Page 127 - Health, Population and Environment Education 10

vi. Giant Pied Hornbill
Scientific name: Buceros bicornis

Giant Pied Hornbill is about 0.9 m in height and 95 cm -
105 cm in length. Its weight is 3 kg - 3.5 kg. The bird is a
mixture of black, white and yellow colour. It has a long,
golden and shiny beak on its head. The beak is hard. Its
face, under parts and tail are black. The black tail and
body have white bands. Both the male and female look Fig: 16
similar in structure, but the female is smaller in size than the male.

Giant Pied Hornbill lives in the deciduous and evergreen forest of Terai region nesting in
the holes of tall trees. It has large and fearful sound. It eats soft fruits, insects and small
vertebrates.

The life span of Giant Pied Hornbill is 6-7 years. It is hunted for meat, bones and fat. It is
decreasing in number due to the loss of its habitat. Its beak, bones and fats have medicinal
value. Its feather is used for decoration.

Giant Pied Hornbill is protected in Chitwan National Park, Bardiya National Park, Banke
National Park, Parsa National Park and Suklaphanta National Park.

vii. Asiatic Rock Python
Scientific name: Python molurus
Asiatic Rock Python is about 7-10 m in length and
weighs 85-90 kg. It is the largest and heaviest Asian
snake. It is light brown to yellowish brown in colour. It
has a series of yellow and black circular spots from head
to the tail. It has slow and sluggish movement due to
its length and weight. It kills its prey by waylaying and
trapping them near water sources and dense bushes by
its camouflaged position with the surrounding nature. Fig: 17
It is a non-poisonous snake. The female python lays
about 80-100 eggs at a time.
Asiatic Rock Python kills mammals, birds, reptiles, etc. for food. It is becoming rare due to
loss of its habitat. People kill it for its beautiful skin which is used for making belt, purse,
etc. It is also killed by the people because of fear that it may swallow their cattle or their
children. It is also trapped by people for adventurous shows.
Asiatic Rock Python prefers to live in warm, sunny surface with dry boulders. Hence it is
named as rock python. It is protected in Chitwan National Park.

Activity: 1

Study the different types of animals found in your surrounding and discuss with your
friends.

GREEN Health, Population and Environment Education Book-10 127