, Irshad Krishan Singh and Mrs. Abha Singh for providing a very homely Ali, Lallan Baksh, Manoj Kumar, Mohd. Umar, Rameshwar Yadav, Sushil Kumar and atmosphere. We also wish to thank Anand Kumar Srivastav, chara-cutters - Aijaj Ali, Mehtab, Pappu, Qiyamuddin, Rahees, Ram Avtaar, Ranjeet, Wildlife Warden- Belraien, C.K.P. Choudhary, Former Range Riyasuddin, Safeeq, Sanu, Suresh, Taj, have the biggest hand in the implementation of Officer, South Sonaripur, D.K. Lal Srivastava, Range Officer, the ID based rhino monitoring program. And I cannot forget to thank my large friends South Sonaripur, without whose interest and constant presence the pachyderms - Batalik, Gajraj, Madhu, Mohan, Pakhri, Pavankali, Pushpakali, in the field this program would not have been implemented Roopkali, Sundar, who did the maximum amount of walking and kept any charging effectively. Again a special thanks to Mr. C.K.P. Choudhary rhinos and tigers at bay. for the time spent in the rhino area working closely for the And last, but not the least, I would like to thank my family for their constant support betterment of the rhinos. and encouragement, without which I would not have got here. Ruchir Sharma viii ix Dudhwa, Uttar Pradesh Introduction 1 Hemraj 67 INDEX ID based rhino monitoring program 4 Pavan 71 Rhino biology 7 Raghu 75 Vijayshree’s calf 79 Rhino IDs Subhadra 83 Banke 15 Unidentified Male 1 87 Swayamvara 19 Unidentified Male 2 91 Narayani 23 Unidentified Female 1 95 Suheli 27 Bheemsen 31 ANNEXURE Nakul 35 Details of rhinos relocated to Dudhwa 101 Rajshree 39 Family trees of Dudhwa’s rhinos 102 Rajeshwari 43 The Kakraha enclosure 106 Vijayshree 47 Manual for Garmin Etrex 10 107 Hemvati 51 Species monitoring form 111 Sahdev 55 List of mammals found in the rhino reintroduction area 113 Sada 59 List of vegetation found in the rhino reintroduction area 115 Shama 63 References 118 xi Rhino reintroduction DUDHWA area of Dudhwa National Park NATIONAL PARK Base camp The park consists of Chhota Palia gate dense forests of Sal (Shorea robusta), Grasslands mixed moist cover 20% forests, riparian of the total communities, and area, and 413 tall wet grasslands interspersed BIRDS with patches of in these short grasses. 1 grasslands are 79 a number of FISHES FOUND Located in the swamps. Parvatiya Salukapur Lakhimpur-Kheri 47 gate