Crackdown Against Poachers In Kaziranga

Jorhat: A crackdown against poachers is underway by a joint team of Assam police, IRBN and forest guards in Burpahar range of Kaziranga National Park. 

One Horned Rhino

Armed with sophisticated weapons, the security forces launched the operation at 2 AM today at Kukurakota area of the range, forest department sources said.

A battalion each from the India Reserve Battalion (IRBN) and state police, with 100 personnel of the forest department, including guards, have fanned out in the interior areas of the rhino habitat to net poachers.

Security measures have also been tightened inside and along the park’s boundary to prevent entry and attacks by poachers in the 430 sq kms World Heritage Site situated in Golaghat district of upper Assam, the sources said.

The crackdown was launched in the wake of poaching of eight rhinos in KNP since January this year. Rhino horn is prized for its aphrodisiac properties.

The state government has decided to divide KNP into four divisions under separate divisional forest officers to strengthen the management system and boost operational efficiency.

Shoot-at-sight orders could be considered in the Park to prevent poaching of rhinos and other wild animals, state Minister for Environment and Forest Rockybul Hussain has said.

News Link:-http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/crackdown-against-poachers-in-kaziranga-328936

Rhino reintroduction project

Published on 5 Jul 2012

Kaziranga National Park largely falls within the Brahmaputra River flood plains and gets inundated annually in the rainy season. The floods take a heavy toll on wildlife including rhinos. In addition to death by drowning and displacement on being washed away, increased rhino poaching has also been associated with these floods as the escaping animals are highly vulnerable when they move out of the park in search of higher ground.

WTI-IFAW‘s Rhino Rehabilitation Project aims to gradually repopulate rhinos in Manas, by relocating and rehabilitating orphaned or displaced hand-raised rhinos from Kaziranga National Park. This effort is supported by the Bodoland Territorial Council and the Assam Forest Department.This clip documents the process of the reintroduction of the displaced rhinos. 

For more details please visit:
http://www.wti.org.in/project-in-focu…
and go to:
http://www.wildlifetrustofindia.org/p… 
for update on flood that has hit Kaziranga this year as well

Rhino killed by poachers in Kaziranga

“I initially only added the last video, as it was very informative about rhino numbers etc. But then I found the first one from the KARIEGA Game Reserve, these incidents happened this year! Both videos are disturbing & I warn viewers to watch at their own discretion. However, to stop this war on rhino’s, I think it’s important that people see what is happening & be knowledgeable in the fact that the rhino horn is no more medicinal than my own finger nails. Knowledge is a great thing, so I ask that you share this information far & wide…we have to make those who demand rhino horn, see that it is worthless to anyone; except the rhino.”

The female rhino was killed in Bagori range of the Park and its horns taken away by the poachers, Park Director Sanjiv Bora said.

Patrolling forest guards found the fully mature rhino and some cartridges near the dead animal.

Eight people suspected to be involved in the killing have been picked up for interrogation.

This is the eleventh rhino killed in the Park by poachers during the current year.

News Link:–http://www.business-standard.com/generalnews/news/rhino-killed-by-poachers-in-kaziranga/57045/

Petition to sign:–http://www.stoprhinopoaching.com/register.aspx

Petition to sign:- http://www.avaaz.org/en/save_rhinos/?rc=fb&pv=65

Published on 12 Mar 2012 by Lawrenceofedenvale

FIRST RELEASE OF VIDEO FOOTAGE-KARIEGA RHINOS MONDAY 12 MARCH 2012

We are releasing the first of several video‘s taken by the team on the ground ,starting with this one taken at KARIEGA GAME RESERVE on Friday 2 March 2012.
Although this footage is quite shocking, we believe that the unbelievable courage shown in the fight for survival of our two Rhino’s Themba and Thandi must be shown to the world!

Furthermore, we will be shortly releasing a video message made by our ranger team on the ground titled UNITED WE STAND showing their utter horror to this scourge plaguing our country, and how extremely dedicated they all are to the continued survival of Thandi and Themba!

http://www.facebook.com/kariegagamereserve

Uploaded by MelindaVenice on 3 Sep 2011

As a whole, the world’s five species of rhinos make up the most endangered large animal group on the planet. This is due to relentless and vicious illegal poaching of rhino for their horns for use in Traditional Asian Medicine. Melinda MacInnis has made this video in the hopes of raising awareness about this global crisis. Please share this video widely and join the fight to halt rhino extinction.

