Carcasses of eight more rhinos were found at the Kaziranga National Park in Assam, taking the death toll of the mammals in the floods to 21.
“Out of the 21 rhinos, 10 are calves ranging from two to six months old. And 221 hog deer perished along with other animals,” Suvasish Das, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of the park, said in a release on Tuesday.
2015 censusEarlier estimates suggested that at least 13 rhinos were drowned due to the floods. The 2015 Census had stated that there were 2,401 one-horned rhinoceros at Kaziranga in Upper Assam. The release said that between July 25 and August 2, at least 310 animals had died due to excessive flooding.
The park authorities said rescue operations were being carried out with the help of locals. Mr. Das said that so far nine rhinos had been rescued.
