Guwahati, Jan 23, 2024, IANS

Guwahati, Jan 23 (IANS) A female one-horned rhino was killed by suspected poachers in Assam's Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve, officials said on Tuesday.

The incident occurred on Sunday night in the Agoratoli Forest Range, which is part of the Kaziranga National Park, the officials said.

“In the Agoratoli Forest Range, forest guards discovered the carcass of an adult female rhino close to the Maklung forest camp during routine patrolling. The body was sent for a post-mortem examination,” said Sonali Ghosh, the director of Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve.

According to officials, it is believed that the accused poachers entered the national park by crossing the Brahmaputra River illegally.

“These poachers are adept at capturing and killing animals, such as rhinos. They took off with the horn,” officials said.

Senior officials from the Assam Forest Department visited the scene to conduct an investigation after the incident.

They said that CCTV surveillance was in place in the majority of the national park's regions, and they were viewing the recorded videos.

According to Sonali Ghosh, there were no poaching cases in Assam in 2022, with the last case being reported in March of the previous year.

“We are looking into this with an expert team and this is undoubtedly the first case of poaching in a year. We are yet to identify the culprits behind the incident. For the purpose of an inquiry, a case will be filed under the Wildlife Protection Act,” Ghosh stated.

She claimed more security personnel and CCTV cameras were installed in the protected forest regions in recent years, along with tighter security measures.