76 animals drown as 60% of the park, including 111 safe highlands, inundated
At least 76 wild animals have died in one of the worst floods to have hit the famed Kaziranga National Park in Assam, known for its one-horned rhinoceroses.
Park officials said though the floodwaters have started to recede, the situation remains critical, as at least 60 per cent of the park continued to be submerged even on Friday. This has forced the animals to migrate to higher grounds, particularly to the nearby hills of Karbi Anglong district.
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.
“A total of 76 animals have died so far in the park due to the floods. While most are hog deer, we have also lost three newborn rhinos, one sambar deer, two wild boars, one water buffalo, two porcupines, one leopard cat etc,” park Director Satyendra Singh told The Pioneer
on Friday.
He said that the animal casualty is less this year as compared to last year when about 500 animals died in the floods. Though almost all the six ranges of the park have been affected by the floods, the silver lining this time is that not a single one-horned rhino was poached during the flood season so far.
“We have taken adequate measures to ensure the safety of all the animals that have strayed out of the park due to the floods. Over 400 forest guards and other additional security forces have been camping outside the park to monitor the situation and ensure that poachers cannot take advantage of the situation,” Singh said.
Normally there are around 1,100 forest guards deployed inside the 430 sq km park, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The personnel, including the Assam Forest Protection Force (AFPF), are assigned to patrol the park round-the-clock to ensure that no untoward incident happens inside the park area. Singh said that while park authorities have been given additional Assam Police personnel to ensure vigil in and around the park, the Karbi Anglong district administration has also deployed about 60 policemen to ensure safety of the animals.
“Apart from the policemen and forest guards, close to 500 local volunteers have been helping us keep a strong vigil in and around the park. We have just provided them with some raincoats and torches,” said Singh, adding that the volunteers have been working for free, hand in hand with the forest guards to ensure the safety of the animals.
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal visited the flood-hit park in a speed boat and instructed the park officials to do their best to feed the animals adequately so that they can survive the flood.
“The floodwaters have started to recede from today. We hope the situation will improve soon. We have also started sending our veterinary teams inside the park to monitor the situation,” Singh said.
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.
The authorities have also limited the speed of vehicles plying on National Highway 37 that runs through the southern boundary of the park for the safety of the animals.
“We have restricted the speed of vehicles to 40 kmph only while passing through the stretch as distressed animals try to cross the National Highway in order to get to safety and are often hit by speeding vehicles. Violators of the speed limit will be charged a penalty of Rs 5,000,” Singh said.