Rhino killed in Assam, 1st in 9 mths
■ A day ago, Pietersen praised conservation story of Assam
A day after former England cricketer and wildlife conservationist Kevin Pietersen lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi led government on the dropping of rhino poaching, Assam saw another case of rhino poaching in Kaziranga National Park on Thursday.
Informing that poachers got away with rhino horn, Kaziranga National Park field director P. Sivakumar told reporters that the incident took place at Kohra range of the national park on Wednesday night. “We got the information on Thursday morning and an investigation is being carried out. The rhino was killed and its horn was taken away by poachers,” said the field director.
It is significant that this was the first incident of rhino poaching at the internationally-famous wildlife habitat in the past nine months. After consistent efforts and the formation of a rhino task force to curb the poaching, there was no incident of Rhino poaching for the last nine months. The poachers had killed a Rhino in April 2021 only.
The incident came barely
◗ PIETERSEN HAS had a ringside view of Assam’s wildlife scenario while shooting for the National Geographic documentary Save This Rhino in 2020
hours after British cricketer-turned-rhino conservationist, Kevin Pietersen, applauded the conservation success story of the famed one-horned rhino at Kaziranga which had dropped to just one, the lowest in the past twentytwo years.
“Bravo, @narendramodi and bravo to all the men and women who sacrifice their lives in protecting the animals in India too. I’ve met lots of them and I respect you immensely!” Pietersen tweeted in response to the death of only one rhino at the hands of poachers in 2021, the lowest in 21 years.
One of the best batsmen of his generation, Pietersen has had a ringside view of Assam’s wildlife scenario while shooting for the National Geographic documentary Save This Rhino in 2020. He had visited Kaziranga, home to the one-horned rhinoceros, at that time. The documentary, released in September 2020, had focused on the condition of the rhinos in India and conservation efforts.