Experts and independent studies have assessed warming temperatures could be a contributory factor for movement of animals and insects towards higher altitudes.

The population of the endangered species has gone up by 107 since 2015.

Although forest fire has been the main factor of late, experts point out other causes like emissions from vehicles and construction and factory sectors, and open burning.

The rhino census has been halted for two days following Sunday afternoon’s incident. On Friday, the count was also stalled in Chitwan after a wild elephant attacked and injured the enumerators.

With the rain, the number of wildfires came down to 59, air quality index to 42 from a high of 334, and visibility went up to 7,000 metres from 1,000 metres.

Vehicle emissions, industries, brick kilns and construction are major sources of air pollution.

Despite their frequency, in which lives, wildlife and hundreds of thousands of hectares of green cover are lost, forest fire disasters have been largely ignored by authorities, experts say.

Unprecedented fires after prolonged drought across the country and winds partly responsible, meteorologists say. With wildfires peaking in April, worse may be yet to come.

National park officials and experts concur that it is unlikely to attack local residents or cattle soon as it is deep inside the sanctuary but the possibility cannot be ruled out.

Many in Sauraha are selling their elephants meant for safaris to Indian buyers due to Covid-19-fuelled crisis. Now there are legal issues that no one talked about before.

Nine people have been killed since July, three in March alone. Authorities say the victims had gone to the forest for fodder but tigers are seen in human settlements too.

As rhinos in Chitwan Park are concentrated in the western area, there is overcrowding. Officials worry about the difficulties they will face in repatriating them as in the past.

Dry spell, which began after the monsoon, continues as Nepal heads to pre-monsoon.

Under the programme, anyone can adopt an animal from the zoo and take full responsibility, including its food, nourishment and medication for a year.

The latest report that recorded the sighting of tigers in three districts of the Chure region, not only shows Chure as a healthy ecosystem and home for valuable species but also calls for improved conservation of the zone, facing several challenges.

Nepal will receive $5 for every tonne of carbon dioxide emission reduced as country embarks on earning up to Rs5 billion by selling 9 million tonnes of CO2 by 2025.

The figure is smaller than the 320 species recorded informally by enthusiasts in the past but officials say after the three phases of the comprehensive survey, the number could go up.

Findings of the first study of its kind in the country, which will track six tigers, will help in saving the species from adverse impacts of infrastructure projects, conservationists say.

While conservationists call for relocation, the district administration has already issued an order saying the animal can be killed if required.

Officials at protected areas across the country have moved ahead with the preparations for conducting the census, which is likely to begin in March this year.