In 2017, more than 350 animals died in Assam floods
NEW DELHI: In 2017, altogether 31 rhinos died in floods in Kaziranga National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Park that hosts twothirds of the world’s one-horned rhino population. The death toll is the highest in the past three years.
In all, the park lost 401 animals to floods and road accidents last year. Of the 361 that drowned, 31 were rhinos, a number significantly greater than the number that were poached.
As of December 26 last year, eight rhinos were poached in Assam, which also hosts three other parks that serve as rhino habitats though their population is much smaller than Kaziranga.
“Kaziranga Tiger Reserve has also lost a number of animals in the floods,” Mahesh Sharma, minister of state for environment, said in a reply to Lok Sabha this winter session. The rhino death toll is the highest in the past three years. It also lost nine elephants in two separate floods.
One-horned rhino population in the park has registered a steady increase from 1,855 in 2006 to 2,401 in 2015. The animals face acute poaching threat as their horns are used in traditional medicines, mostly in East Asia.
OF THE 361 THAT DROWNED, 31 WERE RHINOS, A NUMBER SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER THAN THE NUMBER THAT WAS POACHED
However, even as anti-poaching efforts have led to easing of pressure on the rhino population, floods remain a persistent threat.
Between 2002 and 2017, 130 rhinos died due to floods in Kaziranga. The most severe was in 1988 when over 1,000 animals perished in the flood. The flood that hit the park in August 2017 because of the Brahmaputra breaching its banks, was almost as severe as the one that happened in 1988. The hog deer were the biggest casualties of manmade and natural hazards, with 282 dying in floods and 14 getting killed on road. The park also lost one tiger, 16 sambars and eight buffalos to the floods in 2017.
Kaziranga park became the centre of controversies in early 2017 for its aggressive anti-poaching efforts that were highlighted by a BBC documentary. However, its status in an IUCN assessment last year improved from “serious concerns” to “good with some concerns.”