News

Kaziranga National Park closes for tourist season 2022-23

May 22, 2023

Kaziranga National Park closed for tourists for the tourist season 2022-23 on May 22, 2023.  Jeep safari rides were made available to the guests upto 21st May 2023. Elephant safari rides inside the park however closed on 10th May, 2023. Kaziranga National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site saw a good footfall of tourists this season with foreign tourists coming in large numbers as well after the Covid waves subsided. The park was opened to tourists in the month of October 2022 and after eight months of regular safaris inside the park, the park closed due to the upcoming monsoon season. Elephant safari rides inside the interiors of the Park are conducted at the Central and Western ranges while the Jeep Safari rides are conducted at the Central, Wester, Eastern and the Burapahar ranges of Kaziranga National Park. Depending on the monsoons this year, Kaziranga is scheduled to reopen to visitors for the upcoming season 2023-24 in the month of October 2024.

One Horned Rhino strays out of Kaziranga National Park

May 25, 2023

In a noteworthy incident, a One Horned Rhino strayed out of the Kaziranga National Park sparkling panic among the residents of a local village near Mariani.

After spotting the rhino in a paddy field, the villagers first tried to chase it away. However, when it refused to budge, they informed the nearby forest beat office. Kaziranga National Park authorities decided to send a team of veterinary experts from the Assam State Zoo in Guwahati. However, by the time the experts’ team, equipped with a tranquillizer gun, from the Guwahati zoo arrived at the spot, it was already dark, forcing them to call off the rescue operation.

On April 13 this year, a father-son duo was seriously injured when they were attacked by an adult rhino near the Kaziranga National Park. The incident took place, when the man and his minor son were crossing the Haldibari animal corridor on National Highway 37 near the national park. According to witnesses, the rhino suddenly came out of the forest and attacked them. The attack by the rhino left the duo grievously injured.

Rhino horn rescued by Assam Police

April 16, 2023

In a successful campaign against illegal poaching, the Assam Police have recovered a rhino hotel that is believed to have been from a suspected poaching incident that had occurred at Kaziranga National Park in the month of March.

Hon CM of Assam visits Kaziranga National Park to assess poaching control measures

April 16, 2023

The Hon CM of Assam, Dr. Himanta Biswa Sharma paid a visit to Kaziranga National Park on Sunday just after the state organize the largest Bihu Dance congregation. The Hon CM was present at Kaziranga National Park to assess various measures adopted to eliminate animal poaching at Kaziranga National Park. The CM visited the vulnerable zones along the banks of the rivers flowing across Kaziranga National Park and he also interacted with the forest guards and officials of the park. The CM also congratulated the forest year as the year 2022 did not record one single case of rhino poaching inside the forests of Kaziranga National Park.

Kaziranga National Park – Army may extend support to build Bailey bridges inside the forests of Kaziranga National Park

April 12, 2023

To facilitate faster movement of the forest guards inside the forest reserves of the UNESCO World Heritage site of Kaziranga National Park (especially during the monsoon season when the park gets inundated and gets vulnerable to poaching incidents). The Indian Army may help to built Bailey bridges inside the Kaziranga National Park area. This will help to replace the wooden structures that are now present inside the park premises and they are damages with the onset of the monsoon season. Such bridges are necessary especially in the tourist circuit tracks that will help in better connectivity that will help in better connectivity of the movement of the guards inside the forests of Kaziranga National Park.

Elephant Safari rides resume at Kaziranga National Park

Nov 1, 2022

Great news for all the wildlife lovers coming to Kaziranga National Park because from November 1^st, the elephant safari rides will begin for visitors at the Western Range of Kaziranga National Park or the season 2022-2023. The jeep safari rides inside the park began as early as Oct 2^nd after the monsoon season and visitors who came to enjoy their Durga Puja and Diwali vacations were able to enjoy their jeep safari ride at Kaziranga National Park at the Central range of Kohora and also the Western Range of Bagori. The elephant safari ride is a thrilling experience because the animal will take you much closer to the rhinos of Kaziranga National Park and you will get to see them from up close. Awaiting a thrilling season of 2022-23 for the tourist season at Kaziranga National Park.

Man killed in rhino attack near Kaziranga National Park

In a tragic incident that was reported near Kaziranga National Park at the Golaghat district of Assam, a 70 year old man was killed after being reportedly attacked by a one horned rhino. This incident has ben reported at the Chohola Bogipothar area near Bokakhat of Kaziranga National Park. The deceased is said to have been attacked by the rhino when he had left for a paddy field nearby looking for the grazing of his cows. Post this attack, the local police authorities have rushed to the spot and have taken the body to the nearby hospital for a detailed post mortem.

Animal census in Kaziranga National Park costs 1.7 crores in 6 years

As per a press statement released by the Hon. Environment and Forest Minister of Assam, the Govt of Assam has nearly spent 1.7 crores on the census of various animals at Kaziranga National Park and the most renowned among these are the One Horned Rhino, Bengal Tigers, Elephants, Swamp Deers and Bird species. Of these, the various officials of the various departments across the state were engaged in the transparent process of the census at Kaziranga National Park to remain unbiased. This is a great achievement for the authorities of Kaziranga National Park and this will add to the growing number of tourists here at Kaziranga National Park as well.

Kaziranga National Park closes for tourist season 2021-22

Concluding the tourist season of 2021-22, that is considered to be the best tourist season at Kaziranga National Park across all the years, as the park recorded the highest ever footfalls of tourists (around 2,75,875), Kaziranga has reached an annal collection of around 6 Crores. This number of record footfalls came as a very good news to the people related to the tourism business around Kaziranga National Park that had taken a huge toll during the COVID pandemic. The visit to Kaziranga National Park by the Hon. President of India worked as a great marketing campaign in itself for the park and this allowed more number of guests to learn and therefore visit Kaziranga National Park as well. This in turn attracted more number of tourists to the park. The arrivals from abroad however was limited and stood at around 1700 guests due to the various restrictions still imposed because of the COVID guidelines and it is expected to grow in the coming years to reach and even surpass the pre-COVID levels. As of June 1^st, 2022 Kaziranga National Park will remain closed for visitors due to the upcoming monsoon season here and the park will reopen for guests only in the month of October when the rains subside and guests can enjoy the true beauty of the forests of Kaziranga National Park and also the rhinoceros species. The elephant safari rides for visitors were closed for guests from May 1^st, 2022.

Online booking for Jeep Safari rides at Kaziranga National Park

Oct 18, 2022

To facilitate the booking process for guest, the jeep safari ride booking at Kaziranga National Park have gone online where the guests can book the safari and come to any of the four jeep safari zones at Kaziranga National Park and show their entry passes and they would be allowed to go on for their jeep safari rides here at Kaziranga National Park. The booking facility is a Govt of Assam initiative under the forest Dept and the provider for the online booking facility is Amtron. The process is a good way for the tourists to avail their booking service here at Kaziranga National Park and also they can follow the regular process to book their jeep safari rides with the tour operators of Kaziranga National Park and the hotels as well.

Speed Limit imposed along highway at Kaziranga National Park

The authorities of Kaziranga National Park have ensured strict monitoring on the movement of vehicles on the National Highway that runs across the animal corridor and the speed limit of vehicles passing across the highway has been restricted to 40km/hr. This has been done to restrict the speeding vehicles as the animals in the monsoon season seek higher grounds and so they come out of the flooded area of the Kaziranga National Park to cross over to the mountains of the nearby Karbi Anglong mountains near Kaziranga National Park. Vehicle speed sensors have been implemented that will monitor the speed of the vehicles and this will not allow the vehicles to cross the speed limit and hurt the animals. A strict penalty of INR 5000 will be imposed on vehicles that do not obey the rules and thus will help in protecting the animals of the Kaziranga National Park during the monsoon season.

40 new highlands constructed inside Kaziranga National Park to protect animals from floods:

Great news for wildlife lovers of Kaziranga National Park, as the Hon. Forest Minister of Assam has declared that around 40 new highlands have been built inside the forest reserves of Kaziranga National Park to tackle the problem of flood waters entering the forest reserves of Kaziranga National Park to tackle the problem of flood waters entering the park in the monsoon season. Every year the annual monsoon season at Kaziranga National Park creates havoc and waters from the nearby rivers inundate the park area making it difficult for the animals of the park as the park gets submerged and many animals drown in these flood waters including the famed One Horned Rhinoceros of Assam that is the flagship species of Kaziranga National Park. To tackle the fury of the flood waters and at the same time protect the animals of the park, 40 new artificial highlands have been built inside Kaziranga National Park to save the animals from drowning. The Hon. Forest minister of Assam informed the media that the authorities of Kaziranga National Park are fully equipped to deal with the upcoming monsoon season and these highlands are scientifically designed to provide shelter to the animals of Kaziranga National Park. In case any animal is unable to make it to the highland and is found to be struggling in the waters, then boats have been provided to the authorities who will rescue them and bring them to safety.

The first wave of floods have severely affected Assam with widespread devastation across the various districts of the state that has caused sufficient damage to property and life and around 2 lakh people have already been displaced by the flood waters. The Kaziranga National Park is also witnessing the waters from the nearby rivers beginning to flood the park and the Hon. Forest minister has stated that is the park authorities are prepared to tackle the flood situation. These artificial highlands are designed in a way to allow the growth of several fruit bearing plants so that the animals can have adequate to eat while they await at these highlands.

Tata Motors hands over Harrier Kaziranga edition to Kaziranga National Park

The top notch car manufacturer in India, Tata motors had recently announced the addition of the Kaziranga edition to its entire SUV range earlier this year and this edition provides visible updates to the top models of the SUV. The inspiration was drawn from the rich geographical and biological diversity of Kaziranga National Park in Assam – that is a World Heritage Site famed for its population of the endangered one horned rhinoceros species. The management of Tata motors handed over a Tata Harrier Kaziranga edition to the authorities of Kaziranga National Park.

Golden Tiger spotted at Kaziranga National Park

Great news has been coming to Kaziranga National Park this tourist season and not only did the National Park record the highest number of footfalls this tourist season and also the launch of the Kaziranga editions of the Tata Motor SUVs, this year again, the Golden Tiger species was spotted at the Kaziranga National Park by a tourist. The last sighting of the Golden Tiger species at Kaziranga National Park has been in 2020 and this is almost 2 years after that time that this sighting has been recorded. Along with the Golden Tiger, the video captured by tourists also spotted the rhino, water buffalo and hog deer.

Elephant Safari rides at Kaziranga National Park closed for tourists from May 1 for the season 2021-22

The forest authorities of Kaziranga National Park have released the official notification for the closure of elephant safari rides at Kaziranga National Park from May 1 for the tourist season 2021-22. With the arrival of the monsoon season, the track for elephant safari rides gets quite muddy and so it was decided to discontinue the safari from May 1^st. However, the jeep safari rides would continue inside the forest reserves of the park upto May 31^st as per another circular and it would all depend on the onset of the monsoon season.

Actor Sharman Joshi visits Kaziranga National Park with family on a holiday

April 22, 2022

The popularity of Kaziranga National Park is quickly spreading across the country and abroad as well and people are starting to notice it as a famed National Park in the country. With the COVID 19 induced lockdowns, that had restricted international travel, the domestic tourists have thronged to Kaziranga National Park in Assam and the season 2021-2022 had become one of the best seasons of Kaziranga National Park drawing over 2 lakh visitors and the National Park that has helped the park to earn a revenue of around 4 crores. Not only in terms of tourists but Tata Motors have also launched the Kaziranga editions of their latest SUVs viz. Tata Nexon, Tata Punch, Tata Safari and Tata Harrier and this has allowed the boost in the promotions of this UNESCO Word Heritage Site of Kaziranga National Park that is famed for being home to the highest population of the Indian One Horned Rhinoceros anywhere in the World. Even Bollywood celebrities and International cricketers have taken cognizance of the conservation efforts put in by the forest staff and Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar had donated INR 2 crores to the Kaziranga National Park that has been used by the authorities to build highlands and watchtowers inside the premises of the Kaziranga National Park that provides a high ground for the animals of the park during the peak monsoon season and also the watch towers help the forest guards of Kaziranga National Park to keep an eye on the activities inside the forest reserves of the park and also keep out looking for the ruthless poachers who venture inside the park to hunt down the rhinos for its prized horn.

In good news for the tourism of the Kaziranga National Park, Bollywood actor of 3 Idiots fame and many more superhit movies like Golmal, Golmal Returns, etc. Sharman Joshi visited Kaziranga National Park with his family on a four day vacation to Assam. At Kaziranga National Park, the Bollywood actor took the opportunity to stay at a luxurious resort with his family and he went to visit the park on a wildlife safari at the Eastern range of Agoratoli on April 22, 2022. The Bollywood actor in an interview said that he was thrilled to visit Kaziranga National Park and get the chance to spot the endangered One Horned Rhino species of Kaziranga National Park and though he had visited Assam earlier on a theatre group he did not have the opportunity to visit Kaziranga National Park the previous time and this time he ensured to visit Kaziranga National Park and with his family. The actor expressed his desire to visit Assam again and the next time he would also like to visit the state capital of Meghalaya viz. Shillong the Scotland of the East as well. Visit to Kaziranga National Park by such well known celebrities will add to the promotion of the park and this in turn will boast the tourism at Kaziranga National Park.

