Kaziranga has more rhinos today than it did in 2015
What's the story
Kaziranga National Park is currently home to 2,413 one-horned rhinos, 12 more than what it had in 2015, according to the latest census of the species. This rise, though marginal, is noteworthy considering the park's rhino population had dwindled to a few hundred in the 1970s. Read on to know more about Kaziranga's rhinos and their safe haven in Assam.
The national park
Kaziranga was declared a tiger reserve in 2006
Spread across 430 sq. km. in Assam's Golaghat and Nagaon districts, it houses two-thirds of world's one-horned rhinoceroses. Founded in 1905, it has also played a key role in boosting the populations of several other species. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, it was declared a tiger reserve by the Indian government in 2006. It's also home to elephants, wild water buffalos and river dolphins.
The census
300 government/NGO officials, 40 elephants, 17 sports vehicles used
Conducted once every three years, the census this year used 40 elephants and 17 sports vehicles to carry 300 government/NGO officials who did the counting. The park was divided into 74 compartments. However, despite it all, the actual rhino population might be more with some of them getting hidden behind tall grasses/reeds.
Controversies
The park that kills humans to protect rhinos
Preserving rhinos in Kaziranga has been made possible at the cost of human lives. To protect animals from poaching, the Indian government has accorded park rangers absolute powers, akin to those given to soldiers combating civil unrest. Since 2006, 150 rhinos have been killed for their horns. However, in 2015 alone, park guards gunned down more people than poachers hunted rhinos, reported the BBC.