Study reveals Nepal’s rhinos are feeding on plastic waste, highlighting alarming environmental concern

Every monsoon season (June–August), Nepal’s Chitwan National Park becomes a no-go zone for tourists and locals alike . The park, home to the vulnerable one-horned rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) , is flooded by the rivers that run through it, making it inaccessible and dangerous. But the water also brings an unwelcome visitor: plastic waste. When the floods recede, plastic bottles, bags and sachets cover the river banks where the rhinos come to graze on the grass.

A recent study has found that rhinos ingest plastic waste of different sizes and shapes, which could pose a serious threat to their health and survival. The study, published in the journal Global Ecology and Conservation , analysed 258 dung samples from the park and found that 10.1 per cent of them contained visible plastic.