Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
We pulled up to a teahouse not far from Lumbini. The stall was swarming with flies, thou-
sands upon thousands of them, coating the hanging sweets and landing on the rims of the un-
washed teacups. My desire for a snack quickly diminished. The Zen phrase “Where there are
men, there are flies, and also Buddhas” came to mind. In truth, we were near the birthplace of
Gautama Buddha, who as young King Siddhartha gave up his royal life to wander as a peas-
ant and find enlightenment. Lumbini has become an international draw for devout Buddhists.
Just as Nepal's religious shrines draw wide support and popular praise, I thought, so should
its miraculous recovery of endangered wildlife, against all odds, in one of the poorest nations
on Earth. I left my daydream as Vishnu gestured to me. The ever-efficient tracker had located
a cleaner tea stall, and we sat down for a refresher.
What started as a small research program in 1986 had grown by 1999 into one of the
world's most successful restoration efforts of a rare mammal, winning international acclaim
for the country and for Mishra. By the year 2000, more than 85 rhinos had been translocated
to two different populations in Bardia and 6 to Suklaphanta. The combined rhino populations
in Chitwan, Bardia, and Suklaphanta had shot up to more than 600. Importantly, the local
people also benefited. For many years Chitwan had been the major wildlife tourist destination
for visitors to Asia from industrialized nations. The chance to see rhinos and possibly a tiger
drew these nature lovers. New legislation was passed to benefit local communities: revenues
generated by park entry fees and hotel concessions were recycled into village economies on
the periphery of the park.
I wish the story could have ended here—an account of a triumphant recovery of a once com-
mon species made rare by humans but given a second chance. But Nepal soon plunged into
its darkest period in modern history. After a popular call for a democratic government, King
Birendra accepted the change from an absolute to a constitutional monarchy in 1990. But
democracy failed to take root, and word began to filter out of the western hills of a violent
separatist group that called itself Maoist and sought the overthrow of the monarchy and the
creation of a communist state.
Then, in 2000, the unthinkable occurred: most of the royal family was assassinated by one
of its own. The kingdom went into mourning as the middle brother, Gyanendra, assumed the
throne. Units of the Royal Nepalese Army that had been stationed in the national parks, partly
to protect rhinos and other wildlife, were soon shifted into the hills to fight the Maoists, leav-
ing the parks wide open to emboldened poachers. The devastating results provided a glimpse
of how civil unrest or even civil war can be the death knell for rarities.
In Bardia, all of the 70 or so rhinos that had been translocated to the Babai Valley were
wiped out. Chitwan suffered a staggering blow, losing about 170 rhinos to poachers. Its rhino
