The floods in Assam have swept away at least 13 of Kaziranga National Park’s iconic rhinos.
Kaziranga in Upper Assam has an estimated population of about 2,400 one-horned Great Indian Rhinoceros, but they are threatened by massive flooding in 70 per cent of the 450 sq. km. core area of the park. Most of the rhinos are ‘calves’ in the age group of three months to one year, said Suvasish Das, District Forest Officer in charge of the park. Flood waters have also washed away at least 166 hog deer, while many other animals are recovering in the government rescue and rehabilitation centre.
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The floods have affected nearly 20 lakh people in at least 23 districts across the State in Upper, North and Lower Assam. The situation remained critical on Monday with two more deaths reported, taking the toll to 31, agency reports said.
At Kaziranga, at least 10 rhinos were rescued and eight were admitted to the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC), jointly run by the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) and the Assam Forest Department (AFD). These rhinos are suffering from pneumonia, Mr. Das said. “But the condition of the calves is improving,” he added.
In a silver lining, compared to the 2012 floods, the loss of wildlife in the fast-flowing waters carried by the Brahmaputra is less.
Mr. Das argued that it was “absolutely necessary” to have some level of flooding in Kaziranga for the forest to survive.
“In a way the flood is a blessing as fresh silt and alluvium deposits increase the productivity of the forest undergrowth,” he said. Some 400 wetlands are also replenished, and water hyacinth and weeds are washed away.
The Mobile Veterinary Service (MVS) of CWRC has handled 107 rescue cases in seven days, the WTI said. MVS teams released 62 hog deer out of 92 rescued. They also carried out, along with the AFD, three eastern swamp deer rescues. Two of the deer survived and were brought to the CWRC.
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