New Delhi: Alarmed at the spurt in rhino poaching cases at Assam`s Rajiv Gandhi Orang National Park, the Centre has constituted a two-member team to probe into the deaths of the one-horned endangered animal.
A decision in this regard was taken recently by the
Environment Ministry which felt that despite various steps by
the state government for rhino conservation, the situation
remained alarming in the Park, situated near the northern
banks of the Brahmaputra River.
As many as six rhinos have been killed in the
sanctuary this year so far. Seven were poached last year.
"A team consisting of Bibhab Talukdar, an independent
wildlife expert from Assam and a representative of Wildlife
Institute of India (WII) would visit the affected area and
prepare an action plan for further action.
"The report should be submitted within two months," an
Environment Ministry official said.
Recently, a forest guard shot dead a poacher and his
accomplice who had killed a one-horned Rhino in the sanctuary.
Two pachyderms also died in the same period but
because of "natural causes" in the park, the official said.
If poaching and natural deaths are together taken into
account, the 78.82 sq km national park has lost as many as 44
rhinos since 2001, most of them killed by poachers who sell
the horn for its usage in traditional Asian medicine.
Almost all rhino species are listed in CITES (the
Convention on Trade in Endangered Species in Wild Fauna and
Flora) which means that any international trade of any rhino
part is illegal.
Bureau Report
