3 rhinos to poached at Manas park despite restored heritage tag

GUWAHATI: Manas National Park lost its third rhino in a span of 18 months on Sunday. The carcass of the rhino without its horn was found at Bhatgali in the Basbari forest range of the park. The park, which had lost its world heritage status in the 1990s because of large-scale destruction of wildlife during the Bodo movement, got back its heritage tag from Unesco only two years ago mainly because of its successful re-introduction of rhinos.

The three rhinos were among the 18 animals introduced in Manas from Pobitora and the Kaziranga National Park between 2008 and 2012. The first rhino was killed by poachers in October 2011 and the second in May last year.

WWF-India said in a statement, "It seems the authorities at the Manas National Park and the state forest department have not learnt lessons from the earlier poaching incidents and, as a result, one more rhino has been lost."

The spot where the carcass was found was within three km of three anti-poaching camps. "Clearly, the patrolling supposed to be carried out by the frontline staff of the park posted in these camps was not being done effectively. The radio-collar fitted on the rhino appears to have fallen off in November 2012, which meant it could no longer be monitored remotely. Since then, it became imperative to conduct regular elephant and foot patrols to ensure security to the rhinos," the WWF-India statement added.

The state's chief wildlife warden, Suresh Chand, said the park authorities have been asked to take necessary action against the staff. Chand said that sophisticated arms, instead of .303 rifle that's generally preferred by poachers, were used. "This is indeed sad. I have asked for a preliminary report from the field director. Based on ground inputs, we will take necessary steps. If required, I will also talk to the Bodoland Territorial Council administration to improve the management of the park," Chand added.

Aaranyak, a biodiversity conservation NGO in the northeast involved in providing technical assistance to rhino translocation to Manas, demanded prompt action. "Rhino poaching started in Kaziranga, Orang and Manas within the first two weeks of the new year. The government should take stern action against the forest staff and poachers," said Aaranyak secretary general and Asian coordinator for the International Rhino Foundation, Bibhab Kumar Talukdar.

One-horned rhinos were reintroduced in Manas under the Indian Rhino Vision 2020, a joint effort of the Assam forest department, WWF-India, International Rhino Foundation, Bodoland Territorial Council and the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Conservationists are worried that the spurt in poaching would send a wrong signal to international agencies engaged in the park's conservation.

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