The carcass of a rhino was found floating in Ghaghra river under the Dudhwa
buffer zone here on Sunday, officials said.
The carcass was spotted by neighbouring Sahabdinpurwa villagers who intimated the forest authorities.
Dudhwa Tiger Reserve field director Sanjay Pathak along with Dudhwa buffer zone Deputy Director Anil Kumar Patel rushed to the spot and inspected the dead animal.
"The carcass is that of a male rhino. The highly decomposed carcass shows that it may be about 10 days old," Pathak said.
"The rhino's horn and other vital parts seemed to be intact. A postmortem by a panel of doctors will be carried out to ascertain the exact cause of death," he said.
"The carcass may have floated into the Indian area from Nepal through Ghaghra river as the area where the animal was found has no rhino movement and is remote from Dudhwa and Katarniaghat," the official added.
The Dudhwa Tiger Reserve (DTR) boasts of an effective rhino rehabilitation programme.
Rhinos were reintroduced in Sonaripur range of DTR in 1984 in a specially-arranged fenced area with just five such animals. The programme was so successful that the rhino population here stands at 39 as on date.
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