Assam, famed for its national parks and wildlife sanctuaries, faced one of its worst years in wildlife management as it lost an estimated 800 animals, including one-horned rhinos, during 2012.

Among the positives in the wildlife sector was a healthy population of Royal Bengal Tiger in Kaziranga National Park with 114 animals captured by the camera trapping method.

The century-old one-horned Asiatic rhino habitat in Terai Arc is turning into rehabilitation zone for the threatened species.

Enumeration of wild elephants has been carried out in the State like the enumeration of rhinos and tigers. But enumeration of wild elephants is different from that of rhinos and tigers.

Assam has lost as many as 1,008 one-horned rhinos since 2002 till December 14, 2012.

Union Minister for Environment and Forests Jayanti Natrajan on Tuesday informed the Parliament that the rhinoceroses were either killed by poachers or died of natural causes. The incidents of poaching took place inspite of the fact that New Delhi provides a huge financial assistance to the Assam Government for the preservation and protection of the one-horned rhinos.

Kaziranga: Rhino calves separated from parents during annual floods in the Kaziranga National Park and young rhinos left orphaned by poachers are finding a new home at the Manas National Park, the other world heritage sanctuary in Assam.

Doing this job is the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation which has completed a decade of its existence in the state. Director of Kaziranga National Park, N K Vasu, told PTI, “The rehabilitated rhinos are released back to the wild in the Manas National Park in an effort to refurbish the rhino population there after it suffered a near wipe-out a decade ago due to insurgency.”

Poachers killed another rhino at Kaziranga National Park and took away its horn amidst claims of heightened security.

The Assam government today said it would install solar power fencing to check the increase in straying of elephants from their shrinking habitats into human settlements.

An apex social body of the Kuki community, Kuki National Assembly (KNA) has decided to take strong action against poachers found inside the Kaziranga National Park.

At least 50 Great Cormorant migrant birds (file photo) have been found dead inside the Kaziranga National Park (KNP), a world heritage site, following which a probe has been ordered.

With an aim to check the poaching activities, mostly during flood time, concrete measures would be adopted to apprehend the antisocial elements and all required demands would be met before the arri