Flood triggers animal migration from Kaziranga National Park

The Times of India , Tuesday, July 26, 2016
Correspondent : Naresh Mitra
GUWAHATI: Animals from theKaziranga National Park+ , a World Heritage Site about 250 km from here, have started coming out in herds in search of elevated grounds as large swathe of the protected area has been inundated by the rising water of Brahmaputra.

Park officials said over 70 percent of the 430 sq km area of Kaziranga is currently under water with rising water from Brahmaputra on the northern edge kept engulfing the park since Sunday.

"Out of 178 anti-poaching camps, 108 of them are inundated. Our staffs are patrolling on boats. We have deployed sufficient number of both country and speed boats. We have also intensified our anti-poaching drive," Kaziranga divisional forest officer, Suvasish Das said.

During flood risk of poaching increases manifold as poachers are always on a look out for killing rhino once the animal comes out of the inundated Park.

On Monday large herds of different species of deer from Kaziranga struggled through the flood water for reaching highlands in the neighbouringKarbiAnglong by crossing the national highway 37, which passes along the southern edge of the Park.

Kaziranga houses large population of Eastern swamp deer, barking deer and hog deer. Eastern swamp deer, only found in Kaziranga, alone is estimated to be over 1000.

In their desperate move to find drylands, three hog deer were knocked down by passing vehicles on the highway on Monday.

In 2012 flood, which was the worst deluge for Kaziranga in 20 years, an estimated 625 animals perished. Hog deer suffered the highest casualty with about 500 of them killed either due to drowning or hitting by vehicles.

Deer are the first among other animal species which generally starts leaving the park for high grounds when the intensity of flood increases. Rhinos, wild buffaloes, tigers and elephants also join the animal migration when the flood level becomes unbearable for them.

Das said that time card mechanism has been implemented along the 28 km stretch of the highway to restrict the speed of vehicles. Through time card, park officials determine whether any passing vehicle has flouted the stipulated time while driving on the 28 km stretch.

Ironically, while flood is a bane for the state, it is a boon for Kaziranga's ecosystem. Being located on the floodplains of Brahmaputra, the annual deluge recharges the ecology of the park by infusing fresh water to its numerous water bodies and triggering fresh growth of grasslands. End

 
SOURCE : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/guwahati/Flood-triggers-animal-migration-from-Kaziranga-National-Park/articleshow/53382116.cms
 


Back to pevious page



The NetworkAbout Us  |  Our Partners  |  Concepts   
Resources :  Databases  |  Publications  |  Media Guide  |  Suggested Links
Happenings :  News  |  Events  |  Opinion Polls  |  Case Studies
Contact :  Guest Book  |  FAQs |  Email Us