**2.1 Re-introduction program of the greater one-horned rhinoceros in Dudhwa National Park, that is, the rhino reintroduction program**

The great horned rhinos roamed freely in the Terai belt of Uttar Pradesh, including Dudhwa forests, about 160 years ago. The last rhino in U.P. was shot in 1878 in the Pilibhit district near Dudhwa. The rhino population in much of this range was wiped out by hunting and habitat destruction in the last couple of centuries. During the 1979 IUCN Species Survival Commission meeting, the Asian Rhino Specialist Group called for continuous efforts in protecting and monitoring the species and took a step to establish rhinos in the former rhino distribution range. It was concluded that Dudhwa was the most suitable alternate habitat among the various areas considered by the subcommittee. As a result of a visit to Dudhwa NP in 1980–1981, Prof Schenkel, chairman of the SSC Asian Rhino Specialist Group, confirmed the suitability of the park for rhino conservation [11]. Later, it was recommended for translocation of the great one-horned rhinoceros in Dudhwa National Park [12]. Consequently, it was determined to be the best alternate habitat because of its similarities to Kaziranga NP, Assam, the fact that rhinos have been previously recorded there, as well as the adequacy of protection. It was determined by the committee that the Dudhwa NP could provide adequate food for rhinos, so the Botanical Survey of India [13] was commissioned to conduct a study of rhino food plants in the proposed reintroduction area. There were 14 plant species found in Dudhwa NP, including grasses that rhinos consume at Kaziranga in Assam. Furthermore, the area provided a variety of habitats, including grasslands flooded with water, ample shade, water for drinking and wallowing, as well as protection from human activity. Rhinos were relocated from Assam and Nepal to Dudhwa in 1984–1985 as part of efforts to reintroduce rhinos to this area, which has grasslands, swamps, and wooded forests, which are ideal habitats for rhinos.

With the original group of seven growing to approximately forty, the project has been successful. Although the planned soft release did not happen, the population is not released and is kept in fenced enclosures. Two areas in the Dudhwa are well suited for rhinos, namely, Bhadi Tal and Churela Tal, since they provide a combination of grasslands for food, wooded forests for shade, and shallow wetlands where rhinos can forage and wallow.
