CHITWAN, March 25 -- On Sunday a female rhino in Chitwan breathed her last. She was spotted dead near a septic tank of a hotel in Jagatpur, Bharatpur Municipality - 23. With this, the number of rhinos to die in Chitwan in the last nine months has reached 41.

According to Gopal Bahadur Ghimire, information officer and assistant conservation officer at the Chitwan National Park (CNP), most of the deaths were natural while some were accidental.

The figures are shocking for a country that earlier drew the attention of the world by celebrating zero poaching years of rhino.

Authorities claim that the animals have died of natural cause. Ghimire stated that the age factor has played a major role in the deaths this year.

"There are many other ...