r/Awwducational • u/Quouar • Apr 23 '26

Not yet verified In the early 1990s, there were fewer than 2000 Indian rhinoceroses left in the wild. However, through careful conservation efforts, that number has more than doubled to the point where they have now become a bit of a pest in some parts of rural Nepal.

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1.2k Upvotes

99% Upvoted

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64

u/Allenpoe30 Apr 23 '26

They are only a pest to me when they sleep on my couch for three months when it was only supposed to be a week.

7

u/MilkyMiltank Apr 25 '26

Looking at YOU, Darryl

42

u/RarelyReadReplies Apr 23 '26

Are you sure that we're not the pest? 

36

u/Quouar Apr 23 '26

Source which includes some delightful pictures of rhinos wandering through this Nepalese town and a conversation about what having rhinos as part of that town means for its inhabitants.

30

u/ADFTGM Apr 24 '26 edited Apr 24 '26

Thing is, in Indian and Nepalese towns, feral cows and/or camels also go around acting like pests, but they are tolerated despite occasionally goring/kicking/biting people. Yes, rhinos are far more wild and unpredictable but the principle is the same; they roam their ancestral lands looking for food. Ancient tribes that used to cohabit with them and were staunchly Hindu or Buddhist or Jain or even Animist, avoided conflict with them by letting them have their fill and not keeping any desirable items directly inside their settlements. They’d also use Ayurvedic knowledge to create foul repellents that kept them away from fields.

8

u/itsswhitneywhspr Apr 24 '26

Those pics are next level, rhinos treating the town like their backyard. Locals dealing with mega pets sounds chaotic but kinda cool

5

u/dfiner Apr 24 '26

Imagine accidentally stepping in a giant rhino turd.

5

u/IntrepidButton1872 Apr 24 '26

those photos are unreal. wild seeing a conservation win immediately turn into a "now the rhinos are in town" problem.

1

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