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Carcass of female one-horned rhino found in Assam, first poaching case this year
There was no incident of rhino poaching in Assam in 2022, while there was one confirmed incident in March last year
The carcass of a female one-horned rhinoceros was found with its horn severed at Agoratoli Forest Range of the Kaziranga national park in Assam on Sunday night, indicating it to be the first poaching incident of this year.
The poaching of the iconic one-horned rhino of India reduced considerably over the past few years, thanks to massive conservation efforts, bringing its status from ‘endangered’ to ‘vulnerable’ in 2008.
There was no incident of rhino poaching in Assam in 2022, while there was one confirmed incident in March last year.
“During routine patrolling, forest guards noticed the carcass near the Maklung forest camp within the Agoratoli Forest Range. It was recovered and sent for postmortem,” Sonali Ghosh, director of Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve, said.
Officials suspect the poachers may have crossed the Brahmaputra River to illegally enter the national park. “These poachers are skilled in trapping and killing animals such as rhinos. They fled with the horn,” forest officials said.
Following the incident, a team of senior officers from the Assam Forest Department visited the area for investigation and said that most of the areas under the national park are under CCTV surveillance and they are probing the video footage to get leads.
“This is definitely the first case in the past one year and a skilled team is investigating it. We are yet to identify anyone. A case will be registered under the Wildlife Protection Act to initiate the investigation,” she said.
The security measures in the protected forest areas have strengthened in the last few years and the number CCTV cameras and security staff have also increased, Ghosh said.
After almost three decades, Assam recorded zero poaching of rhinos in 2022.
