Hunters killed a female rhinoceros in the partially flooded Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve (KNPTR) on Friday and sawed off her horn.
This was the second rhino killed by hunters in the 1,055 sq. km. park this year, while 18 more died during the floods since May 22.
Officials said forest guards at three anti-poaching camps — Gabrai, Borbeel and Kathanibari — in KNPTR’s Kohora Range heard six rounds of gunshots on Friday evening. They followed the footprints of the hunters early Saturday morning and located the rhino’s carcass at about 11 a.m.
“The staff took time because of the slushy conditions and recovered six empty cartridges of a .303 rifle from the spot. The hunters were apparently lying in ambush along the Brahmaputra river at night,” the park’s Divisional Forest Officer Ramesh Kumar Gogoi said.
A joint team of police and forest officials detained a suspected poacher in the park’s Biswanath Wildlife Division. He was being interrogated for possible leads to the hunters.
A hunting group had in May struck in KNPTR’s Agratoli Range and killed an adult rhino.
Officials said at least four more poaching attempts had been thwarted before the floods inundated 95% of the UN World Heritage Site, 50% of which is now under water.
“Incidents of poaching came down significantly since the mid-2010s but the pressure of saving the rhinos increased after rumours that its horn, essentially solidified hair, was a cure for COVID-19,” a senior wildlife officer said.
KNPTR is estimated to have around 2,400 one-horned rhinos.
