GUWAHATI: A female one-horned rhino was found dead in Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary of Morigaon district in Assam on Saturday. This is the third dead of rhinos within a week in the sanctuary. Earlier, two rhino calves were found in Pobitora.
The carcass of the female rhino was recovered on Saturday in the Tuplung Camp area of Pobitora.
Though, the sanctuary authorities conducted post-mortem of the rhino, they maintained silence over the report.
“Three rhinos have died in Pobitora within a week. We are unaware of the exact reasons. The forest department should take proactive actions,” said a local man.
Earlier, a rhino calf, which was rescued on Monday was injured in a head-on fight with another rhino and later succumbed to its injuries.
Again on Thursday morning, another rhino calf was found dead by the forest workers in the Tamulidoba area of Pobitora. The estimated age of the dead rhino calf was 2 years.
Read: ASSAM: TWO RHINO CALVES DIE IN POBITORA WILDLIFE SANCTUARY
Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary, situated in the flood plains of the river Brahmaputra is about 45 KMs from Guwahati.
Pobitora originally was a grazing reserve for cattle of erstwhile Nagaon district, came into limelight during the year 1961-62 for sighting of one-horned Rhino (Rhinoceros unicornis).
During that time a few rhinos strayed out of Lawkhowa and Orang Wildlife Sanctuaries and gradually became resident. Two such grazing reserves comprising 38.83 square kilometers was declared as reserve forests in 1971. In 1987, Pobitora was declared a wildlife sanctuary covering an area of 16 square kilometers. Presently the sanctuary is surrounded by 20 villages, the farmlands of which are frequented by rhinos.
In Pobitora wildlife sanctuary, there are now around 90 plus rhinos, a ten per cent increase over the last six years. These 90 plus rhinos are surviving on merely 16 square kilometre area of the park. Pobitora has exceeded its rhino-bearing capacity and is overpopulated. Thus Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary harbors world’s highest density of rhinoceros.
Besides rhinoceros, the other mammals found are Leopard, Leopard cat, Fishing cat, Jungle cat, Feral Buffalo, Wild pigs, Chinese pangolins etc. Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary is an Important Bird Area altogether 375 species of both migratory and resident birds of 46 families have been recorded so far, with 14 listed in the Indian Red Data Book, 27 species of reptiles 9 species of amphibians have been recorded in the Sanctuary.
