Kaziranga loses 39 rhinos in 10 months-Elite forest guards to protect Kaziranga National Park

Elite forest guards to protect Kaziranga National Park

PTI
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AGP president Prafulla Mahanta (left) during a rally against the killing of rhinos and illegal encroachment of forest lands, in Kaziranga on Monday.
PTI AGP president Prafulla Mahanta (left) during a rally against the killing of rhinos and illegal encroachment of forest lands, in Kaziranga on Monday.
Stung by opposition parties’ criticism following deaths of rare one-horned rhinos in the Kaziranga National park, a world heritage site, the Assam government on Tuesday decided to rush a 100-member team of the elite Assam Forest Protection Force for its protection.
“A 50-member AFPF team has already left today while another 50 members will be despatched before October six,” Forest Minister Rockybul Hussain told reporters here.
Confirming that 39 rhinos were killed —— 11 by poachers and 28 due to flood —— this year, he said the rhino population had increased in Kaziranga tremendously for which the “endangered” tag have been officially removed for them.
However, Mr. Hussain said the number of rhinos have risen to 2505 in the state at present and 2290 in Kaziranga alone because of better forest management.
“The AGP and BJP are raking up the issue of bad forest management which will harm the prestige of the park which is a pride for the people of Assam,” Mr. Hussain said.
He denied charges of AGP and BJP that illegal migrants are being helped by the government to settle inside the buffer zone of the park to increase the Congress’ vote bank.
“In fact, the AGP government under Prafulla Kumar Mahanta in 1996 had issued an order to settle 96 landless families in those areas,” the forest minister claimed.
Stating that a CBI team is camping in the KNP to probe into the killing of animals, Mr. Hussain said six .303 rifles and 73 ammunition have been seized while three poachers were killed by forest guards and 14 arrested this year.
On the rhino which strayed to Rani Chapori beel after being washed away, Mr. Hussain said he visited the spot today but bad weather prevented the IAF chopper from airlifting the animal which is in good health.
It would be airlifted to safety soon, he said. 


Kaziranga loses 39 rhinos in 10 months

The Assam government has moved the CBI for a probe into the unabated killings of rhinos in the park and the state forest department claimed that several clues have been found about the poachers.
The Assam government has moved the CBI for a probe into the unabated killings of rhinos in the park and the state forest department claimed that several clues have been found about the poachers.
GUWAHATI: The rhino population at Kaziranga National Park has taken a serious hit because of the two waves of floods and a spurt in poaching activities. The park, a Unesco World Heritage site, has lost 39 rhinos in less than 10 months, bringing down the population to 2,251.
As many as 11 rhinos have been killed by poachers since January while 28 have drowned and died in the two waves of floods that hit the state since June. According to the 2012 census, the rhino population of Kaziranga was 2,290 at the beginning of the year.
The state forest department on Tuesday dispatched additional armed forces to Kaziranga to protect rhinos from poachers. Eleven of these animals have been killed for their horns in the two waves of floods that hit the park since June this year and the recovery of AK47 bullets from their bodies points towards the involvement of militants in the poaching incidents.
Six of the 11 rhinos killed by poachers were shot inside the park and five outside the park's perimeter, four of which were killed in the neighbouring Karbi Anglong district.
The state government has moved the CBI for a probe into the unabated killings of rhinos in the park and the state forest department claimed that several clues have been found about the poachers.
The park has been inundated by floodwaters, forcing the animals to shift to dry isolated areas outside of the park, which make it easier for poachers to make their kill.
Forest minister Rockybul Hussain said, "There is pressure on the forest guards in the post-flood situation too. Animals trapped inside the park try to come out after the floodwaters decrease and stand very vulnerable to poachers. We are deploying 50 personnel of the Assam Forest Protection Force to the park to raise the level of protection."
Kaziranga rhinos have been upgraded to the 'vulnerable' category from the 'endangered' slot by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) for the park's successful conservation programme. In 1984, the rhino population in the park was 1,080; 1,069 in 1991; 1,552 in 1999; 1,855 in 2006; 2,000 in 2009 and 2,290 in 2012.
The forest guards have so far this year killed three poachers and arrested 14 others. The guards have also recovered six 303 rifles.

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