Additional guards have been deployed to protect the one-horned rhinos at the Kaziranga National Park in Assam where poachers have killed 23 of the animals for their horns since last year. Divisional Forest Officer Bangkim Sarma said 100 home guards armed with .303 rifles had arrived. Poachers kill the rhinos for their horns, which fetch handsome prices in the international market, he said. "There were only 20 home guards and 27 forest battalions in the park till recently and the arrival of the 100 guards will definitely give a fillip to anti-poaching measures,' Mr. Sarma said. A female rhino and its calf were killed on January 19. Forest personnel have held meetings involving the villagers in order to co-opt them in the effort to conserve the rhinos. Resorts and hotels, tea estates, jeep safari operators and the district administration have been urged to assist in protecting the rhinos. The intelligence and vigilance network in the park have been strengthened to enable the guards to gather, and react to, information about poachers quickly. Dharanidhar Boro, Range Officer of Central Kohora, says the authorities were in the process of ensuring that the park is rid of the poaching menace. Mr. Boro has had to shoot and kill a number of poachers during his two decades of service.