(IN) 2 Rhinos poached in Kaziranga

[Guest guest]

2 (Two) adult Rhinos were poached in Methoni, under Kohora range of

Kaziranga National Park in Assam yesterday night ( sat`day, January 19, 2008

).

 

This is the fourth case of rhino poaching on 2008.

 

It may be noted that altogether 21 rhinos had been poached in Assam last

year.

 

Azam

 

--

United against elephant polo

http://www.stopelephantpolo.com

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Can it get worse that this ???

 

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Link: http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/details.asp?id=jan2108/at01

 

 

Poached & pained, rhino continues to bleed

By A Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, Jan 20 — In a gruesome incident, poachers brutally hacked off the

horn of a wounded rhino they had shot and also killed her calf very close to

Kaziranga National Park last night. The baby rhino's tiny horn was found

missing. The bleeding adult rhino is now in a critical condition.

 

The event took place less than a kilometre away from the park boundaries

inside the Methoni tea estate, said park director SN Burhagohain. Personnel

at the tea estate had heard gunshots around 11.30 pm.

 

Poachers could take advantage of the fact that the crime spot was among

unguarded areas close to Kaziranga. The shots were fired close to a field

after the rhino and her calf had strayed away from the park. " We do not have

any camps near the area where the incident occurred, " said Burhagohain.

 

Anjan Talukdar of the conservation group Aaranyak, who is among those

attending to the stricken rhino, told *The Assam Tribune* over phone that

the female rhino with multiple injuries is enduring a very painful time. A

veterinary team from Guwahati is being rushed to help save the rhino, but

chance of her surviving is small.

 

The shooting of the rhinos has once again highlighted crucial lapses in

managing the national park, which is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Last

year around 20 rhinos were slaughtered in and around the park, a high figure

compared to previous years. Earlier this year too, a rhino was killed

although poachers could not remove its horn.

 

Senior officials in the park acknowledge that Kaziranga is facing one of its

most difficult phases in recent history. Funds made available by the Union

Government is on a sharp slide, and the political will of the State

Government to augment protection measures is also described as near absent.

 

Even though the Forest Department is aware of a severe shortage in field

level staff, so far there has been no substantial increase. Many of the

existing staff are over the age of 40 and some are ailing, making them unfit

for strenuous patrolling inside difficult terrain.

 

The other worry for the park authorities is that new elements either members

of extremist outfits or criminals supported by them could be involved in

poaching

 

attempts. " Quite a few incidents of poaching seem to suggest that those

involved differ from professional poachers, " said a senior forest official.

 

Kaziranga's strategic position has lured quite a few extremist outfits to

carry out rhino poaching. Apart from extremists active in Karbi Anglong,

those from Manipur and Nagaland have reportedly been involved in killing

rhinos because of the marked demand for rhino horns.

 

Kaziranga according to 2006 estimation has 1,855 one horned rhino inside an

area that is close to 900 sq kilometres, making it the richest natural

refuge of the species.

 

 

 

On Jan 20, 2008 1:26 PM, AZAM SIDDIQUI <azam24x7 > wrote:

 

> 2 (Two) adult Rhinos were poached in Methoni, under Kohora range of

> Kaziranga National Park in Assam yesterday night ( sat`day, January 19,

> 2008

> ).

>

> This is the fourth case of rhino poaching on 2008.

>

> It may be noted that altogether 21 rhinos had been poached in Assam last

> year.

>

> Azam

>

> --

> United against elephant polo

> http://www.stopelephantpolo.com

>

>