Life has dealt similar blows to the duo. Dwimalu, a three-month-old male rhino calf, was orphaned earlier this year. He was rescued two days after Hainari was gunned down by poachers, who also chopped off her horn, at Kahitema area of Manas on April 2. Hainari was translocated to Manas from Kaziranga under the Indian Rhino Vision (IRV) 2020 programme last year.

Meanwhile, Purabi, a one-year-old female calf, was rescued by the forest department and locals from the Haldibari area of Kaziranga National Park during floods last year after she was separated from her mother. She was raised at the International Fund for Animal Welfare-Wildlife Trust of India (IFAW-WTI)'s Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) at the park.

"We welcome the move. Dwimalu is no longer alone. He now has a friend to play and grow up with. Dwimalu has been responding well to the care of animal-keepers. Purabi's arrival at the park will be mutually helpful to both of them," Manas field director A Swargiary said.

WTI deputy director and in-charge of CWRC Rathim Barman said that raising rescued animals in the company of others of their kind is beneficial for their mental well-being. "We want Purabi and Dwimalu to grow up in each other's company as this will help reduce their stress levels. It is also essential to raise rescued animals in human care. This will help their rehabilitation in the wild," Barman explained.

Manas got back its World Heritage Site status in 2011 following successful re-introduction of rhinos under the IRV 2020 programme and improvement in conservation measures. Manas was put in the World Heritage Site in Danger list in 1992 following rampant destruction of the wildlife habitat during the height of the Bodo insurgency in the 1990s. All the rhinos were decimated by poachers during that time. Although 22 rhinos were re-introduced in Manas under IRV 2020, the threat of poaching continues. Since 2011, the park has lost four rhinos to poachers so far, including Hainari this year.