ASIAN RHINOS RHINOCEROS-UNICORNIS ON THE RUN - IMPACT OF TOURIST VISITS ON ONE POPULATION

We evaluated the impact of tourist visits on Asian rhinos Rhinoceros u nicornis in Chitwan National Park, Nepal, by comparing the rhino'S beh avior during and after elephant-borne tourist visits to their behavior before visits. During the visits, the rhinos spent more time on alert and less rime feeding. Close approaches (especially those under 10 m) were more disruptive, and frequently displaced the rhinos from the me adows where they preferred to feed. Visits were short (20.7 min averag e) 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 ran ged widely so that each individual's encounters with tourists were usu ally several days apart. Eliminating close approaches would make these tourist visits relatively benign. However, this finding cannot necess arily be extended to other populations that might have different socia l systems.