On Wednesday evening, a rhino was poached deep inside the jungles of the park in an area that is almost inaccessible due to rains
Assam's Kaziranga National Park, home to the world's largest population of one horned rhinos and also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has seen an alarming number of poaching incidents over the last two years.
Rhino horn is a lucrative commodity in international markets, especially south-east Asia. In eight months this year, 20 rhinos have been poached at Kaziranga. Two more were killed by poachers when they strayed outside the park. In 2012, 18 rhinos were killed.
Dr P Saikia, who conducts post-mortems on rhinos killed at Kaziranga, points out to a recent and disturbing trend. "Whatever carcasses I have examined recently, all of them have been shot at with sophisticated weapons, including 303 rifles and AK 47s," he said.
There are other problems. The core area of the park is 430 sq kilometres. Till last year, the park had full time staff of only about 500 people including guards. Now an additional company of Assam's forest protection force, armed with latest weapons, has been posted here, taking the number of guards to 1200. But Divisional Forest Officer at Kaziranga, S K Seal Sharma, says this number is also inadequate. "The situation is just like a proxy war. You are here inside the jungle, you can see for yourself the terrain is very difficult, particularly during the night and rainy season," he said.
Officials also suspect that some locals from peripheral villages are involved in poaching. They allege that locals provide logistical support to outsiders and help them navigate inside the park.
But there is some good news too. The March 2013 census at Kaziranga saw an increase of 39 rhinos in the park over last year, with the number touching 2329. 70 suspected poachers have also been arrested in the last six months; some have also been shot dead by rangers. But the increasing number of poaching incidents are a clear indication that more needs to be done.