Rhino Population at Kaziranga National Park rises by 200

To what comes as good news for all the wildlife lovers around the World and also to the people of Assam and the forest authorities of Kaziranga National Park whose relentless efforts in conservation across the years have allowed the population of the One Horned Rhinoceros of Assam to rise by 200. As per the census conducted in 2018 the rhino population at Kaziranga National Park was around 2413 and now this number has gone up to 2613 that is a great achievement for the authorities of Kaziranga National Park. The 14^th rhino census was conducted on March 25 and 26 in the premises of the park and the numbers represent around 1679 adults (above 6), 365 sub-adults (3 to 6), 279 juveniles (1-3) and 146 calves (0-1). This is a great boost for the forest authorities who have 24x7x365 have struggled to keep the poachers at bay so that the population of the One Horned Rhinoceros at Kaziranga National Park is showing a growing trend. Along with the forest authorities, the local communities who live along the fringe areas of the park have also contributed a lot towards the conservation efforts and this has helped to keep the poaching of rhino at Kaziranga National Park to minimal.

Even though the annual floods at the Kaziranga National Park prove to be a disaster for the animals and many animals die in these floods every year but the authorities put in a lot of effort to keep the animals safe from the floods and these local people join the authorities as well in the successful conservation. Modern gadgets were used in the rhino census along with the services of the elephants of the Kaziranga National Park and this allowed a successful census of the One Horned Rhinoceros of Kaziranga National Park. Tourists from across the World come to the famed Kaziranga National Park every year with the sole intention to sight the One Horned Rhinoceros in the wild along with the other big 5 species and the rise in the number rhinos is sure to give the tourism at Kaziranga National Park a perfect boost that will draw more number of tourists to the park who would want to come to Kaziranga National Park and go for their jungle safari rides inside the park to witness the varied species of flora, fauna and avifauna. Apart from the jungle safari rides tourists to Kaziranga National Park can also enjoy their at luxurious resorts and also visit the Kaziranga Orchid Park – the Largest Orchid park in India.

Swamp Deer census organized at Kaziranga National Park

The forest authorities of Kaziranga National Park after a gap of three years (last done in 2018) have initiated the census of the Eastern Swamp Deer species at Kaziranga National Park that is a vulnerable species. This survey cum census was conducted after a gap of 3 years as it was last conducted in 2018. These Eastern Swamp Deer species that are found in Kaziranga National Park are most vulnerable to the flood waters that flood the premises of the Kaziranga National Park every year during the monsoon season as they live around the water bodies in the open spaces. So a census was necessary to check whether the population of the Eastern Swamp Deer at Kaziranga National Park has gone up or declined after the floods. The elephants were deployed for the census and the population is a healthy number at present and it is expected to grow from now on as the various artificial highlands have been constructed inside the premises of the Kaziranga National Park and these highlands will ensure that the deers have a high ground to escape the flood waters. On the other hand, the Hog Deer species of Kaziranga National Park has the highest population and as per the recent survey almost over 40,000 number of these hog deers are present here at the Kaziranga National Park.

Gharial sighting reported at Kaziranga National Park

What comes as great news to all the wildlife lovers and photographers, the sighting of a Gharial has been reported at Kaziranga National Park. The Gharial is a critically endangered animal and it is listed in the Schedule I of the wildlife protection act of 1972 and also in the IUCN redlist as well. As per official reports there are only about 800 of these Gharials reported to be present in the World and the sighting at Kaziranga National Park brings in more fame to the park apart from being home to the One Horned Rhinoceros and the Big 5. This sightings of the Gharial at Kaziranga National Park is reported at the Silghat area of the park. Even though the sightings of these Gharial species have been reported at the Golapara area of Assam and the Second UNESCO World Heritage site of Manas National Park, it is the first time that the sighting has been reported at Kaziranga National Park. The sighting was confirmed by the forest officials of Kaziranga National Park as the animal had a long and slender snout. Due to the sighting that has been reported the forest officials have sprung into action and they have decided to do a detailed survey of the area near Silghat at Kaziranga National Park to learn more about the sightings of the Gharials.

Elephant feeding camp inaugurated at Kaziranga National Park

What comes as great news to all the wildlife and animal lovers, an elephant feeding camp has been inaugurated at Kaziranga National Park and this is present at the Mihimukh Centre of Kaziranga National Park. This is a one of a king elephant feeding camp here that comes after the one opened at Manas National Park and the one at the Periyar National Park in Kerala. This Elephant feeding camp in an initiative of the authorities of Kaziranga National Park that aims to increase the footfalls of tourists at Kaziranga National Park and it would help to develop an understanding between the visitors to Kaziranga National Park as to how to live in harmony with the animals. Tourists coming to Kaziranga National Park apart from being able to enjoy the elephant safari rides in the park will also get to feed the elephants and this will allow them to have a much more friendly relationship with the animals. The domesticated elephants of Kaziranga National Park are well taken care of with dedicated keepers and vets assigned to these elephants. A total of 15 domesticated elephants can be fed here at Kaziranga National Park and a platform has been built for tourists where they can stand and feed the elephants of Kaziranga National Park with food like bananas, sugarcane, gram, etc. and a nominal fees is levied on the tourists and this happens from 3.30PM to 5PM.

Kaziranga National Park records the lowest poaching cases in 2021

Great news for all the rhino lovers of Kaziranga National Park as the year 2021 has recorded the lowest count of poaching of the famed One Horned Rhinoceros of Kaziranga National Park. The efforts by the government along with the hard working forest authorities of Kaziranga National Park that includes a task force that is called as the Anti poaching task force has resulted in a collective effort to the Kaziranga National Park rhino conservation program. Only one rhino was poached for its prized horn in 2021 and the forest guards along with the APTF have pledged an integrative effort to keep this number minimal. The Hon. CM of Assam congratulated the forest authorities of Kaziranga National Park for this commendable task and also the people of Assam who consider the One Horned Rhinoceros as a pride of Assam. Kaziranga National Park director informed that the various strategies implemented to make the area at the Bandardubi area near Nagaon encroachment free has resulted in the success of the conservation efforts and poachers have been kept away by the forest authorities. Rhino poaching for its prized horn was always a problem here at Kaziranga National Park and the involvement of the local authorities with the poachers resulted in the number going up as well and a strict vigil and monitoring has helped to keep this number a minimal in 2021.

To prevent Rhino poaching at Kaziranga National Park a special task force team deployed

To prevent rhino poaching of the One Horned Rhinoceros that happens to be the pride of the Kaziranga National Park, a special team comprising of 82 members that include 74 men and 8 women have been constituted at Kaziranga National Park that is named as the Special Rhino protection force. The announcement of the formation of this SRPF was made in July 2019 to tackle the poaching of the Indian One Horned Rhinoceros here at Kaziranga National Park. To learn more about the tactics of the rhino poachers and to prevent their movements, the SRPF will undergo a rigorous training period of almost a year and they will be deployed post this training across the various vulnerable areas of Kaziranga National Park. This task force is a result of the collaboration between the Central and State Goverments and is an initiative of the NTCA. The SRPF will be working at the various ranges of Kaziranga National Park viz. the Central, Eastern, Western, Panpur, Bokakhat and the Biswanath Subdivisions of the Kaziranga National Park. This move has been welcome by the forest authorities of Kaziranga National Park an also the government and with the detailed training and expertise this SRPF will track the challenges related to rhino poaching and would work towards preventing this heinous crime.

Rhino poaching has been a problem not only at Kaziranga National Park but also at the other National Parks of Assam viz. the Manas National Park and the Orang National Park in Assam as the horn of this rhino is very much in demand across the black markets of Asia and it is believed to be a content of many traditional medicines and the cost of one horn is estimated to be in millions and this makes the poachers risk their lives to hunt down the one horned rhinos for its prized horn here at the Kaziranga National Park. This poaching number was highest in 2014 and it is said that the poaching here at Kaziranga National Park increases in the monsoon season when the Kaziranga National Park remains closed to tourists and the flood waters fill the park and the forest reserves and the poachers find an easy way inside the premises of the park from the banks of the rivers and this was they go unnoticed here at Kaziranga National Park. As per reports few members of the forest guards were earlier working together with these poachers and this led to the increasing trend in the rhino poaching cases as well. Now with the deployment of the SRPF it will be tough for the poachers to enter the forest reserves of Kaziranga National Park and the results are already in action as only one case of rhino poaching was reported for the entire year in 2021

Blankets provided to baby Rhinos and Elephants at Kaziranga National Park

The cold weather has dropped down the mercury levels across the Northeastern region of the country and the temperatures have dipped in Kaziranga National Park as well. The center for rehabilitation and conservation at Kaziranga National Park have come started taking adequate steps for the baby animals here to beat the cold weather and blankets have been arranged for the baby rhinos and elephants at the center here in Kaziranga National Park. Wildlife lovers were all in awe when the first photos of these young animals wrapped in blankets surfaced on the internet. There are 5 rhinos and 9 baby elephants that are present at the CWRC at Kaziranga National Park and proper medical care is provided to these baby animals and also to help keep the animals warm in the cold weather blankets have been arranged and the animals have been wrapped up in these blankets. The same care has been adopted for the other animals and birds at the place here in Kaziranga National Park as well. After facing the severe monsoon season, these animals were brought here at the CWRC for rehabilitation and now proper care is being provided to beat the winter season as well. The tiger cubs too have been provided with the same facility and this tells us about the steps the authorities of Kaziranga National Park have taken to keep the animals safe and sound.

Tiger Breeding program successful at the Laokhowa Wildlife Sanctuary

The Buffer zone at Kaziranga National Park viz. the Laokhowa Burachapori Wildlife Sanctuary has come with great news for all the wildlife lovers and this sanctuary has recorded the first successful evidence of tiger breeding in 15 years. In an official tweet from the handle of Kaziranga National Park this photo of a camera trap of the Bengal Tiger was tweeted stating that the breeding program has turned out to be a success. These Bengal Tigers are a pride of Kaziranga National Park and many tourists come to the ark from all across the World to have the opportunity to sight these tigers apart from the rhinoceros of Kaziranga National Park. Kaziranga National Park tigers are known to be bigger in size when compared to the same animal across the other protected National Parks of the country and also the very rare white tiger species have also been spotted here at the Kaziranga National Park. As per the last census the number of tigers at the Kaziranga National Park are a total of around 104 and this is a healthy number when compared to the other tiger reserves of the country and also with successful breeding programs like this, this number is expected to grow in the coming years.

Kaziranga National Park draws 2 lakhs tourists despite COVID 19 pandemic for the season 2020-21

April 20, 2021

COVID19 Pandemic has devastated several businesses across the globe and industries that was hit hard by the pandemic was the tourism and hospitality industry and with lockdowns enforced across the various countries around the World, travel has become impossible. However with the gradual easing of curbs, the people started to travel following the guidelines and SOPs and adhering to the strict COVID19 protocols laid down by the respective administrative and the tourism industry gradually started to revive and one place in Assam that was visited by many tourists was the iconic World Heritage Site of Kaziranga National Park. This year the park was reopened to tourists on 21^st of October and since they many locals people started visiting the park and this was news to the park authorities and the other business associated with tourism in Kaziranga National Park like the hotels, resorts and safari a good income as well. Around 2 lakh visitors from the country and including 570 foreign nationals visited the Kaziranga National Park for the season 2020-21 and many more are expected to visit the iconic Kaziranga National Park before the end of the season in May.

Poachers kill One Horned Rhinoceros at Kaziranga National Park

April 21, 2021

The unscrupulous poachers carried out the heinous crime of killing an adult One Horned Rhinoceros and chopping and fleeing with its horn in the first case of poaching recorded this year here at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Kaziranga National Park. The carcass of the Rhino was recovered by the forest authority at the central range of Kohora at the Hanuman forest camp. The last incident of rhino poaching was recorded in the year 2020 in the month of August along with two other incidents as well. Even after strict patrolling by the hardworking forest authorities of Kaziranga National Park, these poachers still find a way to commit such crimes that brings down the morale of the forest authorities of Kaziranga National Park.

3 Rhino calves translocated from Kaziranga National Park to Manas National Park

In good news for the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Manas National Park, 3 rhino calves would be translocated from Kaziranga National Park thereby providing a boost to the rhino population at Manas National Park that had one come down to zero and now Manas National Park has around 44 rhinos in the wild. These three rhino calves (one male and two female) were rescued in the 2019 floods of Kaziranga National Park and they were kept at the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) at Kaziranga National Park and now after a period of two years they will be translocated to Manas Conservation where they will be kept under observation and later released in the wild thereby providing a boost to the rhino population here at Manas National Park. Kaziranga National Park the UNESCO World Heritage Site in home to the highest population of the Indian One Horned Rhinoceros anywhere in the World and Manas National Park is one of the very biodiversity rich forests across the country. Manas National Park was once ravaged by extremism about 25 years back and rampant poaching and illegal felling of trees were done by unscrupulous people here and in 2003 with the aim of bringing back Manas, the local people put down their arms and they started all efforts in the conservation of the flora, fauna and avifauna of Manas National Park. Translocation of rhinos from Kaziranga National Park to Manas National Park began in 2006 and today the population of rhinos is getting healthier in Manas National Park.

