Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
Map of Nepal and neighboring regions
The insights into large-mammal biology in general and rhinoceros ecology in particular
keep coming. Today, more than twenty-five years later, we know a lot more about this ex-
traordinary animal and what it has to offer us in understanding the causes and consequences
of rarity. But it all began with trying to catch the first one.
On a fog-laden morning in November 1986, Vishnu Bahadur Lama, our chief tracker, was
out on elephant-back searching for a male rhino. Instead, he came upon a mother rhinoceros
and her calf drifting along the riverbank. Vishnu motioned for the driver to push their ele-
phant onward to find the male. On a high point along the riverbank, Vishnu stood up on the
elephant's back for a better view. Game trackers out at sunrise heed the words of old-timers:
read the grass
. He scanned for a hole in the wild cane, for hidden in the gaps might be a
sleeping male. Another tip:
watchformynas
. The gregarious tickbirds move among sleeping
rhinos to feast on skin pests. Vishnu strained to see a few black smudges rising up from the
tall grass.
The rest of us hunched over a glowing fire, waiting for Vishnu's return. Our game trackers
chatted as they took their continental breakfast of tea and biscuits. A short, bowlegged man
poured steaming cups of Darjeeling thickened with sugar and water-buffalo milk. There was
no rush; by nine o'clock, the lid of fog covering the Chitwan Valley would have burned
off and the sun would peek through the silk cotton trees. Then the hunt would begin. Gyan
Bahadur, an elephant driver for more than thirty years, was the group's resident sage, or at
least he thought so. Gyan and his crew would soon be urging their powerful charges through
the grass toward our quarry. Other dangers lurked in this jungle, though. One could surprise
a tiger, a sloth bear, or even a king cobra, whose venomous bite could topple an elephant.
Nearby, young men hustled to feed the research vehicles. They hauled piles of wild sugar-
cane and tree branches before a row of hungry elephants, which delicately selected choice
bits of vegetation with their trunks and began a noisy repast: chewing, lip smacking, more
chewing, and prolonged bouts of flatulence.
The banter halted when Vishnu and his mount hustled into camp. “A big male. With a horn
like this big!” Vishnu spread his hands even wider than his grin. “He is the one.” In seemingly
one movement, he hopped down from the elephant, dropped to his haunches, and spread his
palms over the fire. Gyan handed him a steaming mug. Some of the trackers were eager to
start while the air was cool; an early capture would reduce the risk of an animal overheating
in the noonday sun.
