The Indian Rhinoceros in the Forest of Nepal

The Trewia Nudiflora, a tree that grows in the forests of Southern Nepal, has a particular problem: the seeds from its fruit will not germinate in the shade of the forests in which it grows.

Enter the great Indian Rhinoceros. These large herbivores love the fruit of the Trewia Nudiflora; so much so, in fact, that the fruit is called the “rhinoceros apple.”          

During the monsoon season, chunks of forests are washed away by heavy river flows. Over time, these areas return as grassland clearings.

The Rhinoceros go into forest during the heat of the day and eat the fruit, then relocate to the sunny clearings in the afternoon. The seeds travel through the Rhino’s digestive system without interfering with their ability to germinate and subsequently deposited in the clearings as the animal defecate.

The seeds germinate in the mounds of dung and grow into trees.  As the trees grow and multiply, the clearings become forests and the cycle continues.

Over thousands of years, the Trewia Nudolfora trees, the Indian rhinocerous, and the Nepalese forests have developed and interdependent relationship for survival. With the endangerment of the rhinos, this entire system is at risk.