Staff of Kaziranga National Park killed by a Rhinoceros

January 30, 2021

In disheartening news to the forest authorities of Kaziranga National Park, an adult male rhinoceros killed a game watcher (forest department staff) at the Agoratoli range of Kaziranga National Park. Director of Kaziranga National Park has informed that the forest department staff (Moheswar Hazarika) succumbed on the spot after the attack and he was rushed to the Bokakhat Civil Hospital where he was declared dead on arrival and this is a very sad and disheartening news for the entire staff of Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve. A similar incident of rhino attack on the forest authorities of Kaziranga National Park was reported almost around a year ago when in March 2020, two staff members Bikudar Bora and Anil Kalita were patrolling around the Kohora Area of Kaziranga National Park when a rhino attacked them leaving bora dead while Kalita escaped with minor injuries. Incidents of rhino attack on the forest department staff have been often heard at Kaziranga National Park, but the brave authorities of the park have never given up on their mission to protect the rhinoceros of the park and always stepped up against any activities that is towards he harm of the animals that are the pride of Kaziranga National Park and Assam.

French Delegates along with Minister Barbara Pompili visit Kaziranga National Park

In what comes as good news for the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Kaziranga National Park, after the visit of the United States Ambassador to India, on 1^st February 2021, a group of French delegates led by the Ecological transition Minister of France, Barbara Pompili visited Kaziranga National Park and they took jeep safari rides at the Central and Western Ranges of Kaziranga National Park. Kaziranga is renowned globally for its population of the Indian One Horned Rhinoceros and the visit by the delegates of foreign nations is a boost for its global recognition and tourism perspective as well. Since 2012, the French Development Agency has been working towards providing financial and technical help to the Assam Program on Forest and Biodiversity Conservation (APFBC) to enable towards the conservation of the States Biodiversity efforts and also to assist to create alternate livelihoods for the forest dependent communities. Kaziranga National Park happens to be one of the very important sites of APFBA and a visit to this UNESCO World Heritage Site is a part of the French Minister’s five day tour of India to strengthen the ties on sustainable development between the two countries.

Bollywood actor Ayushman Khurana on visit to Kaziranga National Park to shoot for upcoming spy thriller movie

Jan 28, 2021

Giving Boost to the tourism infrastructure of Kaziranga National Park, Bollywood has stepped foot in Assam with Director Anubhav Sinha choosing Kaziranga National Park as a destination to shoot his upcoming spy thriller Bollywood flick with lead actor as the very popular Ayushman Khurana. The actor is currently shooting in Kaziranga National Park for his upcoming movie and he took the opportunity to explore the forest reserves of Kaziranga National Park on jeep safari rides and he even had the opportunity to sight the Indian One Horned Rhinoceros, Hog Deers, Asiatic Elephants, Wild Water Buffaloes, etc. and he was very enthusiastic after the ride. The actor is an ardent fan of the wildlife of the country and has been on safari experiences at many other prominent National Parks of the country. Earlier in the day, the actor was seen playing a game of cricket with the local children and his staff members and the entire forest department of Kaziranga National Park is excited to welcome the actor to the place. This will be of significant boost to tourism at Kaziranga National Park with the release of the movie reaching out to masses who will learn more about the beauty of this UNESCO World Heritage Site and Assam as well.

Authority of Kaziranga National Park imposes Section 144

Magh Bihu is one among the three Bihus celebrated in Assam and the Magh Bihu is a festival that marks the end of the harvest season and all the granaries in the villages are full and people sit down to celebrate their hard work and bountiful harvest and they spend their time in merriment and celebrations. Uruka is an integral part of the Bihu festival and the people of Assam gather along with friends and families and they host a grand feast to mark this festival and community fishing in villages is a ritual that is observed on the Uruka day of the Magh Bihu festival. However community fishing around the forest reserves of Kaziranga National Park poses a serious threat as people enter the protected area to catch fish in huge groups and this poses a threat to the animals of Kaziranga National Park. To avoid any case of human and animal conflict at Kaziranga National Park, the park authorities have imposed section 144 on January 13^th and 14^th to avoid gathering of people inside the protected area of the park and this is solely done to protect the interest of the wildlife of Kaziranga National Park. This is however not applicable to tourist related activities at Kaziranga National Park and visitors can come to enjoy their jungle safari experience at Kaziranga.

INR 75 Lakhs collected by Kaziranga National Park in two months

What comes as great news to the authorities of Kaziranga National Park, the park has managed to collect INR 75 lakhs from the visitors in the past two months of opening as the park was closed for a long duration due to the spread of COVID19 across the World. As people were under lockdown and with the gradual opening of the park, visitors from mostly across Assam have started to throng this famed World Heritage Site in their own state and started to enjoy the Elephant and Jeep Safari rides at the place. The news comes as a breather for all the Hotels and Resorts at Kaziranga National Park as well who were suffering without income because of the lockdown and with people slowly visiting from other parts of the country as well, the place is sure to have a good revenue generation before the close of the season in May.

A centre for Tiger Monitoring established at Kaziranga National Park

Jan 06, 2021

To take good care and to monitor the movement of the Royal Bengal Tigers of Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve, a centre for the Tiger Monitoring has been established at Kaziranga. The Tiger Reserve has been renamed as Block 1, 2, 3 and 4 respectively and the monitoring centre was inaugurated by the Director and DFO of Kaziranga National Park. This monitoring centre at Kaziranga will be comprised of a large number of the forest personnel of Kaziranga and along with them there will be a team of volunteers from the local schools and college who will be involved in the monitoring of the Tigers at Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve – A UNESCO World Heritage Site.

US Ambassador visits Kaziranga National Park and post several pictures on twitter

Jan 03, 2021

US Ambassador to India, Kenneth Juster recently visited Kaziranga National Park in Assam and he was excited post his visit and he took to his twitter account to post amazing pictures of the wildlife and birds of Kaziranga National Park. The Hon. Ambassador posted pictures of the Indian One Horned Rhinoceros, Asiatic Elephants, Asiatic Wild Water Buffaloes and the Black Necked Stork on his twitter handle and expressed his visit to Kaziranga National Park (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) as a very spectacular one. This will be a boost to the tourism of Kaziranga National Park as now many visitors from USA can be expected to arrive at Kaziranga and to get the opportunity to sight the pride of Assam – the Indian One Horned Rhinoceros.

Viral Video – Royal Bengal Tiger strays out of the Forest reserves of either Kaziranga National Park or Nameri National Park and attacks two person leaving them injured

Nov 27, 2020

A tragic incident speaking about the man-animal conflicts once an animal strays out of the protected forest reserves was reported in the Sonitpur district of Assam near the Tezpur University and the animal was an adult Royal Bengal Tiger. The Tiger was caught on camera running towards a crowd of people and it attacked two people leaving them injured. Forest authorities rushed to the spot to take care of the situation and they managed to guide the Royal Bengal Tiger to move to the 9^th addition of Kaziranga National Park. The operation was led by DFO Sonitpur supported by the DFO Nagaon and after Section 144 was imposed to control the crowd the forest authorities took appropriate steps to avoid any further human-animal conflict and directed the animal to safety to the forest reserves of the newly added 9^th edition of Kaziranga National Park near Tezpur. It is not sure whether the Tiger had strayed out of the forest reserves of Kaziranga National park or the forest reserves of Nameri National Park as the Royal Bengal Tigers and other animals use the patch along the Jia Bhoreli river for their movement. A team of Veterinarians also accompanied the forest authorities in case they need to tranquilize the tiger but it was not necessary and the efficient forest authorities managed to safely direct the animal back to the forest reserves of Kaziranga National Park.  

Assam to get its 6^th National Park

Nov 29, 2020

In a formal function at the Mathanaguri area near Manas National Park – the 2^nd UNESCO World Heritage Site of Assam, Hon. Forest Minister of Assam Mr. Parimal Suklabaidya informed that Assam will soon have its 6^th National Park and the minister also released the proposed map of this National Park. The National Park will be named as Ranimora National Park that is at present called as the Ripu Reserve Forest. This proposal comes keeping in mind that sufficient area of the Ripu Reserve Forest had been encroached upon due to insurgency across the area since the last 30 years and the proposal to make it a National park will benefit the area and a proposal has already been submitted to the Hon. Governor of Assam to upgrade this 422 sq. km. area of the forest. At present Assam is home to five National Park namely Kaziranga National Park, Manas National Park, Orang National Park, Nameri National Park and Dibru Saikhowa National Park and 2 among these are UNESCO World Heritage Sites as well viz. Kaziranga National Park and Manas National Park. Ripu Forest Reserve in one of the oldest forest reserves of Assam and it is said to be one of the best scientifically managed forests of India during the 19^th century but terrorism related activities happened a lot and the trees inside these forests were chopped down for timber money during the time of insurgency.

As per ancient records, the Ripu Reserve Forest served as the migratory route of fauna species from Himalayan Mountains and Indo Malayan and Ind0-Chinese towards the west and Peninsular India towards east. When upgraded to a National Park, Ripu Reserve Forest would be an addition to the Manas National Park and this will come as a significant boost to the conservation of the tiger species of the place. This will allow the area to have three core areas for the breeding of the Royal Bengal Tigers and also for other rare and endangered animals like Golden Langurs, Hispid Hares, Pygmy Hogs, Hoolock Gibbons, Capped Langurs, One Horned Rhinoceros, Red Pandas, etc. This tourism circuit will come as a boost for the locals who can engage in various tourism related activities like Hotels, Homestays, Safaris, Guides, Cooks, etc. and this allows them to earn a decent livelihood as well.

Ecotourism at Panpur area of Kaziranga National Park inaugurated

Nov 22, 2020

Boosting the tourism opportunity of Kaziranga National Park, a new addition has been opened to tourists to travel inside the forest reserves of Kaziranga National Park at Panpur near Tezpur. This range will interest tourists who are travelling to the Tawang circuit in Arunachal Pradesh and they can travel here to sight the varied flora, fauna and avifauna of Kaziranga National Park. The Panpur Eco tourism project has been flagged open by MLA of Sootee and Director of Kaziranga National Park and jeep safari option has been included here so that visitors can explore the forest reserves and sight various animals and birds including the Royal Bengal Tigers of Kaziranga National Park have been recorded here at Panpur. This will surely benefit the locals of the region who can now engage in tourism related activities of Kaziranga National Park.

Kaziranga National Park opens Nature Trail for trekking and Boat Safari option for tourists at the Bhomoraguri Tourism Site

Nov 20, 2020

What comes as a major boost to Eco and water tourism at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Kaziranga National Park, the park authorities have announced the opening of a natural trekking trail at the Burapahar Range of Kaziranga National Park that falls under the Eastern Division of Kaziranga and this is keeping in mind the tourists who are adventure seekers and they want more apart from the Jeep and Elephant Safari rides at Kaziranga National Park. The Chirang Nature Trail will offer them this option exactly and they can hike across the pristine forests of Kaziranga National Park at the Burapahar range sighting the various birds and primate species of Kaziranga. This nature trail is a very rewarding experience and once you visit Kaziranga National Park also takes this opportunity to explore the Chirang Nature Trail for the experience of a lifetime. Also the authorities of under the Nagaon Wildlife Division have provided the option of boat safari at the Bhomoraguri safari point that is present midway between Koliabor and Tezpur and this boat safari option is a perfect way to explore the waters of the Brahmaputra River to sight the Gangetic River Dolphin.

These River Dolphins are an endangered species and this was due to excessive hunting in the river waters that reduced their numbers drastically. The boat safari allows you to witness the river dolphins of the waters of the mighty Brahmaputra River and you may also get to sight other animal species that come to the river banks to quench their thirst. This is a very unique way of exploring the waters around Kaziranga National Park and a boat safari is a wonderful experiment to go on during your visit to Kaziranga National Park.

Elephant Safari resumes at Kaziranga National Park

Nov 1, 2020

After the Kaziranga National Park reopened for tourist season for 2020-21 after a long break of several months due to the outbreak of COVID-19, the Elephant Safari rides have also been reopened to visitors now. Keeping in mind the restriction that need to be in place due to the on-going pandemic only 37 seats on these elephant safari rides will now be offered to visitors at Kaziranga National Park and the visitors need to ensure to follow all COVID protocols like wearing of masks, sanitizing of hands and maintain social distancing. At the beginning the elephant safari rides have been reopened for the tourists at the Central safari range of Kohora and later it will be opened at the Western range of Bagori as well. In the normal tourist season without the pandemic situation, generally the elephant safari rides for tourists from foreign countries are conducted at the Central range and the elephant rides for Indian Nationals are conducted at the Western Range of Kaziranga National Park. The 37 seats of offering for reopening of the elephant rides in Kaziranga National Park at the central range have already been sold out and this season the local tourists have filled the spot of the forest reserves of Kaziranga National Park making up for the absence of the tourists from abroad.

Kaziranga National Park reopens to tourists for season 2020-21

Oct 21, 2020

In what comes as good news for the tourism sector of Assam, Kaziranga National Park has been opened to visitors on October 21, 2020 after a long break due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Kaziranga National Park – a UNESCO World Heritage Site has seen its longest closure in history due to the outbreak of COVID-19 and the park generally shuts to tourists in the month of mid-May owing to the arrival of the monsoon season but unfortunately this year it had to stop welcoming visitors as early as March due to the pandemic situation. Kaziranga National Park has been reopened to tourists following adherence to strict COVID-19 protocol measures like wearing of face masks, use of sanitizers for disinfection and even the jeep safari vehicles have to be sanitized before it enters the forest reserves. All hotels and resorts around Kaziranga National Park have also been informed to follow strict COVID-19 protocols in the interest of safety of the guests. Visitors to Kaziranga National Park will need to ensure to go through thermal screening and in case a person is showing symptoms, he/she will be directed to the health centres for necessary treatment. Kaziranga National Park expects to have a lot of local tourist footfalls due to the present restriction on travel with very few foreign tourists expected to come to the park this season.

