Build more habitats for the one-horned rhino for their survival

In order to ensure that the one-horned rhino do not go extinct, it is necessary to build more habitats for them because the Kaziranga National Park and a few other protected areas of the state are home to nearly two-thirds of the rhino. This has been suggested by conservationists.
A report by WWF-India has brought the need to investigate the feasibility of reintroducing rhinos in other areas like the D'Ering Wildlife Sanctuary in Arunachal Pradesh, Katerniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary and Pilibhit Tiger Reserve in Uttar Pradesh apart from the Buxa Tiger Reserve in West Bengal.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 25 February 2017.

Kaziranga has the maximum concentration of over 70% rhinos and any local catastrophe due to poaching, disease or some other factor could have a devastating effect.
Rhinos from Kaziranga and Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary have been reintroduced in Manas National Park and the Laokhowa-Burachapori Wildlife Sanctuary under the state forest department's Indian Rhino Vision (IRV) 2020 which hopes to increase the population in the state to 3,000 by 2020. In order to achieve this target, the population in Assam needs to increase by three per cent every year and, by 2015, it has already reached 2,626.


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18th rhino killed in Kaziranga - this exceeds the figures of last year

The number of rhinos killed in Kaziranga National Park this year has crossed the figures of last year - it was the 18th rhino that was shot dead in the park and its horn was taken away. Last year, 17 rhinos were gunned down and in 2014, the figure was 27.
This year, one rhino was killed on the night of April 13, just after the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and his wife Kate, had visited Kaziranga.
This has been reported in telegraphindia.com dated 23 December 2016.

The 18th rhino was a 10-year-old sub-adult male rhino. This is the second poaching incident within a week after the last killing on the night of December 14 inside the Burapahar range. From available evidence it appears that the rhino was gunned down early morning close to a pond near the Diphlu river. There was dense fog and even though shots were heard, the guards from the two camps failed to locate any person or any wounded rhino.
Subsequently, a rhino carcass with the horn removed was found in the pond. An used cartridge of .303 rifle was recovered from the site. The site of the incident is deep inside the forest, about 5-Km from National Highway 37 that passes through the park.
In the current year, five poachers have been killed in encounters with park guards and the police. Last year, the figure was 23 poachers were killed and 88 arrested. The Kaziranga park is spread over 899 square km on both banks of the Brahmaputra and is guarded by 1,200 men, including park staff under different categories. They are aided by the Assam Forest Protection Force personnel and home guards.


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Tourist season in Kaziranga National Park to start from October 1 instead of November 1

The government of Assam has announced that Kaziranga National Park would be thrown open for tourists from October 1 this year instead of November 1. The gates would be opened by Assam Forest Minister. The date for opening of the national park, famous for its one-horned rhino population, has been advanced this year as per the instructions of Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal in August.
This has been reported in thestatesman.com dated 27 September 2016.

The elephant rides and jeep rides would be made available for tourists from October 1 but, there will be restrictions on the total distance of the Jeep Safari circuit because of ongoing repair works inside the park.
Due to severe floods in last two months, more than 80 percent of the park was submerged. The floods have washed away some small bridges inside the park and damaged the roads inside to a large extent.
Work is going on at a fast pace to meed the deadline. Normally the park is opened for tourists on November 1 and it gets closed on April 30 every year. Initially, only Western range, Bagori range, Central range and Kohora range would be opened for the tourists. Repair work on the roads in going and, once all the works are completed, the other ranges would also be opened for tourists.
The main attraction of the park is the one-horned rhino population. However, tourists also come to see the tigers, elephants, water buffaloes, hog deer, bear and other wildlife species apart from reptiles and winged species.


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Floods in Assam affect Rhino homelands in Kaziranga National Park

Floods in Assam affect Rhino homelands in Kaziranga National Park The floods in Assam has been described as critical with the Brahmaputra river overflowing in several districts. As a result, houses have been submerged and agricultural fields affecting nearly 12.5 lakh people and inundating Kaziranga National Park which is the homeland of rhinos.
An adult male rhino drowned in a river in the park due to the floods and its carcass with its horn intact was recovered near Siga camp under Agoratoli camp. This was close on the heels of another such dead rhino which had been found there two days ago.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 25 July 2016.

Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) has confirmed that the deluge has washed away large portions of the main roads in Morigaon, Jorhat and Dibrugarh districts and has snapped road communications apart from breaching river embankments in Kokrajhar, Jorhat, Bongaigaon, Dibrugarh and Golaghat districts. As a result, water has rushed into vast tracks of human habitation.
The Brahmaputra and its tributaries are said to be overflowing in 18 districts of the state, flooding Rhino homelands in Kaziranga National Park and Pobitora Wild Life Sanctuary. Five hog deer were killed by speeding vehicles when they were crossing NH-37 from the Park towards highlands of Karbi Anglong district. There are 16 animal corridors on the NH-37 through which various types of animals from the Park side cross over to Karbi Anglong hills during floods.


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The Duchess of Cambridge is believed to be packing 12 to 15 outfits for her upcoming six-day tour of India and Bhutan and, among many other things, she is including her £106 Hillmaster boots in her luggage for the trek to Paro Taktsang, the Tiger's Nest monastery built on a Himalayan rock face in Bhutan.
This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 3 April 2016.

The Royal Couple of Kate and William will fly into Mumbai next Sunday for the trip where they will be given a welcome ceremony at the Oval Maidan cricket ground.
She has packed formal dresses for her engagements apart from a pair of hiking boots. The last time she wore the practical footwear was during a trip to Borneo with William when they abseiled in the jungle.
From 10 to 16 April they will undertake a six day tour during which they will take in a safari at Kaziranga national park where they will visit an elephant sanctuary set up by Mark Shand, the late brother of the Duchess of Cornwall. Other engagements include watching children play cricket and undertake a grueling six hour hike to the Tiger's Nest monastery in the remote Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan.
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This has been reported in ibnlive.com dated 26 February 2016.

As per the itinerary released by the Kensington Palace, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will land in Mumbai on April 10, then leave for Bhutanese capital Thimpu on April 14 before returning to India on April 16 to depart for the UK.
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Kaziranga National Park makes public a list of 323 poachers

#KazirangaNationalPark #onehornedrhino #rhinopoachers Number of rhinos killed in the Kaziranga National Park has been increasing over the years and from only five in 2011, it has gone up to 27 in 2013 as well as 2014. Total rhino population in 2013 was 2320.
The Kaziranga National Park is a World Heritage Site and has the largest number of one-horned rhinos and, the Park authorities have, for the first time, made public a list of 323 poachers. A explained by Assam chief wildlife warden R.P. Agarwalla, the whole idea of making the list public is to build "social pressure" so that people know the identity of those who are indulging in such activities.
The list apparently has names of suspected, accused, arrested or wanted persons who have been found to be or suspected to be involved in poaching activities in the park in the past few years. The source of the names are varied and majority are believed from the Karbi Anglong and Sonitpur districts.
Moreover, apart from the names of poachers from various districts of Assam, there are names of people from neighboring Nagaland and Mizoram also.
Obviously, it is a huge network because in the northern side there is River Brahmaputra with its numerous islands/ saporis. There is also a very large population of traditional fishing communities all along the river and there are fears that some of them may be potential fieldmen to the poachers.