State of the Rhino 2023
Apart from poaching and habitat loss, climate change-induced droughts have been threatening the rhino population in Africa, pointed out a new report. On the other hand, climate disruptions in Asia can
Rhinoceros
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Manas ready to welcome rhinos from KNP
The picturesque Manas National Park, is going to add another feather to its cap through translocation of rhinos from Kaziranga National Park within three weeks from now. Almost all the preparations required for this purpose are ready and the much-awaited translocation of the animals will be welcomed by the Manas family soon. Talking to a visiting group of reporters in the Bhuyapara Range Office of the Park yesterday Susie Collis, the co-executive director of International Rhino Foundation who led a team to study the facilities for the translocation told that everything is ready and the rhinos would be brought to Manas within three weeks. The IRF team comprises of Rand of Peiches, Kristi Gerord, Frederieke Howard, Oliver Pagan and Turg Vuller. All of them expressed satisfaction at the ongoing reconstruction work going on throughout Manas. Giving details of the translocation Aninda Swargiary, the field director of the Park told that it is a process undertaken under Indian Rhino Vision (IRV) 2020 which targets at least 3000 rhino population in India by the stipulated time which is 2020. IRV is funded by several international agencies like US Fish and Wildlife Services (USFWS), Inter National Rhino Foundation (IRF) and World Wide Fund (WWF) and in Assam it is mainly executed by the Ministry of Forests and Environment and the Wildlife Development Welfare Trust. Swargiary also informed that though the rhinos were scheduled to be translocated a year back, this had to be postponed owing to several technical and infrastructural problems and finally February 12 was fixed for this purpose. But due to unavailability of Immobilon, the drug necessary for tranquillisation of the animal, it could not be executed. But the clue about the availability of the drug was found of late and it is expected that much awaited dream of the people of Assam would be fulfilled within three weeks. Giving an account of the preparation to welcome the new rhinos, Swargiary told newsmen that as many as thirteen camps have been set up all along the park in addition to existing park camps. Fund for the construction has been received from WWF and the BTAD. Wildlife Development and Welfare Trust has given 80 bicycles, 4 motorbikes, 6 boats, 4 rubber boats and 50 wireless sets for strict vigilance. The flow of funds from concerned agencies will be expedited if work is done on time.
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Global campaign urged to save rhinos
SIVASAGAR, Feb 26
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People's help sought to save rhinos
Alarmed by the killing of at least 22 rhinos last year and four this year by poachers, the Assam Forest Department has decided to seek people's help to save the pachyderm. Owners of restaurants, resorts, dhabas, tea garden authorities and villagers have been roped in to save the endangered one-horned rhino at the Kaziranga National Park. The Forest department held a series of meetings with restaurant and resort owners near the National Park, a World Heritage site. They were also told that it was their fundamental duty under Article 51A of the Constitution to protect wildlife, a forest official said. "The department feels that the owners should be aware of the identity of the customers because there is a possibility of poachers planning their activities in such places,' Chief Conservator of Forest Bishen Singh Bonal said. Bonal, who was deputed to the park for making an on-the-spot assessment, said: "The forest department alone cannot fully protect the animals... there should be a joint effort from all concerned to save the animals.' There are nearly 90 dhabas, restaurants and resorts on the 40-km stretch from Bokakhat to Burapahar along the national highway running adjacent to the park. A series of meetings were held early this month with neighbouring tea garden authorities for ensuring their cooperation, the forest official said. "In most occasions it is seen that the animals are targeted when they venture out of the park into tea garden areas where there is no security and hence the need to educate the garden authorities,' he said. On animals crossing the national highway and entering the neighbouring hill district of Karbi Anglong where they fell prey to poachers, Bonal said his department would highlight the need to declare the nearly 70 sq km stretch in the district a protected area. The department had also stressed setting up police outposts in Rongbong and Dholerwaran areas which would help in countering poachers, most of whom entered the park area through the Karbi Anglong corridor, he said. Bonal said apart from these steps, talks were also held with villagers and headmen to socially boycott any person having links with poaching and poachers. "We have received overwhelming support with the people agreeing in one voice to socially ostracise anybody involved in poaching,' he said. The Forest Department decided to adopt the pro-active measures after drawing flak from various quarters for large- scale poaching of the one-horned rhinos in the national park.
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Poachers arrested at Nagaon
I n two separate raids against Rhino poachers conducted jointly by Forest officials and police personnel recently total 14 Rhino poachers including four Rhino horn, elephant smuggler and poachers were arrested.
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3 rhino poachers held, ivory seized
The Assam Police today arrested three suspected wildlife poachers involved in illegal trade in wildlife organs from a hotel in Diphu, the district headquarters town of Karbi Anglong hill district, and recovered five pieces of ivory from their possession. Karbi Anglong additional superintendent of police (ASP) N.N. Goswami, who led the operation, informed that acting on a tip-off that traders in wildlife organs were camping in Diphu looking for buyers, the police set up decoys as buyers to track them.
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3 poachers held, ivories seized
Three poachers and wildlife traders were arrested and five ivory pieces recovered from them in Karbi Anglong district today as the State scrambled to save its prized and highly-endangered one-horned rhinos from poachers. Police said the poachers, involved in poaching as well as illegal wildlife trade, were nabbed from a hotel at Diphu. They have been identified as Khamkhan Soum and Gopu Paite, both from Karbi Anglong, and Nur Islam, from Nagaon district. Five ivory pieces were recovered from them, but it was yet to be weighed, police said.
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Five poachers' arrested
Five persons have been arrested by the police near the Kaziranga National Park (KNP) in connection with their alleged involvement in rhino poaching. The arrested persons have been identified as Manir Khan (Jakhalabandha), Maman Ahmed (Mathoni TE), Nagina Majhi (Hatikhuli TE), Dhiren Ingti and Biren Ingti (Inglapar). Meanwhile, 100 armed Home Guard personnel and six forest officials have been deployed in the KNP to check poaching, sources said.
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Protests in Assam over Rhino poaching
The BJP came out on the streets yesterday to protests against recent killings of rhinos at the Kaziranga National Park in Assam. The protesters were showing their angst at the recent spur in poaching incidents at the national park. The protesters blamed the Bangladeshi immigrants who have encroached the forestland at Kaziranga for the poaching incidents. They also burnt an effigy of forest minister Raqib-ul-Hussain for showing apathy towards the issue.
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Save the Endangered Rhino
Kaziranga National Park (KNP) is globally known as the home of the one-horned rhinoceros, though it also shelters and attracts a wide variety of exotic birds from all over the world, apart from being the habitat of the wild buffalo, the great Indian swamp deer and other varieties of wildlife forms. KNP is equally famous for medicinal plants, herbs and other exotic flora. But it has earned the status of a national park because of the one-horned rhino, and it is primarily the rhino which attracts visitors.
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Yemen's attitudes towards rhino horn and jambiyas
In 1990 the Marxist government of the south that had banned civilians from possessing weapons, including the jambiya dagger, was ousted. South Yemen united with North Yemen to form one country. Were more people in the south going to emulate the northerners and buy jambiyas once again? Having not been in the