Rhino kills forest department staff in Assam’s Kaziranga National Park

In a similar incident in March, 2020, Bikudar Bora, a game watcher, and Anil Kalita, a gardener, were patrolling in the Kohora range when they were suddenly attacked by a rhino. Bora died.

A forest department personnel was killed in an attack by a rhino inside Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve (KNPTR) in Assam on Saturday night.

Kaziranga national park is a world heritage site and the largest habitat of one-horned rhinos in the world.(AP file photo)

Moheshwar Hazarika, a game watcher in KNPTR, was attacked by a rhino while on night duty at the Siga highland in the Agoratoli range of the national park.

“Hazarika succumbed on the spot as a result of the attack. He was immediately rushed to the Bokakhat civil hospital where he was declared brought dead on arrival. This is very disheartening news for the entire KNPTR staff,” KNPTR director P Sivakumar said.

This is the second fatal attack on a forest personnel by a rhino at the park, in less than a year.

In March, 2020 Bikudar Bora, a game watcher, and Anil Kalita, a gardener, were patrolling in the Kohora range when they were suddenly attacked by a rhino. While Bora succumbed to his injuries in the attack on the spot, Kalita escaped with injuries.

A world heritage site and the largest habitat of one-horned rhinos in the world, KNPTR was reopened to tourists on October 21 last year after a seven-month closure due to Covid-19 pandemic and annual floods. Over 110,000 tourists visited the park till January 21—in the three months period after its reopening.