Rhino killed as census begins

The carcass of an adult male rhino was found in Burrapahar range with its horn missing. We have found two empty cartridge shells of AK-47 and .303 bullets near the spot, Suresh Chand,Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Assam said.

It was only last month that the state had reorganized the 860-sq km Kaziranga park by upgrading its four ranges into divisions,each headed by a DFO,while 330 armed guards from the newly-raised Assam Forest Protection Force were also deployed in addition to the regular protection staff.

Kaziranga,which had 2,290 rhinos in the 2012 census,lost about 125 of them last year,of which 22 were killed by poachers. At least 50 others had died during the three successive waves of high floods that had hit the Park between July and September,while 50-odd rhinos had died due to old age,infighting and other natural reasons.