Rhino killed by poachers in Kaziranga

[Guest guest]

 

Again killing of Rhino in Assam. Are we going to end up with NO Rhino in the

Jungle? 1411 tigers left in India - what about Rhino?

 

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-5535764,prtpage-1.cms

 

Rhino killed by poachers in Kaziranga

IANS, 4 February 2010, 07:08pm IST

 

GUWAHATI: An endangered one-horned rhinoceros was shot dead by poachers Thursday

at the Kaziranga National Park in Assam, the fifth such incident in the past one

month, an official said on Thursday.

 

The wildlife department official said the latest killing was reported inside the

sanctuary, 220 km east of Guwahati.

 

" We heard three gunshots. Our forest guards rushed out and challenged the

poachers by firing at them. Our guards saw the rhino falling down, but the

poachers escaped in the thick undergrowth, " a park warden said.

 

The poachers, however, failed to extract the horn. Last week, a rhino was killed

inside the park and the poachers took away the horn.

 

At least 18 rhinos were killed in 2008 and 14 in 2009. So far five rhinos have

been killed this year, four in Kaziranga and another at the Orang National Park

in northern Assam.

 

Between 1980 and 1997, some 550 rhinos were killed by poachers in the wilds of

Kaziranga.

 

As per the 2009 census report, 2,048 of the world's estimated 3,000 one-horned

rhinos lumber around the swamps and grasslands of Kaziranga, their concentration

here ironically making the giant mammals a favourite target of poachers.

 

Poachers kill rhinos for their horns, which many believe contain aphrodisiac

qualities, besides being used as medicines for curing fever, stomach ailments

and other diseases in parts of Asia.

 

Rhino horn is also much fancied by buyers from the Middle East who turn them

into handles of ornamental daggers. Elephant ivory tusks are chiefly used for

making ornaments and decorative items.

 

Profits in the illegal rhino horn trade are staggering. A rhino horn sells for

up to Rs.1.5 million per kg in the international market after the horns are

smuggled to clandestine Asian markets.

 

Once extracted, the rhino horn is routed to agents in places like Dimapur in

Nagaland, Imphal in Manipur and Siliguri in West Bengal.

 

Rhino horns are believed to be smuggled to Kathmandu via Siliguri and then to

China and the Middle East. They are also taken from Imphal to Moreh on the

Manipur border with Myanmar and then to Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore and China.

 

 

 

 

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Dr. Sashanka S. Dutta 

Chief Functionary - JBF(Just Be Friendly)

Co-opted Member - Animal Welfare Board of India

(Ministry of Environment & Forests)

New Delhi - India.

 

 

**** I am associated with JBF (Just Be Friendly), an endeavor to build a society

that enables better life for animals and creates better living conditions for

human. To know more, please visit JBF at www.jbfcharity.org    Thanks.