 At present the central and western ranges of Kaziranga National Park have been opened up for tourists with jeep safari rides operating on these ranges and the elephant safari ride are yet to be announced for visitors. Kaziranga National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage famed for its population of the Indian One Horned Rhinoceros and is a renowned wildlife destination in India that attracts visitors from various countries to get a chance to sight the One Horned Rhinoceros species here. Kaziranga National Park is a success story of conservation of the population of the One Horned Rhinoceros species from only a handful that have now risen to over 3000 in number. Kaziranga National Park is also a Tiger Reserve with a population of around 104 tigers and this national park has the highest population density of this wild cat species in a protected area in the wild. Kaziranga National Park is also home to the highest population of Asiatic Wild Water Buffaloes and the Hog Deers. The forest reserves of Kaziranga National Park are home to 495 species of birds both resident and migratory and many of these bird species are endangered and are near threatened species. Kaziranga National Park is also home to the only Ape species in India – the Hoolock Gibbons.

Kaziranga National Park set to expand with addition of 3053 hectares of land

September 04, 2020

What comes as a very exciting news to the famed UNESCO World Heritage Site of Kaziranga National Park is that the approval by the Government to expand the park area by around 3,053 hectares and this comes in the Seventh, Eighth and Ninth editions of Kaziranga National Park. These areas include the land that was evicted area from encroachment and also certain riverine islands. These Seventh and Eight editions will connect the animal corridor at Kaziranga National Park with the hills of Karbi Anglong and the Ninth edition extends to the Nameri National Park in the Sonitpur district of Assam. This move from the Government had come almost after 35 years with the already existing 6 editions of Kaziranga National Park and this has been a dedicated effort of the Hon. Chief Minister of Assam – Mr. Sarbananda Sonowal who is keen in stopping the poaching activities that are carried out by miscreants here at Kaziranga National Park. There areas that have been added will now connect Kaziranga National Park better with Orang National Park, Nameri National Park and Karbi Anglong hills and allow the animals to migrate to these nearby forest reserves especially during the annual flood season of Kaziranga National Park that sees deaths of many animals here at Kaziranga National Park due to unavailability of highlands and by the time animals try to migrate to the nearby mountains of Karbi Anglong, the flood waters already drown them and these plains land extension with the other National Parks will allow them to roam around and thus escape from the flood situations.

The authorities of Kaziranga National Park will have to add more patrolling camps inside the park area now to monitor the movement of the animals and also detect any suspicious activities inside the forest reserves of these extension to Kaziranga National Park as well. Although this would means that certain eviction dries would need to be carried out and a lot of rehabilitation of people would be needed as many have been living around the banks of the rivers on the islands or even along the forest lands that have been a part of this addition to Kaziranga National Park but this is to be seen as long term solution to the annual floods of Kaziranga National Park where every year many animals perish as they do not have connecting lands to the other forests and highland that have been encroached upon by humans and provide them a right to survive in their habitat.

India’s only Golden Tiger sighted at Kaziranga National Park

July 12, 2020

What comes as good news for the admirers of the Tigers of the wildlife reserves and National Parks of the country, in addition to entering the Guinness Book of World Record for the 2018 census of this Big Cat, another good news is that the rare Golden Tiger species was spotted at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Kaziranga National Park in Assam. A very rare phenomenon that is caused “by a recessive gene that gets expressed due to extensive inbreeding” as tweeted by IFS Parveen Kaswan, and the picture he had posted on twitter was clicked by Mayuresh Hendre and this was captured in the forest reserves of Kaziranga National Park. Named as ‘Goldie’, this Golden Tiger might be the only golden tiger living in the wild anywhere in the World. Though you might see the golden tigers in the zoos around the World as the recessive gene gets expressed sue to inbreeding. ‘Goldie’ in Kaziranga National Park might be the only Golden tiger surviving in the wild. Kaziranga National Park in Assam is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and famed for its population and conservation story of the Indian One Horned Rhinoceros. Kaziranga National Park is also a Tiger Reserve and has around 111 of these big cat species roaming in the wild making it home to the highest population density of the tigers in any protected area in the wild around the World.

Employees and Mahouts of Kaziranga National Park arrested for being involved in Rhino Horn Smuggling racket

Nov 20, 2020

What comes as disheartening news that doesn’t boost the morale of the hardworking employees of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Kaziranga National Park, around 26 people have been arrested in connection to supplying of the horns of the Indian One Horned Rhinoceros at Kaziranga National Park and selling these to local buyers. And few of the members also include causal workers and permanent employees of Kaziranga National Park and all of them work as Mahouts here at Kaziranga National Park who venture deep into the forest reserves of Kaziranga National Park not only carrying tourists who come for elephant safari rides but they also take their elephants to graze inside the forest interiors. Sometimes during their visits they might be able to find horns of rhinos that might have passed away due to old age or due to flooding inside the park and might not have been seen by the forest guards as the Kaziranga National Park spreads across a huge area and these mahouts pick these horns and smuggle them to local buyers. Though they might not have personally killed an animal for its horn but supply of rhino horns is illegal and this will in turn lure more people into the trade thereby increase the chances of poaching and hence the criminals have been arrested to continue the conservation efforts of Kaziranga National Park.

Annual floods hit Assam and inundate 70% of Kaziranga National Park

This year the monsoon season arrived early and hit several parts of the state and flooded various districts across the State affecting almost 14 lakh people of Assam. The flood waters have also inundated the various wildlife divisions of Kaziranga National Park and many forest camps are now under water ere at Kaziranga National Park. The wild animals are seeking refuge at higher grounds and this means that they need to come to the artificial highlands within the areas inside Kaziranga National Park or some animals even seek refuge at the higher grounds of the Karbi Anglong hills. The problem is that the animals of Kaziranga National Park have to cross the stretch of the National Highway that runs across the area of the protected park to the other side of the Karbi Anglong hills thereby posing danger to their life from the vehicles and heavy trucks plying on these roads.

The Authorities of Kaziranga National Park have taken due consideration of this problem and over the years during the monsoon season they take adequate measures to control the flow and speed of traffic in the stretch of National Highway from Jakhlabandha to Bokakhat that falls along the wildlife corridor of the Kaziranga National Park. To protect the animals from the speeding vehicles time cards have been introduced and this doesn’t allow the vehicles to cross the speed limit of 40 km/hr. across this road stretch and in case they do they are levied a heavy fine. Though many accidents have been averted with this concept yet some animals like Hog Deer’s have been killed by vehicles on the road stretch. The protection force at Kaziranga National Park also need to ensure to save the human and animal conflict as the as the animals come out of the protected areas of Kaziranga National Park and to the areas near the human settlements at Kohora and Bagori and humans owing the fear of their life often hunt down these animals. News of hunting down of Hog Deer’s for their meat have come from the Biswanath Sub Division of Kaziranga National Park and the meat sells from INR 300 – INR 500 per kilo and owing to the size of the Hog Deer’s the meat quantity fetches a decent amount and certain hums knowingly or unknowingly (that the Hog Deer’s are protected animals) hunt them down and sell their meat. Poachers also get active during the monsoon season due to the tall growth of grass in the areas of Kaziranga National Park and also the water way provides them easy accessibility inside the Kaziranga National Park thereby helping them to poach the animals like rhinos and tiger for their horns and bones and skin, etc.

With the second wave of floods hitting Assam in July it is now reported that almost 90% of the area of Kaziranga National Park is hit by floods. Animals have started to take cover in the highlands and reports have come in of the tiger seeking shelter in a goat’s shed to avoid the flood water and the efficient forest officials have rushed to the rescue of the tiger at Kaziranga. Authorities have reported that the flood waters have submerged almost 166 anti-poaching camps of the total 223 camps. Also as per the authorities of Kaziranga National Park, almost 47 animals have died due to the floods that include 41 hog deers, 1 Rhinoceros and three wild boars. Not only Kaziranga, but the floods have also wreaked havoc across the other National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries of Assam. Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary near Guwahati that is home to the highest population density of the Indian One Horned Rhinoceros has been completely submerged and news of a rhino losing its life has surfaced due to the floods. Also locals have reported of an inhumane act of certain miscreants hunting down four male hornbill birds and a wild boar at the vicinity of this Wildlife Sanctuary as well.

2019-20: A sad tourist season for Kaziranga Tourism

May 11, 2020

The tourist season of 2019-20 has turned out to be a devastating one for Kaziranga National Park and the other tourist destinations of Assam and North East India. Though the season started on a high note after the reopening of Kaziranga National Park towards the mid of October with visitors coming in from across the World to spot the diverse flora and fauna of Kaziranga National Park, no one could have ever predicted such a frim scenario towards December. In the month of November we executed several tours and safaris at Kaziranga National Park (with guests coming in from as far as USA and Canada) and other National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries of Assam and other prominent tourist destinations of North East India. But with the onset of December the scenario changed completely. The introduction of the Citizenship Amendment Bill in the Rajya Sabha (to be passed into an act later) saw a huge uproar across Assam and North East India as well and protests were seen across the State thereby the Government was bound to declare a state of curfew across the state and this brought tourism to a standstill. With tourists fearing to visit North East India due to this unrest, the National parks of Assam suffered a severe decline in the no of tourist footfalls in the peak travel season of December and January as many tourists deferred or cancelled their visit to Kaziranga ain these two prime months of the tourist season leading to revenue losses to the tune of around INR 1000 crores to the state government.

Not only the Government but the hotel owners, taxi operators, safari operators, tour operators everyone had to bear the brunt for this. Gradually towards the end of January the tourist footfall started to pace up and when everything seemed to come to normal the clash between the tribal and non-tribal people in Meghalaya especially at Cherrapunji and Shillong made another setback to the tourist industry in North East India. As most tourist club their visit to Kaziranga along with destinations in Meghalaya like Shillong, Cherrapunji, Mawlynnong and Dawki felt it to be unsafe to travel during this time and cancelled their visit. The tip of the iceberg was the Coronavirus (COVID 19) that brought the entire tourism industry across the world to a standstill. The effects of COVID 19 were felt across the World with the economy of the superpowers falling to devastation and one industry that was hit hard was travel and tourism. With several prominent airlines declaring bankruptcy the situation seemed similar to tourism and the brunt at Kaziranga National Park was huge as 90% of the population depends on tourism for their livelihood. The workforce was laid off and the safari owners now even resorted to farming to make ends meet. With the situation around the World the tourism scenarios bouncing back at Kaziranga National park seem bleak. Hoping for the best!!

Rhino Poached in Kaziranga National Park

May 10th, 2020

What comes as sad news for the UNESCO World Heritage site after duration of 13 months is that an adult rhino was killed and its horn chopped off my miscreants at the Agoratoli range of Kaziranga National Park. In lieu of the nationwide lockdown (due of COVID 19) that bought sad news to the entire tourism sector of Kaziranga National Park, the poaching of this prized animal comes as tragic news. With strict security measures in place under the able leadership of the Hon Chief Minister of Assam Sarbananda Sonowal and the forest authorities of Kaziranga, no news of poaching was reported for the past 13 months here at Kaziranga National Park but this incident has again brought the authorities under high alert at Kaziranga. The carcass of the adult rhino was discovered by the hard working forest guards of Kaziranga near the Dormari Beel at the Agoratoli range of Kaziranga. The forest guards also recovered 8 rounds of AK 47 rifle near the area as well. A detailed report has been sought by the government who are already under much of pressure due to the spread of COVID 19 and also the African Swine Flu that has killed over 13,000 pigs across Assam. High level enquiry is underway to identify and nab the culprits behind this heinous act of poaching. Poaching of rhinos for its prized horn was rampant by poachers in Kaziranga but authorities managed to bring this number down to only 3 in 2019.

Tigress found dead in Kaziranga National Park

April 17, 2020

There was sad news from the Kaziranga Tiger Reserve (home to 121 Royal Bengal Tigers) as the authorities recovered the carcass of an adult tigress from the Kohora rage of the park. Forest guards of Kaziranga National Park who were out on patrolling recovered the body and it was taken for a detailed post mortem in front of the Director of Kaziranga National Park and reputed veterinarians of the park. Thankfully after the post mortem was performed it was found that the tiger had died of old age and fighting with another tigress and it was not a case of poaching. There were scar marks on the body of the tigress indicating that it was injured in a fight with another animal of the same species. The tiger’s body has been buried properly and authorities have taken adequate measures to look out for the wellbeing of the tiger population here at Kaziranga National Park.   

African Swine Flu fever worries authorities of Kaziranga National Park

May 05, 2020

The deadly African Swine Flu has claimed lives of 13,000 pigs across Assam and it has become a matter of grave concern for authorities of Kaziranga National Park as the park has a huge population of wild boars. Any infected animal from the nearby villages could create a havoc by spreading the disease and hence the concerned Ministry has directed the authorities of Kaziranga National Park to dig a trench (6 feet deep and 2 km long) to prevent this from happening and safeguarding the population of wild boars here at Kaziranga National Park.

