Population boom spelling doom for kaziranga rhinos

Wildlife Column Vol. 3 Issue No. 32

August 1-15, 2007

Population boom spelling doom for kaziranga rhinos

NEW DELHI, July 29 – A rise in the rhino population in the Kaziranga National Park is providing poachers “an easy stock” of their much-in-demand horn that sells for over Rs 30 lakh in the global market, wildlife officials say. “A huge demand for rhino horns in the international market has led to poachers eyeing the easily-available animals in Kaziranga,” said Utpal Bora, divisional forest officer of the park.

“The poachers are part of an organised network and change tactics frequently,” Bora told PTI over phone from Kaziranga.

“Now they strike at odd hours and during bad weather conditions,” he said.

At least 10 rhinos have been killed this year, compared to five in 2006.State’s Chief Wildlife Warden MC Malakar said the difficult terrain and heavy rains have added to the woes of officials.

“The poachers take advantage of the terrain and rough weather. But our men have done a remarkable job and three poachers were killed,” he said.

The poachers usually hide in the thick cover of tall elephant grass that grow rapidly in the park during the monsoons.Officials, however, said the poachers are not equipped with sophisticated weapons.

“They still use the age-old .303 rifle but operate from strategic locations so that the animals are killed with a single shot,” Bora said.

“Of late, the poachers are also using silencers,” Bora said.

Routine night patrolling has now been intensified at vulnerable points in the park. “Twenty armed guards have also been recruited,” he said.According to a 2005 census, the park had a population of 1,855 rhinos, over 80 per cent of the global count.

“Now the population is nearly 2,000,” said Bora.

In India, a rhino horn fetches more than Rs 5 lakh, but this goes up five times in the international market.

Kaziranga ready to tackle floods

With the Brahmaputra flowing over the danger level in upper Assam and rains showing little respite, authorities in the Kaziranga National Park are gearing up to confront any contingency that could arise out of large-scale inundation. Till now water has not submerged vast tracts of the World Heritage Site, but wildlife has already started moving on to higher ground. Some of them are heading towards the hills of Karbi Anglong.

Water from Brahmaputra has entered parts of the protected area and raised the water level of swamps in Agaratoli, Kohora and Burha Pahar. However, the Mora Difalu river has maintained its regular flow.

Park director SN Buragohain said that even though serious flooding has not taken place so far, measures are being taken to face a sharp rise in the water level.

“As some of the animals are moving into Karbi Anglong crossing the NH 37, five barricades have been created between Burha Chapori and Panbari. These would facilitate their safer movement,” Burhagohain remarked.

To ensure the safety of animals, security has been tightened in and around Kaziranga. Section 144 has been enforced by the civil administration, and strict speed limit imposed on vehicles moving through the NH 37, the violation of which would invite stiff penalties.

To thwart poachers, the authorities have brought in more manpower and made provisions for better intelligence. The forest department personnel and police are on alert to take swift action against any poachers targeting wildlife in the area.

Local NGOs and representatives from organisations like the WWF and WTI are helping the park authorities in monitoring the situation. During a recent visit by a team from the WWF, it was briefed about the Park’s requirements. The WTI personnel are managing a rescue centre that would help distressed, injured or sick animals.

Even though flood threatens some species of wildlife during the rainy season, its beneficial effects on the biodiversity rich park cannot be denied. Floodwater that inundates the park helps remove much waste, replenishes the terrain with fresh water and thus rejuvenates its complex web of life.

Kaziranga still facing manpower crisis

Even though the Assam Government has expressed its desire to protect the wildlife of Kaziranga National Park from poachers, attempts to bring in vital manpower to the park has faced a serious hurdle. It has now appeared that many of the personnel who were transferred to the park have been busy trying to get their transfer orders cancelled. “Some of them have been running from pillar to post just to ensure that they are not assigned to work in Kaziranga,” said a senior official of the Forest Department.

Recently, the Government had tried to transfer around 50 personnel to Kaziranga to augment the existing front line personnel. It was hoped that the new arrivals would work as a deterrent to poachers.

However, till now only around 25 personnel have reported to their duties. Ironically quite a few among them are not physically fit to work in the demanding conditions of the huge national park.

Few Forest Department personnel have shown interest to work in the park because of the tough working conditions. It has also been said that postings in Kaziranga offer no additional pecuniary benefits available in some other areas.

It is worth mentioning that the Government was also told about the requirements of home guards in the park. However, only 20 home guards have so far been made available.

The Kaziranga authorities are also seeking more police support to carry out operations inside the Burhapahar range, where the maximum numbers of poaching cases have taken place this year.

That poaching activities in Kaziranga is on the rise could be gauged from the fact that 10 rhinos have been slaughtered in this year alone. The figures are much higher than those during the same period in the preceding few years.

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