Six one-horned rhinos were killed in Kaziranga National Park (KNP) in Assam since last January, while a recent gun-battle between poachers and forest-guards at a tiger reserve in neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh revealed that the big cats are not safe in the region as well.

A forest-guard and two poachers were killed in the gun-battle at Pakke Tiger Reserve in East Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh last Friday.

“The probe is on. The poachers might have sneaked in from Assam,” said the State’s Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, K D Singh. “There seems to be a network of poachers and timber-smugglers active in the region.”

The Pakke Wildlife Sanctuary, which was declared a tiger reserve in 2002, is home to the Royal Bengal tiger, common leopard and clouded leopard. A census in 2004 had put the number of tigers in the sanctuary at 12. Tigers are poached for their pelts, teeth, bones and other organs, which are believed to have medicinal values.

The Divisional Forest Officer Tana Tapi said that the forest guards had been asked to step up vigil in and around the sanctuary.

The incident took place just after a spurt in poaching sullied the fame of the KNP, which led to the successful rescue of the one-horned rhinos from the brink of extinction.

Six rhinos fell prey to the poachers’ bullets in the KNP since last January. The state’s forest officials said that the poachers had used sophisticated weapons and equipment and apparently had links with international smuggling rackets.

A poacher was recently caught near the KNP with a tranquilizer gun, which reportedly belonged to a top forest official of neighbouring Nagaland. The Chief Wildlife Warden of Assam M C Malakar said that a case had been registered with the police in this connection and investigation was on.

“This clearly hints at a nexus between poachers and some forest officials in the region,” said wildlife activist Azam Siddiqui.

The KNP is home to nearly 1800 one-horned rhinos – nearly 65 per cent of the endangered pachyderm’s global population. A kilogram of rhino horn – believed to be an aphrodisiac and in great demand in South Asia – can fetch up to US$ 10000 in international markets.

Lack of manpower is a constraint for the KNP authorities in the fight against poachers. There has not been any fresh recruitment in the last 10 years and altogether 111 posts of frontline staff are lying vacant. “Inadequate patrolling is the only reason for the recent spurt in poaching,” said Bibhab Talundar of Aranyak, a group of wildlife activists which wrote to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh requesting his intervention to save the rhinos from poachers. The State Government has, of late, sent 50 personnel to the KNP and ordered the police chiefs of the adjoining districts to step up surveillance around the park.