KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Authorities are searching for poachers who killed a rare one-horned rhinoceros over the weekend in the forests of southern Nepal and cut off the horn.

Forest officer Nurendra Ryal said it was the first killing of a rhino in the Chitwan National Forest in nearly three years. Soldiers and forest rangers were scouring the forests and nearby areas for the people who shot the rhino.

The dead rhino was discovered on Saturday.

The forest located about 160 kilometers (100 miles) south of Nepal's capital, Kathmandu, and bordering India is protected by the government and guarded by armed soldiers.

Nepal has been working to increase the number of one-horned rhinos in Chitwan National Forest.