Asian rhinos Rhinoceros unicornis on the run? Impact of tourist visits on one population

• Published in: Biological conservation Vol. 73; no. 1; pp. 23 - 26
• Main Authors: Lott, Dale F, McCoy, Michael
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 1995; Elsevier
• Subjects: Animal ethology; Asian rhinoceros; behavioral indicators; Biological and medical sciences; foraging rates; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Mammalia; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Rhinoceros unicornis; tourist visits; Vertebrata; Asia; Nepal; tourist visits; foraging rates; Asian rhinoceros; behavioral indicators; Vigilance; Feeding behavior; Home range; Defensive behavior; Perturbation; Man animal relation; Tourism; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Environment impact; Perissodactyla; Animal conservation; Ungulata; Rhinoceros unicornis
• ISSN: 0006-3207; 1873-2917
• DOI: 10.1016/0006-3207(95)90053-5

We evaluated the impact of tourist visits on Asian rhinos Rhonoceros unicornis in Chitwan National Park, Nepal, by comparing the rhino's behavior during and after elephant-borne tourist visits to their behavior before visits. During the visits, the rhinos spent more time on alert and less time feeding. Close approaches (especially those under 10 m) were more disruptive, and frequently displaced the rhinos from the meadows where they preferred to feed. Visits were short (20·7 min average) and rhinos that were not driven out re-established their pre-visit pattern of behavior within 14 min of the tourists' departure. Moreover, these rhinos' home ranges overlapped extensively and individuals ranged widely so that each individual's encounters with tourists were usually several days apart. Eliminating close approaches would make these tourist visits relatively benign. However, this finding cannot necessarily be extended to other populations that might have different social systems.