Threats to Greater One-Horned Rhino and their Grassland habitat
From poaching and the destruction of grassland, to human-wildlife conflict and invasive weeds - threats to the species and their habitat are vast.
- Poaching – poachers kill rhino for their horns to sell for use in traditional medicines.
- Grassland destruction - Encroaching settlements and farmland, commercial forestry, fragmentation, cattle mismanagement, unsustainable harvesting and burning of the grassland habitat all adds to the destruction of the Rhinos’ habitat.
- Human-wildlife conflict - due to loss of habitat rhinos are increasingly walking on to people’s farmland to eat their crops. Rhinos can be dangerous to humans when startled.
- Invasive weeds - Lantana camara, Mikania macarantha, Water hyacinth. These plants have been unintentionally introduced into the grasslands and are now out-competing the natural plants. Unpalatable to the wildlife and fire resistant they are difficult to destroy.