Two hundred people and 34 trained elephants have been deployed to conduct the tenth rhino census which began on Saturday at the world famous Kaziranga National Park.
The census of the one-horned rhino, a highly endangered species, will be carried out over a period of three days, Chief Conservator of Forest (CCF) S P Singh, who heads the operation, said.
“This time we are sure that the number of rhinos will increase,” he said.
The Kohora central range, western range of Bagori and Burapahar range were being covered today, he said.
The last census was undertaken in 2009 and found a total of 2,048 rhinos. The number of the species was 1,855 in 2006, he said.
The first census operation inside the park, a world heritage site located in upper Assam, was in 1966.
