Man and Rhino Killed by Electric Traps in Chitwan

In a shocking turn of events, a man and a rhino lost their lives on the same day after being caught in electric traps set up to kill wild animals.

On Wednesday, 34-year-old Lalbabu Muktan from Rapti Municipality–1, Chitwan, died in Makawanpur’s Manahari Rural Municipality–6. He accidentally stepped into an electric trap he had set himself in a rice field in Jogital. According to the local ward chairman Yubaraj Thapaliya, Muktan was electrocuted the moment he touched the water in the paddy field, forgetting about the trap he had installed earlier.

His body was found lying partially in the field ridge, lifeless. Muktan, a farmer by profession, is survived by his wife and two children. The municipality plans to provide his family with Rs. 30,000 for funeral expenses since they are in financial difficulty.

That same day in Chitwan’s Madi Municipality–2, a 20-year-old male rhinoceros was killed by a similar electric trap set by a farmer named Hari Bhakta Shrestha. He had rigged the trap to protect his rice crops from animals. The rhino’s horn and hooves are safe, and the Chitwan National Park has taken Shrestha into custody for investigation.

Killing rhinos is a serious crime in Nepal, with penalties of 5 to 15 years in jail and fines up to Rs. 1 million. This is the first rhino death due to human negligence reported in the current fiscal year 2082/83 (2025/26). A similar incident occurred last year, with a female rhino electrocuted in Bharatpur–16 while grazing in a cornfield.

Electric traps are increasingly being used by both farmers and poachers, posing a grave threat to wildlife and humans alike.

In 2078(2021), three members of the same family were killed by an electric trap meant for wild boars in Bardiya. In another case in 2079(2022), Khem Shrestha from Birtamod, Jhapa, died after stepping on his own electric trap set to ward off elephants.

Smugglers have also used such traps to target rhinos. In 2079(2022), a mother rhino and her calf were killed near the Narayani River in Nawalparasi. The poachers took the mother’s horn and hooves after electrocuting her.

The spread of electricity in rural areas has made these traps more common. Farmers use them to protect crops, while poachers use them to kill valuable wild animals like rhinos.

In response, Chitwan National Park and the Buffer Zone Management Committee have built electric fences and concrete walls around critical areas to prevent wildlife from entering farms. However, in places without fences, some farmers illegally install dangerous electric traps instead.

Unlike official electric fences, which use low-voltage DC current (4–10 volts), these illegal traps are often directly connected to power poles using bare wires. They are extremely dangerous to both people and animals.

Chitwan National Park’s spokesperson Avinash Thapamagar says those who install such traps could face the same punishment as those who kill rhinos. He emphasized that electric traps around forests must be banned to prevent further tragedies.

The park provides some compensation Rs. 10,000 at most when wild animals damage crops, but not enough to satisfy many farmers. Last year, the park distributed Rs. 3.16 million in relief funds.

Efforts to raise awareness and stop the use of deadly electric traps continue, but unless stricter rules and safer alternatives are introduced, more lives both human and wild may be at risk.