Written and Produced by Melinda MacInnis
Edited by James Aikman
Director of Photography in Africa – John Mans

Experts urged to reduce animal deaths in floods

Guwahati: Assam Forest Minister Rockybul Hussain Saturday said the government had asked experts to work out a mechanism to reduce animal deaths during floods. 

“Floods are a natural phenomenon. Every year, the (Kaziranga) national park gets flooded.

However, we have asked people involved with wildlife preservation and protection to see if we can workout a mechanism to reduce animal casualties,” the minister said.

Floods hit Kaziranga June 26 and almost the entire park was flooded. On June 29, the waters were flowing 1.44 metres above the danger level.

The park is still flooded but the waters are flowing below the danger mark, the minister said.

The national park lost 559 animals in floods this year including 14 one–horned rhinos, an elephant and many other species. A total of 475 Hog Deer also died.

“The park witnessed severe floods in 1988, 1998, 2004 and 2008. While we lost 1,203 animals in 1988, 652 died in 1998. This year, we have lost 559 animals,” Hussain said.

He appreciated the effort of the locals in rescuing wildlife.

Kaziranga, spread over 860 sq km, is a UNESCO world heritage site and famous for one-horned rhinos. According to the rhino census of April this year, the park has 2,290 one-horned rhinos.

News Link:-http://zeenews.india.com/news/eco-news/experts-urged-to-reduce-animal-deaths-in-floods_786092.html

Poachers kill rhino in Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary

An adult male rhino was killed by poachers inside the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary in Morigaon district of Assam.

The poachers came on a boat and killed the rhino late last night before fleeing with its horn, police said on Thursday.

Large parts of Pobitora has been inundated by flood water since past one week and most of the animals in the sanctuary have fled to higher grounds.

Police said poachers took advantage of the flood, which has also led to closure and shifting of guard camps, to kill the animal.

News Link:–http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Assam/Poachers-kill-rhino-in-Pobitora-Wildlife-Sanctuary/Article1-883591.aspx

Zoo’s polar bear escapes, seals ‘washed away’ in Duluth flooding

The rains and flooding in northeastern Minnesota have devastated a local zoo, killing at least 14 animals. Amid the chaos, a polar bear had to be tranquilized after escaping her enclosure, and two seals “washed away” and wound up on a Duluth thoroughfare.

That may have been how passersby knew there was a problem at Lake Superior Zoo, said spokeswoman Holly Henry — they drove past Feisty and Helen out on Grand Avenue. Escaped seal pictures were even popping up on social media.

The two seals survived the ordeal, but officials at the small Duluth zoo were mourning the loss Wednesday of the animals that died — and the death toll may grow, Henry said.

“We’re still not entirely sure how many animals were lost,” she said. Animals killed in the severe flooding included “all but one of the barnyard animals” — those in the petting zoo. Six sheep, four goats, one raven, one vulture, one snowy owl and a donkey died in the flooding.

The zoo has a creek that flows through the 16-acre property, Henry said, and when torrential rains hit, there was “severe, severe flooding.”

The drama began to unfold in the early hours of the morning. Overnight security at the zoo contacted the director of animal care about 3 a.m. to report flash flooding, she said.

Making sure the large, dangerous animals were contained was officials’ top priority, Henry said. She stressed that the zoo’s polar bear, Berlin, never escaped the zoo’s perimeter fence. The animal did, however, leave her enclosure.

“When they first spotted her, she was on her exhibit — but on the wall of her exhibit,” Henry said. At that point, the animal was not agitated — “she was really quite pleased with herself.”

The police were on hand, as were two zoo officials.

Henry said zoo personnel shot the animal with a tranquilizer dart. Then, Berlin became agitated, and “it takes a few minutes after they’re darted to go down.”

“Even though it’s a large white object, it’s pretty nerve racking,” police spokesman Jim Hansen told the Associated Press of the attempt to corral Berlin.

Henry said of the zoo property itself: “It’s a disaster.” Officials won’t know the extent of the damage to the zoo until the rain stops and they’re given a chance to inspect and begin the clean-up process.

Video & rest of news:–http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-minnesota-zoo-escape-20120620,0,4081626.story