17 Rare One-Horned Rhinos Killed in India Flooding

Eric Chaney
Published: August 2,2016



 
The monsoon rains that have flooded parts of India have killed at least 17 rare one-horned rhinos that live in Kaziranga National Park, where floodwaters reached a depth of 5 feet in places.
"It's been disastrous, 80 percent of the park was submerged but the water has receded and only 30 percent is still flooded,” Dr. Satyendra Singh, director of the park, told Sky News. "Some 270 wild animals have died, this has been one of the worst seasons of flooding."

Tourists photograph a rhinoceros during an elephant safari at Kaziranga National Park, in this 2013 file photo. Recent flooding in the park has killed over a dozen rhinos and forced those that remain to search for higher ground.
((STRDEL/AFP/Getty Images))

Park officials told the Associated Press that most of the rhinos killed were calves who became separated from their mothers during the flooding.
"This is a set pattern that has been seen from several years. Floods are common for Kaziranga and this is the annual flooding season,” Divisional Forest Officer Suvashish Das told India Today. “The rhinos move towards highland and mainland and that is when the cub rhinos are unable to move with them during migration for food and shelter.”
Only about 3,000 one-horned rhinos exist in the wild, according to the World Wildlife Foundation. They exist only in small pockets of protected land in India and Nepal and their conservation status is listed as Vulnerable.
Forest Officials are working round the clock to save what animals they can but are being hampered by flood damage which restricts travel within the park.
“The devastation to the park's infrastructure, roads and bridges has been very severe,” Singh told Sky News.
(MORE: Monsoon Rains Kill More Than 100 in India, Bangladesh; Hundreds of Thousands Evacuated)
Despite the difficulties, nine rhino calves have been rescued and taken to a rehabilitation and treatment center, Singh said.
"The challenge now will be to keep the animals free from any diseases,” Das told India Today. “We have to try to keep the animals in a safe zone where they feel comfortable. They have to be kept away from diseases like pneumonia."
There is a silver lining to the flooding, Das told The Hindu, arguing that it was “absolutely necessary” to have some level of flooding in Kaziranga for the forest to survive.
“In a way, the flood is a blessing as fresh silt and alluvium deposits increase the productivity of the forest undergrowth.”