Noted English cricketer at Kaziranga National Park in Assam to promote awareness of Rhino conservation

March 04, 2020

Former captain of the English cricket team Kevin Pieterson who retired from cricket now has actively initiated a group working towards Rhino conservation efforts. The renowned cricketer arrived in Assam along with a group of professional Australian photographers to shoot a documentary on the active conservation efforts of the Indian One Horned Rhinoceros species. Pieterson will also participate in the Kaziranga Utsaav that is scheduled to begin from March 12th which was earlier scheduled to be held on Jan 5th but had to be called off due t the CAA protests across Assam, Pieterson was seen taking Jeep safaris into the Kaziranga National Park interiors and interacting with the forest authorities and local people of Kaziranga National PArk.

Female rhinoceros trans-located from Kaziranga National Park to Manas National Park

March 02, 2020 ~ Source: ANI News

In a bid to boost the rhinoceros population at the second UNESCO World heritage site of Assam viz. Manas National Park, two adult female rhinos were translocated from Kaziranga National Park to Manas. This step comes as a part of the India Rhino Vision programme as stated by Hon. Forest Minister of Assam Parimal Suklabaidya. Manas National Park which had been an area disturbed by militancy many years ago has now earned a repute of being a famous tourist destination of Assam for its varied wildlife population and as a place that didn’t have a single population of rhino now boasts of a healthy number of 43 rhinos. 

Assam Police recovers arms near Kaziranga National Park 

Feb 20, 2020 ~ Source: Shillong times

In a major break through, Assam police were successful in recovering arms from a culvert near the Kaziranga National Park that is suspected to be used for poaching related activities here. A youth from Nagaon alias Robi Ali has been arrested in this connection. Assam Police from Nagaon apprehended Ali with a rifle, two rounds of live ammunition and other objectionable arms that was dismantled and kept under a culvert tactically so that these parts could be easily carried inside the forest reserves of Kaziranga National Park. Interrogation is being carried out and hopefully more culprits associated with this acr will be put behind bars soon. 

Rhino poachers carrying arms nabbed near Kaziranga National Park

November 29, 2019 ~ Source: India Today

Two rhino poachers bearing arms were nabbed in an operation by the joint team of Biswanath district police and Biswanath Wildlife Division of Assam. The accused are believed to have entered the park with arms to poach and carry away the horn of a rhinoceros. Identified as Ayub Babi and Imran Ali, the two accused were picked up by Assam police at the Balidubi Chapori under Biswanath Wildlife Division. Also recently four most wanted Rhino poachers were also arrested by the officials of the Biswanath Wildlife Division at teh Baihata area here in Assam.

Kaziranga Utsav to begin from January 5th, 2020

A three day long tourism festival is scheduled to be held at Kaziranga National Park from jan 5th to Jan 7th in 2010 to promote tourism across the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Hon. Agriculture Minister of Assam, Mr Atul Bora inaugurated the logo of the festival at an event. With an aim to promote and harness the tourism potential of Kaziranga National Park, the festival will be organized by the state forest department and agricultural department. Various events like cultural functions, food fests and art competition are scheduled to be hoisted on the course of these 3 days and the minister has announced to leave no stone unturned to boost Kaziranga National Park as a global tourism destination for both Indian and Foreign tourists. 

Around 50 rhino poachers nabbed in Kaziranga National Park this year

December 1st, 2019: Source: Times of India

Strict vigilance and alertness by the officials of the forest division of Kaziranga National Park and Assam Police has been successful in nabbing 50 deadly rhino poachers in and around Kaziranga National Park in Assam. Almost 43 members have been arrested from the Biswanath Wildlife Division alone that happens to be the 6th addition of the Kaziranga National Park. These notorious poachers made their activity more during the dry seasons as the park becomes more visible and accessible by foot as well. Rhinos become more vulnerable to poaching activities during full moon nights as their skin is often covered with mud and the body armour shines with the moonlight. With strict vigilance the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Kaziranga National Park has been successful in bringing down the poaching numbers to half this year compared to previous year. 

Massive protests across Assam due to the Citizenship Amendment Bill proves as a cloud on Kaziranga National Park

Massive protests have been reported across Assam due to the issue of the ongoing Citizenship Amendment Bill that is being approved by the Union Government and is scheduled to be introduced in both the houses of the Parliament. People of Assam mostly the student unions have shown their disapproval for the passage of these bills and demanded it to be scrapped thereby organizing protests across the state. This has resulted in the tourist cancelling their visit to the state at the end moment and the business has gone down at teh National parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries and both the Hotels and Safari operators are facing the brunt. Not only at Kaziranga National Park but the other National Parks at Manas and Nameri are also facing the same situation along with the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary where the footfall of tourists have gone down considerable due to these protests compared to the same time last year. 

Kaziranga National Park reopens for tourists for Season 2019 -20

Kaziranga National Park reopened for tourists for the upcoming season by the Hon Chief Minister of Assam Sarbananda Sonowal on October 12th, 2019. The Chief Minister declared the Kohora and Bagori safari ranges of the ark open for the tourists at a function held at the Bagori and Mihimukh on Saturday. He also stated that Kaziranga National Park having earned the distinction of being one among the 17 most iconic places to be visited in India is a proud moment for every person in Assam. He also announced that the State Government has taken various steps for the beautification, conservation and development of Kaziranga National Park. He also mentioned that to protect the animal habitat of Kaziranga National Park a 32 km long flyover will be constructed. The Hon Chief Minister also praised the efforts of the park authorities, local people in bringing down the poaching related activities around the area of the Kaziranga National Park especially of its flagship species – the Indian One Horned Rhinoceros.

Assam approves Kaziranga Eco sensitive proposal and sends it to Center

September 18, 2019 ~ Source: The Hindustan Times

As per the guidelines of the Hon. Supreme Court of India, the Government of Assam has approved a draft proposal for an Eco sensitive zone to be setup around Kaziranga National Park. This has been proposed to preserve the wildlife of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Kaziranga and prevent environment degradation activities like mining and construction of Resorts and hotels in the sensitive zone of the Kaziranga National Park boundary from 0 to 2 km while the guidelines was for a 10 km radius.

World Rhino Day celebrated in Kaziranga National Park

September 22, 2019 ~ Source: The Sentinel

Kaziranga National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and home to the highest population of the Indian One Horned Rhinoceros celebrated the World Rhino day with great pomp and festivities. The celebrations were observed at the Bokakahat Natya mandir and was flagged off by the Director of Kaziranga National Park – P Shivakumar. Almost 500 people attended this function that was inaugurated by State Minister for Agriculture Atul Bora who laid emphasis on the role of the local people at eh nearby area of Kaziranga National Park who have helped immensely in the conservation activities of the Indian One Horned Rhinoceros due to which the number of this species have risen in Kaziranga National Park over the years to a substantial number.

Center Planning to build flyover at NH 37 crossing the animal corridor at Kaziranga National Park

September 10, 2019 ~ Source: Steelguru

In order to provide a safe passage for the animals of Kaziranga National Park especially during the monsoon, the center has proposed for the construction of a 35 km long flyover divided into 3 segments that will be the longest in India. Assam forest minister Mr. Parimal Suklabiadya has updated the press that the NHAI is preparing a detailed project report for the construction of this flyover here at Kaziranga National Park and this would aid in the protection of the animals from being hit by vehicles once they are crossing the highway.

12 rounds of ammunition recovered near Kaziranga National Park

September 2019 ~ Source: The Sentinel

Forest guards and police under the jurisdiction of Kaziranga National Park were shocked to find 12 rounds of live ammunition of .303 rifle near Kaziranga National Park. The discovery was made by a local girl who went to take bath at the nearby Mora Diphlu river near the Kohora range of Kaziranga National Park. She was frightened to see the bag and brought this to the notice of the authorities of Kaziranga National Park who recovered the ammunition wrapped up in a bag. As per initial reports the police personnel believe that the ammunition must have been brought by the poachers at Kaziranga National Park but upon witnessing the strict vigilance activities by the brave forest guards of Kaziranga they got scared and threw the bag into the river to avoid getting caught. A case had been registered and investigations are on to find out the culprits who were carrying these ammunition rounds.

Restrictions on vehicular traffic imposed as Flood waters submerge 90% of Kaziranga National Park

July 17, 2019

As the flood situation of Assam has worsened major districts in the State have come under the flood waters affecting the lives of lakhs of people. While efforts to save and evacuate human life continues across Assam major sad news is also reported from Kaziranga National Park as around 90% of the more than 400 sq km area of this UNESCO World Heritage Site have now been submerged causing havoc to animal life. Though efforts were taken by the Kaziranga National Park authorities to minimize the effect of floods on the lives of the animals here by the complete repair of the 200 highlands to accommodate and provide shelter to the animals this did not prove enough to save the lives of 30 animals who have died until today. Some of the animal species that have died are 3 Indian One Horned Rhinoceros, 1 Elephant, 8 Hog deers and a Sambar deer. The Deers were killed in collision with speeding vehicles along NH 37. Though time cards were issued to vehicles not to cross the 40 km/hr speed mark while crossing the highway stretch across Kaziranga National Park and animals can safely cross the highway to move to the adjoining highlands of Karbi Anglong in Assam still these deaths were reported. With the flood waters submerging the National Highway along NH 37 the vehicular movement of traffic was completely halted on Monday and tuesday and have resumed services today. The water levels have started to reduce now and better weather is expected to bring an end to this natural disaster in Assam

Authorities prepare to face annual floods at Kaziranga National Park

July 13, 2019: Source ~ nenow.in

As floods in Assam continue to take a toll across the State the major rivers are running dangerously above the safe levels. Kaziranga National Park authority have geared up to tackle the flood situation. As per Kaziranga National Park director, the flood waters are expected to reach Kaziranga National Park tomorrow and the entire staff have been alerted to keep vigil and how to tackle the flood situation. The Kaziranga National Park officials have finished repairs of the 200 highlands inside the park to serve as safe grounds for the animals. Also the local villagers of the vicinity have also been trained on how o tackle the flood situation.

Kaziranga National Park among 17 sites in India to be developed as iconic world Class Tourism Destinations

July 8, 2019: Source ~ nenow.in

Good news comes to people of Assam as the Hon. Finance Minister of India Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman declared in the budget speech that 17 iconic tourism sites in India would be developed as World Class Tourism destinations. This would help in attracting more numbers of domestic and foreign tourists to these sites. A budget of INR 1378 crores has been allocated for development of tourism infrastructure across the country. Kaziranga National Park – a UNESCO World Heritage Site has been included in this list that also comprises of the Taj Mahal, Hampi, ajanta and Ellora Caves, Red Fort, Qutub Minar, Khajuraho, etc.

Poaching bid foiled in Kaziranga National Park

July 7, 2019: Source ~ Deccan Herald

The Special Rhino Protection Force at Kaziranga National Park and the forest authority of Kaziranga ere successful in spoiling a poaching bid hatched by a veteran Rhino poacher and four others here at Kaziranga National Park. The officials nabbed Arfan Ali and a sharp shooter from nagaland at 9 PM near Borgang in North Assam’s Biswanath district. There were involved with a local poacher gang whose members have been identified as Mintu Hazarika, Tunmoni saikia and Puniram Das. All the members were arrested but another veteran poacher who was carrying the equipments to kill the rhinos had fled. This news comes a week after an 82 member special task force was deployed to prevent poaching in Kaziranga National park.

Kaziranga National Park records drop in poaching but threat still looms

July 3rd, 2019: Source ~ Times of India

As per reports Kaziranga National Park has seen a decline in rhino poaching cases in the last 2 years. In 2017-18 7 rhinos were poached and during 2018-19 6 rhinos were poached. Current year 2019-20 only one incident of rhino poaching was reported while in 2016-17 alone 12 cases of rhino poaching was reported. The success in reduction of poaching incidents is attributed to the ever vigil forest department of Kaziranga National Park along with the police forces and the support of the local people of Kaziranga.

3 Rhino poachers arrested in Kaziranga National Park

May 30, 2019

3 ferocious poachers have been arrested by Kaziranga National Park Authority in association with Wildlife Crime Control Bureau and Police in connection with the poaching of a rhino at Bagori on the evening of May 30, 2019.

One rifle and four rounds of ammunition were also recovered from the poachers yesterday evening at the Bagori range of Kaziranga National Park and the poachers have been sent to custody. Forest personnel are interrogating the poachers to get as much details as possible from them.

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NRL facilitates insurance cover for staff at Kaziranga National Park

May 27, 2019: Source ~ Newsd

The forest guards of Kaziranga National Park who are the front line defence against poachers and who often are prone to attacks by the wild animals of Kaziranga National Park are now covered under an insurance scheme courtesy of the Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL). The MD of NRl, Mr S K Barua handed over this group personal accident insurance policy to the Director of Kaziranga National Park Mr. P Sivakumar in a formal ceremony. This policy cover would provide a sum of INR 5 lakh per insured person/nominee against death/bodily injury resulting from an accident caused by external violence and the cover is extended to over 1,129 forest guards of Kaziranga National Park.

