HT Digital,
Kaziranga, Dec 1: A female Greater one-horned rhino (Rhinoceros unicornis) was tragically killed in a shocking case of hunting with a spear. The incident has now been resolved, according to park authorities who made the announcement on Friday.
On November 24, 2023, around 8.30 PM, Naren Saikia, a 47-year-old resident of Lokhorakhonia, allegedly threw a spear at the rhino that had strayed into the area. Following investigative work by DFO Eastern Assam Wildlife Division Arun Vignesh and his team, Saikia was arrested and sent to judicial custody on November 26, 2023.
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The Kaziranga forest department staff, led by Dr Bibhuti Ranjan Gogoi, Forest Ranger Kaziranga, undertook drone and elephant patrolling surveillance. The rhino’s carcass was discovered on November 30, 2023, at 2.30 pm near the Teteliguri Anti Poaching Camp (Ekorani Area) inside the National Park.
A post-mortem was conducted on December 1, 2023, in the presence of veterinarians and civil society members. The rhino, estimated to be between 20-30 years old, was found to have died from an injury to the left flank of her stomach caused by deep penetration of the spear across her skin and ribs.
Samples have been collected for DNA analysis and for the RhoDIS system and will be sent to the Wildlife Institute of India. The rhino’s horn was intact and has been recovered for safe custody by department staff.
