Oct. 21, 2003 — India's endangered one-horned rhinos are charging back from the brink of extinction with forest wardens roping in villagers to combat poachers who have been killing the beasts for profit.
The sight of carcasses of two-ton rhinos littering the Kaziranga National Park in the northeastern Indian state of Assam was common a few years ago, but rangers said the random killings have slowed down.
"Six to seven years back, nobody thought the rhinos would survive till 2003 with 100 animals perishing every year — half of them killed by poachers and the remaining dying of natural deaths," park warden N.K. Vasu told AFP.
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The 430 square-kilometer (166 square-mile) park is now home to the single largest population of one-horned rhinos in the world.
As per latest figures, more than 1,600 of the world's estimated 2,400 one-horned rhinos lumber around the wilds of this riverine game park, their numbers ironically making the giant, herbivorous mammals a favorite target for poaching.
Park wardens, however, have reported a downslide in rhino poaching in the past five years. Only four were killed last year and only one has been poached so far in 2003, they said. This compared to the early 1990's, when some 50 rhinos were slaughtered annually in the park.
"Intensive protection mechanisms and a better intelligence network, coupled with support from local villagers living on the periphery of the park, have helped us bring down incidents of poaching," warden Vasu said.
Park officials last month arrested two alleged poachers who worked for an international rhino horn trading syndicate.
Until recently, many villagers acted as guides for poachers in Kaziranga, earning about 1,000 rupees ($22) for showing them rhino tracks. But a series of anti-poaching awareness camps, set up by park authorities, seem to have won them over.
Several villagers now earn a living by taking tourists on wildlife safaris inside the park, and others have formed vigilante groups to foil attempts by poachers to kill rhinos.
Park authorities are now offering a string of welfare measures for its 450 forest guards as part of a motivation drive.
"We have formed the Kaziranga Staff Welfare Society and have created a fund by putting whatever cash the park has received by way of awards and prizes from various national and international wildlife organizations," Vasu said.
"Any guard injured in the wilds or is in need of urgent financial assistance can seek help from the Society," he said.
Organized poachers kill rhinos for their horns, which many believe contain aphrodisiac qualities, besides being used as medicines for curing fever, stomach ailments and other diseases in parts of South Asia.
Rhino horn is also much fancied by buyers from the Middle East, who turn them into handles for ornamental daggers.
Profits in the illegal rhino horn trade are staggering.
Poachers pay villagers 50,000 rupees ($1,100) for each horn and experts said that each piece sells for up to 1.5 million rupees per kilogram ($15,000 per pound) on the international market.
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Name: Greater Indian Rhinoceros, aka Asian One-Horned Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis)
Primary Classification: Rhinocerotidae (Rhinoceroses) Location: Northern Indian and southern Nepal. Habitat: Floodplains and grassland. Diet: Mostly tall grasses. Also fruit, leaves, branches, aquatic plants. Size: Up to 6.5 ft in height, 12 ft in length and 6,000 lbs in weight. Description: Gray-brown in color; deep-folded skin resembles armor plates; skin covered in tubercules or lumps; tusk-like incisors; single, dark horn; prehensile upper lip. Cool Facts: It is the most aquatic rhinoceros and an excellent swimmer. It can run up to 35 mph for short distances. It is one of the largest terrestrial mammals on Earth, behind the white rhinoceros and elephants. Conservation Status: Endangered Major Threat: Habitat loss and poaching. What Can I Do?: Visit the International Rhino Foundation, Save the Rhino International, and SOS Rhino for information on how you can help. |
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