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Kaziranga National Park to close on May 16, 2019 ahead of monsoons

In an official document sent by the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO Kaziranga Division) Rohini Ballav Saikia the circulation states that Kaziranga National Park will be closed from may 16, 2019 for tourists keeping in mind the monsoon season ahead. Jeep Safari into the interiors of Kaziranga National Park at Kohora, Bagori, Agoratoli and Burapahar ranges would close from May 16, 2019. Elephant Safari ride into the park was closed on May 1st, 2019.

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Rhino poacher escapes from lock up in Kaziranga National Park

May 15, 2019: Source ~ The Hindu

in an incident reported here at the Bagori Forest Division of Kaziranga National Park, an alleged rhino poacher who was arrested at Jakhalabandha four days ago (may 9th) earlier escaped from the lock up os the Bagori forest division. The man identified as Akhter Ali had gone to the toilet and during this time he gave the guards a slip. The police authorities have been notified and a man hunt in on to nab the poacher.

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Steps in place to protect Kaziranga National Park animals from floods

May 14, 2019: Source ~ the Hindustan Times

The management and park authorities of Kaziranga National Park are busy with preparations for the upcoming monsoon season to cope up with the heavy rainfall and floods that leads to the loss of animal life. Adequate steps are being taken to avoid the loss of animal life by creating artificial (33 nos) highlands where the animals can take refuge when the flood water submerges the park each year.

In 2017, the monsoon floods inundated around 85% of Kaziranga National Park leading to the loss of lives of 400 animals including 31 rhinos. The death toll in 20-18 was lesser as rainfall recorded was less. On Sunday, the Hon. Chief Minister of Assam toured and took stock of the measures adopted by the authorities to cope with the monsoon season. He tweeted out saying “Highlands inside the park act as safe grounds for animals during floods. Inspected a highland ans urged officials to ensure availability of food stocks and vets there.”

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Infighting kills tiger in Kaziranga National Park 

May 09, 2019: Source ~ The Hindustan Times

In an unfortunate incident, a male Royal Bengal Tiger aged around 12 years died in Kaziranga National Park following a fight with anther tiger, The animal is suspected to have died 2 weeks ago and its decomposed body was found in the Kohora range of Kaziranga National Park.

The Director of Kaziranga National Park has confirmed the death of the Tiger. The post mortem report conducted on the carcass of the tiger has confirmed the death due to infighting. Earlier in February 2019 another tiger death was reported from Kaziranga National Park and the tiger is believed to have died of natural causes.

Kaziranga National Park in being home ot the highest population of the Indian One Horned Rhinoceros species also has a healthy population of 104 Tigers as well in addition to varied other animals species.

State Government instructs authorities at Kaziranga National Park to step up vigil and prepare for the monsoon season

With the recent poaching a One Horned Rhinoceros at the Agoratoli range of Kaziranga National Park after a period of thirteen months, a high level meeting was conducted between the Hon. Chief Minister of Assam and the authorities of Kaziranga National Park to review the situation. With tourism activities at Kaziranga National Park coming to a grinding halt due to the spread of COVID19 and also due to the approaching monsoon season (Kaziranga National Park closes for visitors by mid-May) poachers are finding it easy to find their way into the forest interiors of Kaziranga National park and give objective to their heinous crime. The adult Rhino’s carcass was recovered with its horn chopped off telling it to be a clear case of poaching. The Hon CM of Assam directed the authorities to step up vigil and initiate action to identify and nab the culprits who committed this crime with information from their sources. Also with the upcoming monsoon season when the flood water inundates the park, the CM instructed the inspection of highlands that were built and directed the officials of Kaziranga National Park to ensure complete safety of animals at this UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Centre instructs State government to monitor the construction of highlands and movement of heavy vehicles along the highway at Kaziranga National Park

The Union Forest Ministry has directed the State government of Assam to monitor the building of artificial highlands at Kaziranga National Park so that animals can find high grounds to reside when the park gets inundated by flood waters. The monsoons at Kaziranga are very severe and as many rivers confluence here their waters frown many animals during the floods. Though many animals are able to migrate to the highlands of the Karbi Anglong hills, some are not so fortunate and have to find some place inside the premises mostly the rhinoceros species. The centre also directed the state government to keep a strict speed monitoring system along the highway that runs across Kaziranga and sees movement of heavy trucks and busses. The speed limit enforcement is needed as these vehicles mostly ply at night with low visibility and this is the time the animals cross the highway towards the highlands of Karbi Anglong. The centre has advised the state to take advantage on technology at their disposal to monitor the speed of such vehicles so that they have ample reactance to stop in case they see animal herds crossing the road.

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First time ever, Indian One Horned Rhinoceros calf born by artificial insemination at Miami Zoo

April 25, 2019: Source ~ theguwahatitimes.info

The Miami Zoo at Florida in USA has some great news for all Indian One Horned Rhinoceros lovers. The zoo is celebrating the birth of its first baby rhinoceros. This baby was born to Akruti a 7 year old female rhinoceros on Tuesday at 12.30 AM. This is a first time that a successful birth of this species is being recorded with artificial insemination and induced ovulation. Veterinary doctors are continuously monitoring the health and well being of the baby rhinoceros and its mother. This is major news as this endangered species is continuously poached for its horn and around the World a total of only 35600 remain. Assam is home to the highest population of these Rhino species with a majority of the population being at Kaziranga National Park (UNESCO World Heritage Site).

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Hon. Supreme Court of India bans mining activities in Kaziranga National Park

April 15, 2019: Source ~ dnaindia.com

What comes as a great news to the authorities of Kaziranga National Park and the people of Assam as well, the Hon. Supreme Court of India has banned all mining and stone quarrying operations along Kaziranga National Park and catchment areas of rivers originating in Karbi Anglong in Assam. The Hon. Court has directed no new construction to be permitted in private lands that form a part of the nine identified animal corridors as well. This was very much needed to save the animal habitat of the UNESCO World Heritage Site and the efforts of animal activist Rohit Choudhury who has been continuously working on preserving the landscapes and surroundings of Kaziranga National Park has come to bear its fruit.

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Rhino Caracas recovered from Kaziranga National Park

April 19, 2019: Source ~ zeenewsindia.com

In yet another unfortunate incident reported from the Biswanath Chariali forest division (the sixth addition) of Kaziranga National Park, the carcass of an adult female rhinoceros with its horn chopped off. As per the DFO of the Biswanath Chariali division of Kaziranga National Park, the poachers must have killed the rhino about a week ago. This unfortunate incident is the second report of a rhino being poached here in Kaziranga National Park for its prized horn as earlier this year on February 16th, 2019 another male rhino was killed by suspected poachers for its prized horn.

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Fierce Gun Battle reported in Kaziranga National Park

March 16, 2019: Source ~ the Sentinel Assam

In an incident reported from Kaziranga National Park, a fierce gun battle broke out between the forest guards and suspected Rhino poachers at the Gohpur addition of Kaziranga National Park. As reported, forest guards had followed a lead on suspected poaching activity here and set up a trap to nab the poachers. But the poachers got aware and they retaliated with gunfire as well. Both the sides reported heavy firing however no casualties were reported as of yet. The forest officials of Kaziranga National Park were able to recover three live rounds of cartridge and other objectionable items from the spot after the poachers fled. Meanwhile, operations continued against the poachers to nab them at the Jobora Chapori and Gopal Jomoca areas.

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Man injured in Rhino attack in Kaziranga National Park 

February 22, 2019: Source ~ nenow.in

In an unfortunate incident reported at the Central range of Kaziranga National Park, a man identified as Dipak Goala was seriously injured when an adult rhinoceros charged and attacked him. Dipak had entered the Kaziranga National Park premises without the knowledge of the forest officials for his morning routine. The adult female rhinoceros who was with her calves took Dipak as a threat and therefore charged and attacked him leaving him seriously injured. The victim was later admitted to the Jorhat Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) for treatment.

Such man animal conflicts are reported sometimes in Kaziranga National Park. Earlier in January 2018 a man identified as Dhunda Bhumji was attached and killed by a rhinoceros. Sometime news of forest guards patrolling inside the forest reserves of Kaziranga National Park being attacked by rhinoceros have also been reported.

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Rhinos raised in Kaziranga’s Center for Wildlife Rehabilitation find new home at Manas National Park

January 23, 2019: Source ~ the Hindu

Two young  Rhinos who were only a few months old when the floods in August 2016 displaced them are now grown up and have found a new home at Manas National Park in Assam. These young calf grew up at the Center for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) at Kaziranga National Park and were fed with milk bottles during their young years. Now these calves one male and another female have grown up and after two and half years are ready to go into the wild. These rhinos were transported in an enclosed vehicle to Manas National Park from Kaziranga National Park and will be first acclimatized with the surroundings of Manas National Park before being released in the wild. Manas National Park now has a population of around 38 Rhinos.

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Kaziranga gets better connected with West Bengal via new train service – to aid in boosting tourism 

January 01, 2019: Source ~ Times of India

In a much needed step, Minister of State for Railways, Mr. Rajen Gohain flagged off the first ever Kolkata – Silghat express that would have stoppages at Amoni (43 km from Kaziranga) and Jakhalabandha (19 km from Kaziranga). This will be a weekly train connecting Silghat to Kolkata via Kaziranga National Park outskirts and would allow tourists to directly come over to Kaziranga National Park without having to get down and change trains at Guwahati railway station. This new train will have 1 AC 2 tier, 4 AC 3 tier, 8 sleeper and 4 general class coaches for the comfort of the travellers to Kaziranga National Park. The minister expressed his interest of connecting Kaziranga National Park to New Delhi and South India at a later stage as well.

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Rare turtle species released in the waters of the Diphlu river in Kaziranga National Park

December 26, 2018: Source ~ GPlus

Being home to 20 out of 28 species of tortoises and freshwater turtles in India, Assam is a state to watch out for these endangered species. But over the years, the numbers of these tortoises and turtles have declined considerably due to hunting and efficient conservation measures have saved these species from extinction. Help foundation, an NGO working towards effective conservation of these species had found a way to keep their numbers alive by introducing these species across the ponds of 15 temples of Assam.

One among these Temples is the Hayagriva Madhava temple at Hajo that along with the NGO has been successful in breeding the very rare black softshell turtle species. However these species are completely extinct in the wild and so the Temple management along with the NGO have taken an initiative to release them into the wild in the protected areas of the Diphlu river flowing across Kaziranga National Park.

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Seven Poachers arrested in Kaziranga National Park possessing tiger skin and bones

December 30, 2018: Source ~ Times of India

As per reports, 7 people were arrested at Kaziranga National Park today with tiger skin and bones which they had intended to sell to some smugglers. The group of 7 poachers were on their way to Nagaon when they were intercepted by the forest department personnel of Kaziranga National Park along with the police. The poachers confessed to their crime of killing a tiger in the forests of Karbi Anglong a few months ago and wanted to sell the tiger skin and bones to smugglers for a hefty price. This arrest comes as a good news towards the conservation story here at Kaziranga National Park.

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Kaziranga National Park security to be enhanced following poaching of another Rhino

December 20, 2018: Source ~ Times of India

Following the incident of poaching of an adult male rhinoceros on December 16, 2018 at the Bhalukjan area of the Bagori safari range of Kaziranga National Park, the Forest and Environment minister of Assam Mr. Parimal Suklabaidya visited Kaziranga and informed the security of the park will be further enhanced. The minister informed the media that the poacher had disguised themselves as tourists and entered Kaziranga National Park and carried out this heinous act of poaching the animal and escaping with its prized horn. The carcass of the adult male rhino was first spotted by a tourist who had visited the interior of the Bagori range of Kaziranga National Park on an Elephant ride. The Honorable Minister informed that the manpower of the guards at Kaziranga National Park will be enhanced significantly to control such actions in the future.

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Staff of Kaziranga National Park get training on Wildlife crime handling

December 22, 2018: Source ~ theshillongtimes.com

The Department of Forests (Govt. of Assam Biswanath Wildlife Division) in support of International Rhino Foundation and NGO Aranyak have started a 3 day training program with the wildlife staff to help them deal efficiently with wildlife related crime here at the Biswanath Wildlife Division of Kaziranga National Park. The training was conducted for the frontline staff of the rhino area of Assam and is supported by the Oak foundation.

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Waterfowl survey conducted in Kaziranga National Park

December 22, 2018: Source ~ The Hindu

In a first time, Kaziranga National Park authorities have conducted a survey of the population of waterfowls of Kaziranga National Park which are very crucial for the wetland dominated ecosystem of the world. This important survey was carried out by a team of bird watchers and forest guards who covered the eastern, western and central ranges of the Kaziranga National Park and were successful in counting 10,412 birds from over 80 species and 21 families.

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“Kaziranga Ballad” – Dilip Chandan’s new book released

November 10,2018: Source ~ The Shillong Times

From the author of Majuli and ‘Janosa Pahori Gola’ comes another very interesting novel titled as the ‘Kaziranga Ballad’. Through this book, Dilip Chandan has tried to narrate the various different aspects of life here in Kaziranga National Park from its diverse wildlife, the problem of poaching here at Kaziranga National Park, the people living around Kaziranga, their life, their culture, their problems, the tough life of the forest guards of Kaziranga National Park, natural calamities that affect Kaziranga National Park like the annual floods, etc.

