Patna, May 10: An adult female rhino has been killed by poachers at the Valmiki Tiger Reserve (VTR), the first time such an incident has been reported from the state.

The body of the animal was found lying in the Valmiki Nagar range of the reserve, around 320km north of Patna.

The horn of the rhino was missing when forest officials, after getting information from villagers, reached the spot today.

There were also two bullet injury marks on the body. While one bullet mark was visible on its head, another was on its shoulder.

“Prima facie it appeared to be a case of poaching as the horn is missing but details would be known only after the post-mortem report is available,” divisional forest officer (DFO) of the reserve, S. Kumarsamy, told The Telegraph over phone. He said the animal appeared to have been killed at least 15 days ago.

The reserve is not home to the rhino, Kumarsamy said. The animal, he added, had possibly strayed into the reserve from the adjoining Chitwan National Park of Nepal.

The Nepal park is situated to the north of the Valmiki reserve and there is a contiguous forest area along the border. Rhinos have been coming to VTR in the past as well. Three rhinos have been staying in VTR’s Madanpur range for the past three years. Chitwan National Park is home to about 500 rhinos.

No incident of rhino poaching has ever been reported from VTR. One rhino was killed in 2005 after being hit by a train, while another lost its life in 2006 when it fell into a canal.

Belinda Wright, executive director of Wildlife Protection Society of India, told The Telegraph over phone: “Poachers are very much active in Chitwan National Park and they might have killed the animal after it strayed into VTR and would have escaped with its horn.”

China and Southeast Asia are big markets for rhino horns, which command high prices. Used for making traditional medicines and aphrodisiacs, one kilogram of rhino horn is estimated to carry a price tag of Rs 1.5 million in the international market.