An Army helicopter has been pressed into service to airlift a one-horned rhino that strayed from Pobitora National Park, submerged in flood waters, to a river sandbar near Guwahati.
The full-grown male rhino is waging a grim battle for survival as the inclement weather is preventing the Army operation, while the area can't be accessed otherwise.
After the rhino was sighted in a locality called Rani Chapori, only 25 km west of Guwahati, the public informed the forest department and an expert team from the department visited the place. The rhino looked exhausted as it was half-sunk in the mud and swamps. The good news is its horn is still intact.
The Army helicopter has been readied to airlift the rhino to Manas National Park in lower Assam. State Forest Minister Rockybul Hussain also visited the spot yesterday and reviewed the rescue preparation.
Forest officials are divided on whether to tranquilise the rhino or not as it is slowly becoming weak. Speaking to the media, Assam's chief wildlife warden Suresh Chand expressed apprehension that the move would be risky for the animal.
“We have arranged a security cover for the rhino. Moreover, some fodder is also supplied to the animal,” Mr Chand said.
Meanwhile, facing the heat in the last few weeks, as Kaziranga National Park lost six rhinos in the past few days, Mr Hussain announced special security for the park by 100 Assam Forest Protection Force jawans.
Earlier, over 40 environmental NGOs of the region organised a demonstration in the city demanding immediate action by the Forest Department to prevent poaching of rhinos in all seven protected forest reserves in the state. They had also sent a memorandum to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seeking his intervention in the matter. Sns