Through this novel, the author has tried to highlight to the people the various problems here at Kaziranga National Park and how the park authorities fight thee challenges everyday to make Kaziranga an attractive and world renowned tourist destination with a great conservation story behind it that makes it a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The story unfolds by the narration of a few friends wanting to construct a new resort here in Kaziranga National Park. In the course of the narration of the discourse, various stories of the problems of Kaziranga National park unfold like rhino poaching, illegal encroachment of forest land, problems of the local people, wild animal attacks and attacks on them, natural calamities, etc that in the end culminate into a wonderful story of the wild.

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Kaziranga hosts the 5th National Summit on Public Health

October 30th, 2018: Source ~ newonair

Kaziranga National Park hosted the 5th National Summit on Good and Replicable practices and innovations in public healthcare system in India today. In a press conference held here at Kaziranga National Park, the Union Health Minister J P Nadda spoke about the various aspects of all round public health and its improvement. The objective of this summit in Kaziranga National Park was to learn and also share the good practices adopted and implemented by various state and national health agencies and how to work towards the betterment of health services in the country. Various delegates like senior officers, public health experts attended this summit at Kaziranga National Park in Assam.

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BBC regrets its documentary on anti poaching strategy of Kaziranga National Park

November 8, 2018: Source ~ Sentinel Assam

The BBC’s documentary on Kaziranga National Park that had shown its anti poaching measures in poor light around 2 years back had a very adverse effect on the park. Kaziranga National Park which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site i often acclaimed to be the greatest conservation story of the 20th century. But the documentary showed tee effort of anti-poaching measure in poor light thereby impacting the flow of tourists especially from abroad here at Kaziranga National Park.

Various sections of the society and mostly the ‘Internet warriors’ started hitting out at the Park authorities of Kaziranga National Park stating that the methods of anti poaching adopted by them were a sheer violation of human rights without looking deeper into the various efforts put across over many years to protect the flagship species of Kaziranga National Park – the endangered One Horned Rhinoceros along with other animal species as well. People considered the BBC’s documentary to be the sole truth and an International organization ‘Survival International’ even launched a worldwide campaign to boycott Kaziranga National Park which however did not turn out to be successful.

With the widespread criticism, the Park Authorities, the Government and the Union Government immediately sprung to action and after analyzing the pros and cons of the documentary declared it as a ‘Project negative, malicious and sensational portrayal’ of India’s conservation success story at Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve and the documentary did an ‘irreparable danger to the country’s reputation’ as a whole. It was evident that BBC had a definite hidden agenda behind making this documentary and the reality is that the west cannot accept the fact that a country like India could manage a National Park like Kaziranga thereby earning global reputation. The Union Government banned BBC from filming in any of the nation’s National Park and Wildlife Sanctuaries for a period of 5 years.

The BBC has finally accepted its mistake and tendered a letter of apology to the Government of India and also apologized for not approaching the authorities earlier a well.

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Assam Chief Minister lays foundation stone for Kaziranga project for Flood and Erosion control 

October 31, 2018: Source ~ Sentinel Assam

The Honorable Chief Minister of Assam Mr. Sarbananda Sonowal laid the foundation stone for the Kaziranga Sub Project for flood and erosion control at Bokakhat in Golaghat district of Assam today. At a financial outlay of INR 62 crores, this project has been funded by the Asian Development Bank with a primary motive of protecting the local people and the vast stretches of agricultural lands here at Kaziranga National Park and also to protect the wildlife. Every year floods are a major concern at Kaziranga National Park and various measures are being adopted in minimizing the effects of floods and the consequent erosion that follows.

The Chief Minister also laid stress on peace, harmony and progress in the State and urged people to adopt the various welfare schemes promoted by the State Government to boost the agriculture of the State.

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Kaziranga National Park to be connected by National Rail Network

November 1, 2018: Source ~ GPlus

Union Minister of Railway, Mr. Rajen Gohain expressed interest towards connecting Kaziranga National Park to the National Rail Network as an effort to boost tourism here at Kaziranga National Park. The Union Minister rendered this important news during the occasion of the laying the foundation stone ceremony of electrification of the rail network between Guwahati and Lumding.

The minister spoke that the Government was looking to connect Kaziranga National Park to the National Rail Network that would serve as a major and much needed boost to tourism in the State. He also stated the upgradation works would be taken at the Jakhalabandha and Silghat railway stations that are very near to Kaziranga National Park.

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Model Hospital inaugurated at Kohora in Kaziranga National Park

October 13, 2018: Source ~ Sentinel Assam

A model hospital was inaugurated today at the Kohora area of Kaziranga National Park by the Honorable Health Minister of Assam Dr. Himanta Biswas Sharma. Named as the Kohora Model Hospital, this is dedicated to the freedom fighter of Assam Beja Baishnab. Also, the foundation stone for another hospital at Bokakhat called as the Kushal Konwar hospital dedicated to freedom fighter Kamala Miri wa laid. The Minister said that the hospital at Kohora will serve the local people as well as the tourists to Kaziranga and the forest guards of Kaziranga National Park.

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Stray Rhinos from Kaziranga National Park create panic among in the villages of Lakhimpur

October 30, 2018

Two male Rhinoceros have strayed out of the protected area of Kaziranga National Park and are now creating a panic among the villagers of the nearby villages at Lakhimpur. Forest officials have tried to chase the rhino back into the area of Kaziranga National Park but have not been successful. One rhino presently is at the Dhenu Chapori in Majuli district while the other is at Jamuguri Chapori in Lakhimpur district. One of these rhinos attacked a forest ranger and injured him and also two domestic buffaloes have lost their live in an attack by the stray rhinos of Kaziranga National Park. These rhinos have now become susceptible to poachers and the forest officials of Kaziranga National Park are trying their best to return them to the natural habitat in the protected reserves of Kaziranga National Park.

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Kaziranga National Park – a Conservation educational project has been launched

October 29, 2018: Source ~ Sentinel Assam

The Corbett Foundation that has been actively working at Kaziranga National Park since 2013 towards the conservation of man and wildlife has recently launched a conservation educational program here at Kaziranga. Funded by Mr. Hem Chandra Mahindra, this program has identified 32 villages around Kaziranga National Park where various awareness programs like mitigation of human animal conflicts, preparation for floods, reducing wildlife poaching and killing, disease control in wild animals will be undertaken.

This program was launched in front of National media, teachers and locals and will have a dedicated team with patrol vehicles and various educational tools to create awareness among the masses.

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Kaziranga National Park opens for tourists for season 2018-19

October 12, 2018

After battling a bitter monsoon from June to mid September, Kaziranga National Park has finally opened up for the coming tourist season 2018-19. The normal practice was to reopen the park on the 1st of November every year. But keeping in mind the festive season, Kaziranga National Park has opened its doors to visitors in the month of October since the last two years. The Kaziranga National Park authorities have informed that on October 12th, only the Kohora and Bagori safari ranges will be opened to tourists for the first 8 km stretch as the repair of roads and bridges deeper inside the forest reserves of Kaziranga National Park are still going on. Both the Safari modes – Jeep and Elephant Safari will be made operational on this day here at Kaziranga National Park.

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Kaziranga National Bamboo Park to be inaugurated on October 14, 2018

October 10, 2018: Source: nenow.in

Located inside the area of the Kaziranga National Orchid and Biodiversity Park, a new park has come up to conserve the various bamboo species of North East India. This park has been named as the Kaziranga National Bamboo Park. As per the advisor of the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) Mr. Akhil Gogoi, “This Bamboo Park will have around 54 indigenous species of bamboo available in North East India along with a number of cane species.” Some examples of bamboo species are Jaati, Bhuluka, Bijulee, Keko, Lathi Bamboo, etc will be present in the Kaziranga National Bamboo Park. Mr. Gogoi also informed that the bamboo species from other States of North East India like Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Meghalaya have also been planted in the Park along with species from Assam.

The Kaziranga Bamboo Park is located inside the area of the Kaziranga National Orchid and Biodiversity Park and covers an area of around 2 and half bighas of land. Thee bamboos were planted around 3 years back and are have now grown up. Mr. Gogoi also informed that another museum that would preserve the antiques of various tribal communities of Assam would also come up here. This museum will be named as the Assam National Museum. This place would have a collection of different costumes, fishing equipments, war weapons and other items used by the indigenous tribes of Assam.

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Indian Cricket Team Vice Captain bats for Rhino Conservation

October 21st, 2018: Source ~ the Telegraph

Indian Cricket Team Vice Captain and WWF India brand ambassador for Rhino conservation, Rohit Sharma has informed that he will adopt every possible measure to spread awareness about conservation and protection of the Indian One Horned Rhinoceros specie of Kaziranga National Park.

After scoring a century in his innings against the West Indies and leading his team to victory in Guwahati, Rohit expressed his interest to visit Kaziranga National Park and meet the forest guard here.

His efforts towards conservation of the Indian One Horned Rhinoceros species and spreading a message towards its conservation will be a definite boost for to the protection of this species that have been highly susceptive to poaching and having only a population of 3500 of them left in the World across India and Nepal. Kaziranga National Park has the highest population of One Horned Rhinoceros species anywhere in the World!

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64th Wildlife Week observed at Kaziranga National Park in Assam

October 5th, 2018: Source ~ Sentinel Assam

Kaziranga National Park along with the rest of the country observed the 64th Wildlife Week from October 2nd to October 8th, 2018. The theme of the 64th Wildlife week here at Kaziranga National Park was ‘Elephant Day’. Through this programme, the officials of Kaziranga National Park tried to create an awareness of the man and animal conflict that frequently occurs at Kaziranga and alo the protection of the flora and fauna of the park. This program was conducted at Mihimukh in the Kohora range of Kaziranga National Park with Dr. Naveen Pandey, the director of Corbett Foundation addressing the gathering with the opening speech. Many higher officials of Kaziranga National Park and students had gathered to celebrate the 64th Wildlife Week here at Kaziranga National Park.

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New Car Parking and Drinking Water Facility inaugurated at Kaziranga National Park

October 02, 2018

Courtesy of the Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL), a new car parking facility and provision for drinking water facility has been inaugurated at the Bagori Safari range of Kaziranga National Park. NRL ha constructed this project as a part of its CSR activities. This facility was inaugurated on October 02, 2018 to mark the Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. It also marked the concluding day of the “Swachata hi Sewa” campaign launched by the Central Government of India. The opening ceremony was graced by the presence of NRL MD Mr. S K Barua, Divisional Forest Officer (Eastern Assam Wildlife Division) Mr. Rohini Ballav Saikia along with senior officials of NRL and Kaziranga National Park forest authority along with 250 member of the Kaziranga National Park Jeep Safari Association.

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To reduce poaching activities at Kaziranga National Park Rangers get into offensive mode to execute poachers

September 11, 2018: Source: Sentinel Assam

In an attempt to curb poaching of Rhinoceros and other fauna species at Kaziranga National Park, the Forest rangers deployed at Kaziranga National Park have adopted stringent measures by issuing orders to shoot poachers at sight. This comes as a successful way of protecting the dwindling population of the Indian One Horned Rhinoceros who are gunned down by the ruthless poachers for its prized horn.

This new aggressive stance of the forest department guards of Kaziranga National Park has proved to be successful and has reduced the overall poaching incidents here at Kaziranga. This move adopted by the forest guards has instilled fear in the minds of the poachers who now think twice before venturing into the forest reserves of Kaziranga National Park. The results as per the Forest Department of Kaziranga has shown that the number of poachers and rhinos killed have dropped dramatically from 2016.

But along with the success in bringing down the poaching rate of one horned rhinoceros at Kaziranga National Park there has been also collateral damage according to the villagers residing in the villages near the Kaziranga national Park. As per local villager, Kachu Kealing, his only son son who was shot by forest guards of Kaziranga National Park in 2013. He state that his son had a disability and might have ventured into the forest reserves of Kaziranga National Park with the grazing cattle as there are no fences or borders to mark the boundary of the park. The park authorities have a different view on this and state the forest guards had only shot at the boy inside Kaziranga National Park after he had failed to respond to warnings and gunshots fired in the air.

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Female Elephant electrocuted near a village of Kaziranga National Park – Forest department files a complaint

September 05, 2018: Source: Yahoo News

In another tragic incident, a pregnant female elephant died after it was electrocuted by a high voltage live wire near the Bongaon village of the Biswanath district in Assam which happened to be a part of the Kaziranga National Park forest reserve just a kilometer away.

The Forest department of Kaziranga National Park lodged a complaint at the local police station against the villagers of the area who they believe have allegedly laid these high voltage wires leading to the death of the elephant. However, the locals say that they did not have any intention of killing the elephant and it so happened that that herd of 50 – 60 wild elephants had wandered into their village in search of food. The forest department of Kaziranga National Park however say that they have already adopted measures to secure crops fields from wandering elephants and the means of laying a live wire was not all necessary.

While electrocution deaths can be both accidental and deliberate a proper post mortem of the deceased elephant can reveal the actual fasts. A detailed post mortem report is awaited to confirm the facts.

