Amid reports of unabated poaching of one-horned rhinos, the State forest department has started the census of one-horned rhinos in Assam’s famous Kaziranga national Park. Park officials said the census process started in all the five ranges of the park-Bagori, Burapahar, Kohora, Agoratoli and Biswanath Ghat — on Tuesday. While the team carried out preliminary exercise related to the census, the counting of the animal started on Wednesday.
It may be mentioned that the park authorities have closed the park for tourists and safaris have been suspended for smooth conduction of the operation. The census will continue till Thursday and the report is expected by March 28, the officials said. The census of the one-horned rhinos in all the rhino habitats is a regular exercise carried out every three years. The last rhino census, carried out in 2012, spotted 2,290 rhinos in the park.
Kaziranga DFO, SK Seal Sarma said the park has been divided into two parts and 81 blocks for smooth conduction of the census. Each block is headed by an enumerator. Elephants have been engaged to take the census teams to the rhino zones of the park and the enumerators have been hired from other forest divisions of the State also, he added.