In what might bring cheer to conservators and wildlife lovers, Assam’s Pabitara wildlife sanctuary, which just spans 48sq km, has recorded 102 one-horned rhinos.
A census carried out in the sanctuary yesterday recorded the presence of 102 rhinos compared to 93 recorded in the last census carried out in 2012.
“The pace of growth is encouraging. We have recorded the presence of 102 rhinos today. Apart from this, six rhinos have been killed in and around the park since 2012 and 20 of them died their natural deaths,” said a senior official of the sanctuary.
The forest official said that the rhino census is a regular exercise carried out every six years. While the last census of the one-horned rhinos was ere carried out in 2012, the department had undertaken another rhino census in 2014 after devastating floods had affected the whole of the state, particularly the Kaziranga national park.
The one-horned rhinos are one of the most tourist pull for the state. The northeastern state is known for its one-horned rhino population density, which is the highest in the world. While a majority of the rhinos in the state are in Kaziranga national park, rhinos are also found in Pabitora wildlife sanctuary and Manas national park.
Although Kaziranga national park located in Golaghat district is much frequented by domestic and foreign tourists for its rhino population, Pabitora, located within a 30km radius of Guwahati also provides spectacular opportunity for tourists to witness the majestic animal.
Meanwhile, in a shocking incident, 36 Himalayan vultures were found poisoned to death in Assam’s Sivsagar district even as the condition of seven others of the rare species which were rescued by wildlife lovers are also deteriorating, an official said yesterday.
The vultures found lying in paddy fields, a forest officer said adding the condition of seven which were rescued was deteriorating.
Locals termed the incident as a result of some people’s greed for bird meat.
“Some individual have dumped the poisoned body of a goat in the paddy field to be used as a bait to catch birds. The goat was killed after being bitten by a dog. So they used the dead goat as bait to catch birds,” a local man said adding that the vultures ate the goat and subsequently got poisoned.
“The forest officials in Sivsagar district are not doing anything to protect the vultures and other wildlife. This is not an isolated incident. Last month also some locals have killed over 40 exotic birds for its meat by using poisoned dead pets as bait,” said a resident.