Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev was King of Nepal from 1972 until his assassination in 2001. He was the eldest son of King Mahendra.
The Indian rhinoceros, or Indian rhino for short, also known as the greater one-horned rhinoceros or great Indian rhinoceros, is a rhinoceros species native to the Indian subcontinent. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, as populations are fragmented and restricted to less than 20,000 km2 (7,700 sq mi). Moreover, the extent and quality of the rhino's most important habitat, the alluvial Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands and riverine forest, is considered to be in decline due to human and livestock encroachment. As of August 2018, the global population was estimated to comprise 3,588 individuals, including 2,939 individuals in India and 649 in Nepal. Kaziranga National Park alone had an estimated population of 2,048 rhinos in 2009. Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary in Assam has the highest density of Indian rhinos in the world with 84 individuals in an area of 38.80 km2 (14.98 sq mi) in 2009.
Tribhuvan University is a public university located in Kirtipur, Kathmandu, Nepal. Established in 1959, TU is the oldest and the largest university in Nepal. The college offers 1000 undergraduate and 500 postgraduate programs across a wide range of disciplines. Additionally, the institution has 62 constituent campuses and over 1080 affiliated colleges across the country.
The Terai or Tarai is a lowland region in northern India and southern Nepal that lies south of the outer foothills of the Himalayas, the Sivalik Hills, and north of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. This lowland belt is characterised by tall grasslands, scrub savannah, sal forests and clay rich swamps. In North India, the Terai spreads from the Yamuna River eastward across Haryana, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal. The Terai is part of the Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands ecoregion. The corresponding lowland region in West Bengal, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Assam in the Brahmaputra River basin is called 'Dooars'. In Nepal, the term is applied to the part of the country situated north of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. Nepal's Terai stretches over 33,998.8 km2 (13,127.0 sq mi), about 23.1% of Nepal's land area, and lies at an elevation of between 67 and 300 m. The region comprises more than 50 wetlands. North of the Terai rises the Bhabar, a narrow but continuous belt of forest about 8–12 km (5.0–7.5 mi) wide.
Chitwan National Park is the first national park of Nepal. It was established in 1973 as the Royal Chitwan National Park and was granted the status of a World Heritage Site in 1984. It covers an area of 952.63 km2 (367.81 sq mi) in the subtropical Inner Terai lowlands of south-central Nepal in Nawalpur, Chitwan, Makwanpur and Parsa Districts. It ranges in elevation from about 100 m (330 ft) in the river valleys to 815 m (2,674 ft) in the Sivalik Hills.
Chitwan District is one of 77 districts of Nepal, and takes up the southwestern corner of Bagmati Province. Bharatpur, largest city of Nepal after Kathmandu, is its administrative centre. It covers 2,238.39 km2 (864.25 sq mi), and in 2011 had a population of 579,984 people. Bharatpur is the commercial and service centre of South Central Nepal and a major destination for higher education, health care and transportation in the region. Chitwan lies in the Terai region of Nepal. It is in the drainage basin of the Gandaki River and is roughly triangular, taking that river as its meandering northwestern border, and a modest watershed border, with India, as the basis of its southern limit. Local government: Bharatpur Metropolitan, Rapti Municipality, Ratnanagar Municipality, Kalika Municipality, Khairahani Municipality, Madi Municipality, Ikshyakamana Gaupalika
The Terai–Duar savanna and grasslands is a narrow lowland ecoregion at the base of the Himalayas, about 25 km (16 mi) wide, and a continuation of the Indo-Gangetic Plain in India, Nepal and Bhutan. It is colloquially called Terai in the Ganges Basin east to Nepal, then Dooars in West Bengal, Bhutan and Assam east to the Brahmaputra River. It harbours the world's tallest grasslands, which are the most threatened and rare worldwide.
