Nepal – Rhinos and Tigers and More

When I think of Nepal, I immediately conjure up images of the Himalaya mountains. So when researching our trip, I was surprised to learn that the southernmost part of the country has low-lying jungles that are home to many large mammals, like Bengal tigers and Indian rhinoceros. So after the Himalayas, our next stop was Chitwan National Park.

Chitwan National Park

We hopped on another short flight from Pokhara to Bharatpur, then continued driving south until we reached Chitwan National Park. The park, Nepal’s first, was established in 1973 as a refuge for the Indian rhinoceros. Like their cousins, the African rhinos, they were nearing extinction due to relentless poaching for their horns. Thanks to a concerted effort by the government and diligent anti-poaching measures, the rhino population has rebounded from less than 100 in the early 70s, to over 800 today. The park also provides one of the best habitats anywhere for Bengal tigers, as well as other large mammals like leopards and sloth bears.

Staying in a lodge on the edge of the park, we took daily wildlife viewing excursions on foot, by vehicle and by canoe. We were not disappointed.

Rhinos and More Rhinos

The feature attraction at Chitwan is the Indian rhinoceros. Smaller than the African varieties (but still enormous), their biggest difference is having only one horn on their snout instead of two.

On our first walking excursion, we got to within about 30′ of a rhino, staying as still and quiet as we could. Suddenly, the animal made a few grunts. Our guide turned around and uttered just one word – “run!”. We didn’t need to be told twice.

The next morning, we were scheduled for a river excursion and were told we’d leave at daybreak, the best time to see rhinos feeding in the river. That trip turned out to be a rhino bonanza, as we counted 17 of them in our 2-hour trip down river.

Bengal Tigers

Chitwan National Park is also home to a healthy number of Bengal tigers. Despite this, actually seeing one is still relatively rare and not at all guaranteed. Driving along on one of our daily excursions, there was suddenly a lot of chatter between the guides in the vehicles and on their phones. A tiger had been spotted!

Stopping at the river bank, we got to watch a tiger wander down to the river and then find himself a nice place to relax. This was a real treat. Especially since, years earlier, we had spent a couple of days at a tiger preserve in India and never saw one.

Lots of Other Good Stuff Too

Besides the rhinos and tigers, we also saw many varieties of birds, several species of deer, and langurs. The only thing high on our wishlist that we didn’t see was a leopard. No surprise really, though. Our guides call them the ghosts of the jungle and say that seeing them is extremely rare. They also said they are so stealthy that you could be standing six feet away from one hidden in the grass and you’d never know it.

Oh well, maybe next time.