Poachers, who make a mockery of all efforts by the authorities to protect one-horned rhinos, are getting more emboldened each day and are increasingly targeting the rhinos in Assam’s famous Kaziranga National Park.
While poachers killed close to 40 rhinos in and around the protected areas of Assam last year, this year they have killed 21 rhinos in Kaziranga National Park alone.
In the latest incident, in a string of rhino killings that have plagued the park this year, officials recovered the carcass of a male rhino from Burhapahar range on Wednesday morning.
They said that the male rhino was killed by poachers on Tuesday evening and they had taken the horn of the rhino.SK Seal Sarma, Divisional Forest Officer of the park, which is also an UNESCO World Heritage Site, said that the carcass was recovered on Wednesday during a search operation.
“Forest guards heard gun shots around 8 pm in the Burhapahar range of the park and an operation to counter them was launched immediately. There was heavy exchange of fire but the poachers managed to escape under the cover of darkness.
“Today we resumed the operation and the carcass of the male rhino with its horn missing was recovered,” he said adding that empty cartridges of AK 47 and .303 rifles have also been recovered from near the carcass. Poachers killed two rhinos, including a rhino calf, in the Burhapahar range of the park last month.
The park, which is one of the most important tourist attractions of the State, has been in the news since last year after it witnessed a serious spate in rhino poaching.
The Assam Government took several measures during the last one year to curb this menace, but failed to protect the rhinos and other animals, which are falling prey to the bullets of the poachers, who are at times backed by militant outfits.
The Assam Government had last year created the elite Assam Forest Protection Force (AFPF) and deployed close to 200 AFPF guards in the park. However, this has not deterred the poachers and rhino killings have been going on at brief intervals.The Government had also announced incentives and rewards for any person who can give fruitful information about the poachers, but to no avail.