Rhinos set for return to Manas

The Assam Tribune , Thursday, June 09, 2005
Correspondent : Sivasish Thakur

GUWAHATI, June 8 – The great Indian one-horned rhinoceros is set to make a return to the Manas National Park, after the entire rhino population was wiped out during the insurgency-ravaged decade from the late 1980s. The Forest Department and the Manas National Park authorities are planning to reintroduce the rhino – initially on an experimental basis. As the first step, a three-year-old female rhino from the Animal Rescue Centre at Kaziranga is to be relocated in Manas by October-November.

Revealing this, Chief Conservator of Forests (CCF), Wildlife, Mohan Chandra Malakar today told The Assam Tribune that the rhino would be radio-collared and kept under constant monitoring for protection. “The rhino will be observed for one year, during which its movements are to be restricted to a specific area. The area, again, will be fenced to give it full protection,” he said.

The rhino is to be released near Kuribeel under the Bansbari range of the Park. Field Director, Manas Tiger Reserve, Abhijit Rabha said that with the gradual improvement of the security scenario, a feasibility study of translocation of rhinos from other protected areas was carried out recently, and “we want to begin with one or two rhinos initially, because the security scenario is still not totally foolproof.”

Dr Anwaruddin Choudhury, Deputy Commissioner of Bagsa district and a keen conservationist, also voiced similar concerns, while expressing hope that the venture works out in the right direction.

“The situation is probably not yet conducive for translocation of a large number of individuals because of the prevailing security concerns. The relocation of a single rhino is the right thing under the circumstances,” he said. “This would be the first realistic move towards long-term translocation, if the relocated rhino thrives in Manas,” he added.

The picturesque Manas National Park, also a World Heritage Site and among the country’s earliest tiger reserves, had a healthy rhino population of nearly a hundred till the late 1980s. After that, the period of social unrest severely damaged the Park’s security system as well as other infrastructures, and the rhino became the biggest casualty in Manas – thanks to rampant poaching for years.

However, another good news is that although the whole rhino population was thought to have perished, there have been recent reports of the presence of at least one rhino in the Park. The last rhino was thought to have been killed in Kokolabari in 2001, but the present indication is that a couple of rhinos might still be surviving in Manas. Rabha also revealed that there were indications of rhinos’ to and fro movement from the Bhutan side, from Kurichu.

According to Rabha, the growing realisation among the local people about the need to preserve and protect Manas augurs well for future conservation prospects. “In Kokilabari, the initiative of the local residents is working, and we are trying to spread the movement to other areas,” he said.

Rabha felt that long-term translocation of rhinos could be done after achieving a proactive anti-poaching level in Manas. According to him, in order to achieve natural grazing succession or herbivore-grassland interaction, 20 to 22 rhinos are needed. The rhino habitat in Manas is comparatively drier than those of Kaziranga, Pobitora or Orang – the prime rhino habitats in the State. “My personal view is that rhinos in Manas were able to sustain in much drier habitat compared to Kaziranga, Orang and Pobitora,” Rabha said.

 
SOURCE : The Assam Tribune, Thursday, June 09, 2005
 


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