Bardiya National Park is a protected area in Nepal that was established in 1988 as Royal Bardia National Park. Covering an area of 968 km2 (374 sq mi) it is the largest and most undisturbed national park in Nepal's Terai, adjoining the eastern bank of the Karnali River and bisected by the Babai River in the Bardiya District. Its northern limits are demarcated by the crest of the Siwalik Hills. The Nepalgunj-Surkhet highway partly forms the southern boundary, but seriously disrupts the protected area. Natural boundaries for human settlements are formed in the west by the Geruwa, a branch of the Karnali River, and in the southeast by the Babai River.
Bharatpur is a city in southern central Nepal. It is the third most populous city of Nepal after Kathmandu and Pokhara with 369,377 inhabitants in 2021. It is also the second largest metropolitan city in Nepal by area. It is the district headquarter of the Chitwan District.
The Soul of the Rhino is a book about a Nepali adventure with kings and elephant drivers, billionaires and bureaucrats, shamans and scientists, and the Indian Rhinoceros.
Meghauli is a village and former Village Development Committee that is now part of Bharatpur Metropolitan City in Bagmati Province of central Nepal.
Devchuli Municipality is a municipality in Nawalpur District in the southern part of Gandaki Province in Nepal. At the time of the 2011 Nepal census it had a population of 42,603 people living in 916 individual households. The municipality was established on 18 May 2014 by merging the preexisting Devchuli, Dibyapuri, Pragatinagar VDCs and later Rajahar VDC. The Narayani River flows in the vicinity. Northern side of the municipality is covered by hills with major population of ethnic Magar people and their culture. Northern areas are also least developed, rural and lack basic infrastructures, such as roads, hospitals and clean drinking water supply. Southern plain areas are developing and has major concentration of population. Municipality has great ethnic and cultural diversity, made of indigenous Tharu, Magar and all other major ethnic groups and culture residing harmoniously.
Parsa National Park is a protected area in the Inner Terai lowlands of south-central Nepal. It covers an area of 627.39 km2 (242.24 sq mi) in the Parsa, Makwanpur and Bara districts and ranges in altitude from 435 m (1,427 ft) to 950 m (3,120 ft) in the Siwalik Hills. It was established as a wildlife reserve in 1984. A bufferzone declared in 2005 comprises 285.3 km2 (110.2 sq mi). In 2015, the protected area has been extended by 128 km2 (49 sq mi). Since 2017, it has the status of a National Park.
The National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC),, previously known as King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation, is a Nepalese autonomous and not-for-profit organization working in the field of nature conservation.
The Barandabhar forest covers an area of 87.9 km2 and bisects the Chitwan District in east and west Chitwan. Barandabhar, a 29 km long forest patch, is bisected by the Mahendra Highway, resulting in a 56.9 km2 area in the buffer zone of RCNP and 31 km2 is under the district forest office.
The Central Zoo(Nepali: सदर चिडियाखाना) is a 6-hectare (15-acre) zoo in Jawalakhel, Nepal. It is home to some 870 animals in 109 species, and is operated by the National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC). Although it was originally a private zoo, it was opened to the public in 1956.
Karna Shakya is a Nepalese environmentalist, conservationist, hotel entrepreneur, writer and philanthropist. Shakya is a forester by academic qualification. He served as a wildlife officer and pioneered in establishing the first National Park in Nepal. He resigned from his government job, entered the tourism business in 1970, and now owns a chain of eco-friendly hotels in major touristic cities like Kathmandu, Pokhara, chitwan and Lumbini.
Madhesh Province is a province in southeastern Terai region of Nepal bordering Koshi Pradesh to the east and the north, Bagmati Province to the north, and India’s Bihar state to the south and the west. It has an area of 9,661 km2 (3,730 sq mi) covering about 6.5% of the country's total area. It has a population of 6,126,288 as per the 2021 Nepal census, making it Nepal's most densely populated province and the smallest province by area.
The Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation is a government agency of Nepal and one of five departments of the Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation. It is assigned with the responsibilities of conserving the wildlife of Nepal. It is furthermore responsible for managing the protected areas of Nepal, including national parks and conservation areas. The department is also part of the REDD+ Group.
