As many as 92 wild animals, including seven rhinoceros, have died due to the flooding in the Kaziranga National Park in Assam, in one of the worst floods to have hit the famed park known for its one-horned rhinoceroses, the Government told Parliament on Monday.
Seven rhinos, 83 hog deer, and two sambar deer have died in the flooding, Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan said in a written reply.
The gravity of the situation can be gauged from the fact that the floodwaters have submerged all the 111 highlands inside the national park, which used to be the safe havens the animals used to retreat to during floods. Almost all the six ranges of the park have been affected by the floods.
The floods have so far claimed over 70 lives in the north-eastern State. Over 25 lakh people bore the brunt of the flooding in 29 districts. The administration set up 1,098 relief camps and distribution centres in the State.
Vardhan said that based on Annual Plan of Operations submitted by tiger reserves, the Government provides funds to them under the centrally-sponsored scheme ‘Project Tiger’ through the National Tiger Conservation Authority.
The funds are used for various activities, including for measures to address flood situation such as creation of highlands and preventive structures against erosion, boats, rescue of animals, desiltation and creation of road network etc, he said.
The silver lining this time, however, is that not a single one-horned rhino was poached during the flood season so far and the animal casualty is less this year as compared to last year when about 500 animals died in the floods.
Two drones, that can fly at heights of 2,000 feet and capture visuals in a radius of five kms, have also been engaged by the park authorities to guard against poachers and monitor the movement of the animals.