Rampant poaching of rhinoceroses continues to sound alarm bells at a national park in central Nepal.

At least nine dead rhinos were found in the last 10 months at the Royal Chitwan National Park (RCNP), in Chitwan district, some 100 west of Kathmandu.

Among the nine dead rhinos, seven were killed by poachers, while two others died natural deaths, according to Tikaram Adhikari, conservation chief of RCNP.

Two rhinos died in September and one in November 2005. Likewise,three died in January, and one each in the last three months.

Of the slaughtered rhinos, five were female and two male.

The carcasses of the killed rhinos were found without horns, making officials conclude that poachers were responsible for the crimes.

"Poaching has increased in Barandabhar, Temple Tiger and Tiger Tops areas of the RCNP," said Adhikari.

Unlike in the past, most of the dead rhinos were found to have been shot dead. Earlier poachers used to kill rhinos with spears after they were snared in ditches.

The abnormal security situation, blamed on the anti-government insurgency, in the country was a major hurdle in the conservation of the endangered species.

The number of security posts was reduced from 33 to 11 inside the RCNP, with the declaration of emergency in June 2001.

Guerrillas also launched attacks on four security posts and seized four motorcycles of the security patrols inside the park premises in the past.

In 1994, there were 354 rhinos in the park. The number reached 544 in 2000. But the success story of rhino conservation got a jolt in 2005, with the number decreasing to 372 in last year's census.

The RCNP, which is also a world heritage sites of Nepal, houses most of Nepal's endangered one-horned Asiatic rhinos.

Source:Xinhua