MANAS NATIONAL PARK, March 1 – A new chapter on conservation is being written at Manas National Park following the recent introduction of a one-horned rhino brought from Kaziranga. Veterinarians and biologists are keeping a close watch on the animal because relocation involves a complex process spread over a long period of time.
The rhino now is lodged inside a one square-kilometre patch surrounded by an electrified fence. Under continuous monitoring of armed forest personnel, it spends time grazing, relaxing, and at times getting dangerously close to the fence.
According to a source, the rhino drinks natural water available inside the enclosed space and has also started depositing dung, both described as positive signs. At times, it has also displayed behaviour akin to a wild rhino, even though it was hand reared at Kaziranga’s wildlife rescue centre right from its infancy.
When this correspondent observed the radio-collared animal from close quarters, it appeared active, and at times came close to human presence. Occasionally it would go for a short run and return to a part of the enclosure near which stood a guard tower. Less frequently, it raised its head and held it steady as if fixing its gaze at some distant object.
The worrying bit was the power fence and the animal’s proclivity to get very near it. The rhino must have received some shocks before it got used to its painful presence. Some kind of a barrier between the electric fence and the rhino’s habitat seemed like a better option.
Those who have been involved in the relocation process do not perceive the power fence as a real threat. Some of them feel the major challenge would emerge when it is released in the wild. It is then the variables influencing its survival would increase manifold.
“The first signs are good, and it has showed no stress,” says Abhijit Rabha, the Field Director of Manas National Park. Apart from Forest Department personnel, experts from Wildlife Trust of India are also providing necessary support, he revealed.
Rabha, however, is cautious while referring to the rhino’s release in the wild. “It is not so simple. We would have to wait at least for a year. It is about to attain sexual maturity, and it would be difficult to foretell how its behaviour would change thereafter,” he noted.
He said that the staff of Manas was dedicated to the welfare of the rhino. After all, its survival would be the green signal for more animals to be brought in from Kaziranga and Pobitora. Under an ambitious plan, about 20 rhinos would be introduced at Manas in a phased manner in the near future.
The rhino’s release and future would to a large extent depend on how well it adjusts to the landscape of Manas. Coupled to this is the worry that anti-poaching and intelligence gathering measures would have to be geared up to ensure its long-term security.
Well-placed sources revealed that even after the national park acquired the rhino, it continues to function with a shortage of about 130 staff. Unless fresh blood is infused in the frontline ranks for effective patrolling and monitoring of Manas, its invaluable biological wealth would remain gravely endangered.
