GUWAHATI: The Assam government is ecstatic as rhinos have returned to Laokhowa and Burachapori wildlife sanctuaries after 40 years.
“Happy to share that after 40 years, our iconic rhinos have returned to Laokhowa and Burachapori. They have returned within 1 year of our successful anti-encroachment operation in the region,” Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
He said 51.7 sq km of forest cover was retrieved through the eviction drive.
The park’s Director Sonali Ghosh described the return of two rhinos to the protected area as mother nature’s magic.
“The Laokhowa-Burachapori Wildlife Sanctuary and the 1st addition to Burachapori Wildlife Sanctuary (total 309.20 sq km) has witnessed mother nature’s magic with the return of two rhinos to the landscape after a gap of almost 40 years,” she said.
Until 1983, this protected region, which is a part of “greater” Kaziranga National Park, had 45-50 rhinos but they were wiped out by the poachers. However, since November last year, they have been sighted again.
Ghosh said that post-1983, there was degradation of grassland habitat due to anthropogenic pressure. Stray rhinos from the Orang National Park on the north bank of the Brahmaputra and the core area of Kaziranga were known to enter through the river’s sandbar areas but they never stayed for long.
She said the two rhinos entered the area through the 2nd Addition of Orang National Park and the recently restored Arimari. A total of 1,282 hectares of forest land and 817 hectares of unsurveyed government land were cleared during the eviction drive, she further said.
The area also has 10 tigers, indicating a good prey base for herbivores. It is also one of the few protected areas in the country which has an excellent habitat of freshwater mangroves.
“The government is committed to strengthening the landscape and restoring the lost glory of this historic protected area to ensure habitat connectivity between the rhino range of Orang-Laokhowa-Burachapori-Kaziranga landscapes,” Ghosh added.
The rhino is intrinsic to the culture of the Assamese who are passionate about the animal. Protecting the rhinos and clearing Kaziranga, a World Heritage Site, of encroachment was a major election promise of the BJP in 2016.
According to the rhino census of 2022, Assam has 2,895 rhinos. Kaziranga has 2,613 of them, Orang 125, Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary 107 and Manas National Park 50. Spread across floodplains of the Brahmaputra, the forests, wetlands and grasslands of Kaziranga are also home to tigers, elephants, deer, wild boars etc.