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Anthrax panic grips Bengal’s Jaldapara National Park as 3 rhinos die in 3 days
The deaths have triggered panic among forest officials who suspect that it could be an anthrax outbreak. Blood and tissue samples collected from the carcasses have been sent to government laboratories for tests.
Three one-horned rhinoceroses have died and another has fallen ill at Jaldapara National Park in north Bengal since Tuesday, forest officials said. An elephant carcass was also found in Jalpaiguri, around 30 km from Jaldapara.
The deaths have triggered panic among forest officials who suspect that it could be an anthrax outbreak. Blood and tissue samples collected from the carcasses have been sent to government laboratories for tests. Forest officials have been asked to stay on high alert and increase patrolling.
“While one rhino died on February 18, two more died on February 19. One rhino was found unwell on Thursday,” said a senior forest official.
The rhino population in West Bengal has shot up from 22 in 1986 to more than 280 at present. Jaldapara has more than 230 of these animals and Gorumara National Park also in north Bengal, has around 50 rhinos.
“These are not poaching cases and the animals have died because of some disease. We have sent their blood samples to at least three government labs to identify the disease. We cannot say whether it is anthrax as of now,” said Ravi Kant Sinha, head of the state forest department.
Senior forest officials said that the panic occurred because never in the recent past had so many rhinos died within such a short span of time. A few rhinos had died in the early 90s when there was an outbreak of anthrax at Jaldapara.
Following the incidents forest guards have been asked to remain on alert and find the carcass of any animal within 24 hours.
Anthrax is primarily a disease of herbivores. Humans almost invariably contract the natural disease directly or indirectly from animals or animal products. It is caused by the bacterium Bacillus Anthracis.
