Resources Himalaya Foundation and Environmental Graduates in Himalaya successfully organized our monthly talk program PYCF with Mr. Abhinaya Pathak, Conservation Officer at Gaurishankhar Conservation Area on October 1, 2021. He presented a talk on the topic “Time for Difference: Learning from Genetic Diversity of Greater One-Horned Rhinoceros of Chitwan National Park.”
The talk proceeded with the general status of Rhinoceros, its new count, the deaths of rhino due to poaching and other conservation challenges. The talk emphasized on the necessity of genetic level study in the rhino conservation and status of genetic diversity of one-horned rhinoceros in Chitwan National Park. The study identified that the eastern sector of Chitwan National Park has more diverse rhino genetics than that of the western sector and a unique, rare H3 haplotype diversity is found in Sauraha. An interesting finding was that even though the population is of rhino is almost doubled, the genetic diversity of the rhino has slightly reduced within a short period of time. All these studies points out the vital need of genetic information for wildlife management.