Poachers are seeking to take advantage of widespread monsoon flooding in India’s Kaziranga National Park as animals flee in search of higher ground.
Floods have consumed about 80% of the park’s total area, said director Satyendra Singh. Kaziranga National Park is home to the vulnerable greater one-horned rhino, as well as tigers and Asian elephants.
In the past, poachers have used the floods to flush animals out into areas where they are easier to hunt. The problem arises when the animals flee past the park’s boundaries, said Singh, particularly in the southern most sections which are contiguous with hilly wild areas.
The park, in India’s Assam state, is known for its contribution in helping to save the greater one-horned rhino from the brink of extinction in the last 20 years.
Today more than 70% of the species’ population is found in the park, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN),
The greater one-horned rhino is currently listed as vulnerable, one rank above endangered, according to the IUCN. However it remains at threat from poachers who value its horn.
A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the park made international headlines in 2016 after a visit by the UK’s Prince William and Duchess Kate, in which the pair were pictured feeding a baby rhino.
In an effort to protect the animals, the park has added 150 armed police to its existing staff to patrol the border, said Singh.
Assam state’s wildlife minister, Pramila Rani Brahma, has also pushed for more resources to fight the threat of poachers, including purchasing more speedboats so that officials can get around during the flood.
“I am trying my level best to stop the poachers. They’re so skilled and so aggressive,” said Brahma.
When the rains come, villagers and police and volunteers come together to help patrol affected areas, she added, including the highways.
“The numbers of animals being killed by poachers is decreasing (each year),” said Brahma.
Across the state, more than 1.5 million people have so far been affected by the floods, which has destroyed homes and wiped out crops.
Four rhino calves have already died in the flooding this year — including three calves.
During last year’s monsoon-driven floods, 21 one-horned rhinos, including 10 calves aged between two and six months, drowned after becoming trapped.
The deaths were considered a significant blow to the species’ population, which was teetering at around 3,300 in the last IUCN count in 2013.