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Project update
- February 2007
Renewed
slaughter of rare Indian rhinos in Kaziranga National Park
 DSWF's
partner in Assam, Dr Bibhab Talukdar, reports that the last two
weeks have tragically seen a renewed poaching assault on the Indian
greater one-horned rhino in Kaziranga National Park, resulting
in the deaths of four animals.
Kaziranga has had a remarkable anti-poaching
record over the last five years with rhino casualties dropping
from around 70 annually in the '90s to only two or three animals
a year recently. Kaziranga currently holds an estimated 1,855
of the critically endangered rhino, ¾ of the world's total
population. Apart from two other parks in Assam, the rhinos are
now only found in Nepal where there are an estimated 300-400 animals
in the Chitwan National Park. This park, however, has recently
seen a surge of poaching incidents with the loss of 10 animals
in the last 6 months of 2006.
Dr Talukdar reports:
"The future of rhinos is not safe in
Kaziranga unless the Indian government gives urgent attention
to filling up the shortage in frontline staff in the national
park. Kaziranga is spread over 430 square km (165 square miles),
and needs a total of 500 forest guards to protect it, but currently
has only around half that number. The protection regime in and
outside the national park is not therefore running at full strength
and if this problem is not solved urgently, and additional rhinos
are poached, then the situation will get worse as the morale of
the staff will go down in the face of the renewed poaching activity.
Forest guards often patrol on bare feet,
armed with obsolete rifles, while poachers are equipped with modern
firearms like automatic rifles. Poachers know the weakness of
the forest guards and they are taking advantage of it. They are
now simply shooting the rhinos instead of earlier, more stealthy,
methods such as electrocution.
This matter was taken up with the Assam
Forest Minister in a meeting held on 17th March 2007 and he has
assured us that additional front line staff would be sent to Kaziranga
soon."
"We are now making arrangements to
rush additional forest guards to Kaziranga to stop poaching,"
said the Minister, Rockybul Hussain.
The rhinos are threatened because of the
increasing demand for their horns in traditional medicines throughout
China and Asia. The horns currently fetch up to $10,000 per kilo
on the international market.
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