The Kaziranga National Park, the last home of the highly endangered one-horned rhinoceros, is facing a peculiar phenomenon: while a considerably large number of rhinos are dying due to old age, tigers are also contributing their own way by killing at least 20 rhino calves every year.

At least 700 birds, all open-billed storks (Anastomus Oscitans), were killed when branches of a banyan tree crashed apparently due to the increasing weight of nests, in a village in Karbi Anglong dist

DIBRUGARH, Sept 11: The future of the government plan to move a few rhinos from Kaziranga National Park to other areas will be decided after animal experts ascertain the causes which made a translocated animal to move out of its new habitat.

Sushanta Talukdar

DRIVEN TO DESPERATION: A herd of hog deer searches for food in the Burapahar range inside the Kaziranga National Park in Assam on Sunday.

Samudra Gupta Kashyap

GUWAHATI, SEPTEMBER 7: With the rain gods taking a holiday on Sunday after a gap of nearly a month, the overall flood situation in Assam looked slightly better though nearly 14 lakh people across the state continued to reel under water, with the Brahmaputra and several of its tributaries flowing above the red mark at several points.

33,700 people altogether, have been evacuated to safer places by the authorities with the Army providing vital back-up with manpower and equipment, while 20,350 people continued to be accommodated in 134 relief camps across the state.

Guwahati: After poachers, floods have turned out to be a major killer of one-horned rhinos at the famed Kaziranga National Park, a world heritage site located on the southern banks of the Brahmaputra in Assam. Altogether 168 rhinos have died due to floods between 1974 and 2007. During the period, 385 rhinos were gunned down by poachers in the park, while 210 pachyderms fell to pit poaching.

JORHAT, Sept 5

JORHAT, Sept 3: The centenary Kaziranga National Park has lost four hog deer and a rhino calf in the current spell of floods which hit its ranges on August 22. About 50 per cent of the total area of the conservation hotspot, abode of the one-horned rhino, has been submerged. Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today made an aerial survey of the flood scene in KNP and Morigaon.

Samudra Gupta Kashyap

Guwahati, September 2: Brahmaputra has already submerged 60 per cent of Kaziranga National Park. However, thanks to the efforts of the conservation and protection staff and volunteers, the world-famous rhino habitat has been able to put up a brave fight against floods.

BY MANOJ ANAND
Guwahati

Sept. 1: After inundating hundreds of villages, the rising water of mighty Brahmaputra has submerged a large portion of Kaziranga National Park forcing a large number of endangered animals to flee from the park for safer high lands.

The director of the park S.N. Buragohain said: "More than half of Kaziranga National Park is now under water. The park animals have started migrating towards safer high lands."

The Brahmaputra and its tributaries have submerged about 1,200 villages while displacing more than 50,000 people in eight districts of Assam.