For religious, medicinal and decorative purposes, the Nepalese use more parts of the rhino than any other people in the world, but only a very few rhinos have recently been killed there. Moreover, since 1976 the rhino population has been growing by about eight per cent a year and when the author visited Nepal in 1982 there were approximately 375, which provides an exception to the commonly held belief that government officials in Third World countries are unable to protect rhinos in the wild. The author, who is a geographer, explores the fascinating background to a successful conservation story.