GUWAHATI: Kaziranga National Park suffered another setback on Saturday after a rhino was "accidentally" killed by a bullet fired by a forest guard to chase away the pachyderm in the Sotea area of Sonitpur district.

Park officials said the guard actually tried to fire on the ground but as the rhino was on the move, the bullet hit the animal. The rhino strayed out of the park and entered Borbhita village on Friday. Officials said it was already nervous with crowds constantly trying to chase it away. At one point, the pachyderm tried to attack the forest guard, while he was trying to drive it away from the human settlement.

"The rhino suddenly turned its attention towards the guard and was about to attack him. In an attempt to scare away the animal, the guard opened fire on the ground - a normal practice to scare rhinos. Unfortunately, the bullet hit the rhino and it died. We are trying to find out whether there were any lapses on the part of the guard," said Kaziranga DFO S K Seal Sarma.

"It was a tricky situation because if the guard hadn't taken the step on time, the rhino might have attacked him and other humans in the vicinity too," he added. The place where the incident took place is close to the northern range of Kaziranga. Rhinos from the park frequently stray into nearby villages in Sonitpur district. With water from the Brahmaputra already flooding parts of the park, animals have started straying out in search of dry and elevated grounds.

This year so far, Kaziranga has lost at least 22 rhinos to poachers. Experts said the involvement of militants has made the poaching scenario more complex.