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Elephant Herds enter the boundary of Numaligarh Refinery Township as local court stays order on demolition of wall obstructing animal corridor path

September 04, 2018: Source: Yahoo News

In an incident that occured on Tuesday, 4th September, 2018 a herd of around 80 wild Elephants entered the premises of the Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) across a partially demolished wall. This wall comes along a natural wildlife corridor used by animals moving in and out of Kaziranga National Park. Earlier the Guwahati High Court imposed an order to demolish the wall that built adjacent to the Deopahar Reserve Forest the the Golaghat district of Assam. There was a lot of chaos around the area as people tried to chase away the herd of Elephants. Some wild elephants even charged at the people. This is an example of development that leads to human animal conflict often leading to more damage to the animal life like in May 2015 a wild elephant died of severe hemorrhage after it had hit itself against the wall. Many other incidents have been captured on camera where Elephants tried to cross the wall but in despair. Environmentalists are continuing to work against such developments that cause disruptions to the life of animals at Kaziranga National Park.

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Kaziranga National Park to get drones that will stay functional continuously for 5 hours

September 03, 2018: Source: Indian Express

Technology has come again to the rescue. This time it is not for human life but for protection of animal life at the World renowned Kaziranga National Park in Assam. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is famous for its population of the Indian One Horned Rhinoceros species – the highest in the World! But these majestic creatures often fall prey to the ruthless poachers who hunt them down for their prized horn Even with strict poaching measures in place, the task of protecting the rhinoceros population at Kaziranga National Park becomes a tough challenge as the area covering Kaziranga is huge and many areas are unable to be patrolled on foot by the staff of Kaziranga and poachers find a way in to hunt down these animals.

But there is good news now as Kaziranga National Park has been now able to procure high quality drones that will fly continuously for a period of 4 – 5 hours and transfer high quality footage to the park authorities. These drones are expected to arrive in another two months time and will be deployed across various sections on the park and also at places where monitoring in person becomes challenging. Drones were earlier in operation at Kaziranga National Park since 2013 but these numbers (3) were very less and these drones had the capacity for flying continuously for only 30 minutes at a stretch which was not adequate. Drone operations are critical for protection of animal life at Kaziranga National Park and these drones have helped many a times to protect as well as track animals that have strayed away from the interiors of the Park. In one instance one adult rhinoceros was tracked within half an hour after it had strayed away from the core area of the Kaziranga National Park.

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Second Wave of Floods in Assam: Over 225 animals dead in Kaziranga National Park

September 03, 2018: Source: Sentinel Assam

The Second wave of floods have struck Assam and the nearby states of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Mizoram. In addition to damage of property and loss of human lives, Kaziranga National Park is also bearing the brunt of the floods of Assam. With the earlier reports that worried the officials of Kaziranga National Park not being flooded, the second water has brought sads news to the park officials as over 225 animals have died this year due to floods at Kaziranga National Park. Though floods are necessary at Kaziranga to rejuvenate the ecosystem of the Park, the death of animals always brings sad news to the people of Assam. At present around 70% of the park has been flooded. But goods news in that the flood water is now receding. The pace is slow but will gradually catch up and hopefully the Park will be reopened to tourists as per the scheduled opening date in the first week of October. The flood toll includes the death of 178 hog deers, 15 rhinos, 4 elephants, 1 tiger and more. Apart from the devastating floods here at Kaziranga National Park, 25 districts of Assam have also been flooded affecting the lives of 33 lakh people and damage to homes, public buildings, roads, crops, bridge and much more.

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Office of DGP seeks report from Karbi Anglong SP against illegal mining near Kaziranga National Park

August 26, 2018: Source ~ Times of India

Following a complaint lodged by an environmental activist  against an illegal stone mining activity within the 10 km radius of Kaziranga National Park, the office of the Director General of Police has asked the office of the Superintendent of Police at Karbi Anglong to probe into this incident. As per a letter issued to the SP Office of Karbi Anglong, it has been instructed to inquire about this issue and take necessary actions as per law.

These illegal mining and quarrying activities in the area of Karbi Anglong proves as a great threat to the ecology and habitat of the animal species of Kaziranga National Park. As per the environment activist, although many written communications have been sent to the offices of  the Director of Kaziranga National Park and Divisional Forest Office of Eastern Assam Wildlife Division at Bokakhat, no stringent measures have been adopted to curb these illegal activities. These activities are leading to destruction of the Elephant habitats of Kaziranga National Park along with the other animal corridors around the vicinity of Kaziranga.

Easier this year in April, the National Tiger Conservation Authority had requested the State Government of Assam to ban stone quarrying around the area of Karbi Anglong as these activities are leading to a grave threat to the Wildlife of Kaziranga-Karbi Anglong landscape.

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Adult Male Rhinoceros shot dead in Kaziranga National Park by Forest guard in an act of Self defence

August 26, 2018: Source ~ Yahoo news

In an unfortunate incident, forest guards had to gun down an adult male rhinoceros in an act of self defence in the Agoratoli range of Kaziranga National Park. As per reports, the Kaziranga National Park Division Forest Officer (DFO) in a statement said that the adult male rhino ‘attacked’ an eight member patrol party. At first, the forest guards shot in the air to scare the animal away but the rhino continued to chase them and the guards had to fire at the animal in an act of self defence. The adult male rhino died due to the bullet wound in the Agoratoli range of Kaziranga National Park at around 7 PM.

Such incidents have been reported earlier as well as in September 2017, when an adult rhino was shot at by a guard in self defence after the rhino attacked a team of forest official on duty inside the forest reserves of Kaziranga National Park. Also in 2016, an adult rhino was shot after is had attacked some patrolling guards on duty inside the Park.

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Kaziranga not completely flooded – Officials remain worried

August 15, 2018: Source ~ Times of India

With rains gradually receding and barely under a month for the monsoon to retreat from Assam a new worry in addition to the poaching on Rhinoceros has started to worry the forest officials of Kaziranga National Park. This year the park has not flooded and this may lead to issues in helping Kaziranga retain its ecology as the waters from the floods helps recharge and revitalize the grasslands of Kaziranga National Park which are requisites of the various herbivore species of the Kaziranga including the Indian One Horned Rhinoceros. The same time last year, Kaziranga National Park had experienced one of the worst floods since 1988 with flood waters covering almost 80% of the area of the park leading to deaths of many animals too. But with no floods inside the reserves of Kaziranga this year, the fresh growth of grasses will get affected and fodder for herbivores will reduce. The floods bring in rich soil deposits that enhance the growth of new grasses here.

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New Range added to Kaziranga National Park

August 15, 2018: Source ~ nenow.in

Through a declaration by the State Govt. of Assam, Kaziranga’s inner map ha now been modified and Kaziranga National Park has been brought under the administration of two forest divisions – namely Eastern Assam and Biswanath Wildlife Division. In addition, an additional range named as the Bokokhat range has been added under the already existing Kohora, Bagori, Agoratoli and Burapahar ranges of Kaziranga National Park.

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Forest Guard killed after an encounter with a herd of Wild Elephants inside the Forest of Kaziranga National Park:

August 6, 2018

A 54 year old forest guard was killed in an unfortunate incident here at Kaziranga National Park. Ganesh Newar, a staff of the Kaziranga Forest Guard was out on regular patrolling with his team near the Gorpal Forest Camp of Kaziranga National Park. A herd of Wild Elephants attached Ganesh Newar and his team. Although the other forest guards were able to escape away from the raging fury of the Elephant herd, Ganesh Newar was not fortunate enough and was attacked by the Elephants.

Mr. Ganesh was immediately rushed to the nearby hospital nearby the area of Kaziranga National Park but was declared dead on arrival. Survived by his family, Newar hailed from the a village in the Biswanath district of Assam.

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Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRLs) petition for wall construction on Elephant Corridor dismissed by National Green Tribunal (NGT):

August 7, 2018 ~ Source: Times of India

The NGT has dismissed NRL’s review of an order that was passed in August 24, 2016 in regards to review of the a boundary wall for Numaligarh’s proposed township. The NGT has ordered demolition of the wall and ordered the proposed township not to come up in this area as it blocks the Elephant Corridor under the Deopahar Reserve Forest near Kaziranga National Park.

This action was taken after a petition was filed by an environmental activist Rohit Choudhury against the building of this boundary wall and extension of this township. NRL however argued that the project had clearance from the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority and this finding was not taken into consideration by the NGT.

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In order to avoid danger to Kaziranga National Park, a complete ban on Stone quarrying activities seeked by Bokakhat Subdivision:

July 21, 2018 ~ Source: Times of India

As per the earlier requests, the Bokakhat Subdivision has again seeked the Government to ban all the unscientific stone quarrying operations around Karbi Anglong that is posing a threat to the wildlife of Kaziranga National Park. Damage is sighted as both Kaziranga National Park and Karbi Anglong are a connected landscape and animals keep moving between these two areas. Based on an RTI query by an environmental activist Rohit Choudhury, the officials of the Bokakhat division had earlier written to the Chief Secretary to ban such activities to reduce the environmental impact on the paddy fields as well as the World Heritage Site of Kaziranga National Park.

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Four Rhino Poachers nabbed by Police in Darrang district:

July 21, 2018 ~ Source: Times of India

In fresh news reports, a four member gang of rhino poachers were apprehended by the police in Kachomari Sonari village. These four members including 2 trained sharp shooters from Nagaland were planning to carry on rhino poaching at the Orang National Park in Assam – the mini Kaziranga National Park. Police reports state that these four poachers wanted to take advantage of the monsoon rains and carry out killing of two rhinos for their horn at Orang. While two of these men were trained shooters, the other two were localites who were providing shelter and logistics support. Upon their arrest and further interrogation, the police were able to recover arms and ammunition from the four member gang which they had hid in the nearby locality. This arrest comes as good news for the police of the State who are strengthening their grounds for anti poaching. The Rhinos of the National Park of the State are in continuous threat from these poachers and so far this year six rhinoceros have been killed for their horn.

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90 youth appointed as Constables of a Special Task Force for protection of Rhinos:

July 12, 2018

To further strengthen the protection of the Indian One Horned Rhinoceros population at the Kaziranga National Park, the State Government of Assam haes taken this unique step of appointing a group of 90 youths from around the villages of Kaziranga National Park to constitute a special Rhino Protection Task Force. The State chief minister Mr. Sarbananda Sonowal handed out the appointment offers at a special gathering in Guwahati city. The Chief Minister said that the protection of Rhinos at Kaziranga National Park is always a keen objective and these members will work in liaison with the security forces of Kaziranga National Park towards a better protection mechanism against poachers an infiltrators.

In order to save Kaziranga National Park, threat to move Supreme Court

July 22, 2018: Source ~ Telegraph India

Rohit Choudhury, an active Assam based rights activist ha written an official letter to the Chief Secretary of Assam stating that he would be compelled to approach the Honorable Supreme Court of India, if no proper steps were adopted to stop the illegal mining near the area of Kaziranga National Park. Rohit Choudhury alleged that there are around 60 illegal stone quarrying mines carrying on operations at the Karbi Anglong district adjoining Kaziranga National Park that is posing as a serious threat to the landscape of Kaziranga and its surroundings.

He has also stated that the government has failed to act along the guidelines of the Supreme Court dated Dec 4, 2006; where any activities within the 10 km range of the protected zone be referred to the standing committee of the National board of wildlife. He also stated that all these quarrying activities are operating illegally against the Supreme Court order thereby carrying a serious threat to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Kaziranga National Park in Assam.

National Green Tribunal dismisses plea that opposed widening of NH-37 along Kaziranga National Park

July 20, 2018: Source ~ The Shillong Times

An active environmental activist, Mr. Rohit Choudhury has filed a plea in 2013 with the National Green Tribunal (NGT) stating that the expansion of roads along NH-37 would endanger life of wild animals due to heavy traffic flow at Kaziranga National Park. The NGT has however dismissed the plea stating that multiple proceedings of the same issue are going on in various courts across India. NGT chairperson Adarsh Kumar Goel stated that the Supreme Court of India wa monitoring this case and certain proceedings were also being carried out at the Guwahati High Court in Assam.

To keep a check on speeding vehicles along the NH-37 at Kaziranga National Park, the State Government of Assam has cleared an allocation of 11 crores to install sensor operated automated traffic barriers along the NH-37 at Kaziranga National Park.

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Floods grip North East India – Many affected across 7 districts of Assam:

June 15, 2018

Continuous and incessant downpour over the past 48 hours has created havoc across the North Eastern States with Assam, Manipur and Tripura being the most affected areas. Flash floods in Assam have affected over thousands of people and have rendered many people homeless. The main districts affected by floods in Assam are Hojai, Karbi Anglong West, Karbi Anglong East, Karimganj, Cachar, Hailakandi and Golaghat. Kaziranga National Park lies in the Golaghat district of Assam and is slowly being swiped under the captivity of the floods of Assam. The river Diphlu is being flooded with rainwater that is in turn carrying water into the area of Kohora, Bagori and Agoratoli ranges of Kaziranga National Park. Forest authority are making all necessary arrangements to ensure safety of the animals at Kaziranga National Park to a detailed extent. Highlands have been constructed and regular speed monitoring devices are set up so that speeding vehicles do not mow down animals trying to cross the roads to higher grounds. The rainfall has been quite severe at the very onset this year at Kaziranga National Park and adequate steps are being taken to safeguard the life of animal species at Kaziranga National Park.

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First wave of Floods grips Kaziranga National Park:

June 14, 2018 

After closing is gates to visitors from June 01, 2018, Kaziranga National Park is getting ready to cope up with the annual fury of the floods of Assam. Every year continuous rainfall across several districts of Assam result in a wave of destruction of floods causing much damage to infrastructure and property. The first wave of floods have started to grip the Bokakhat area near the Kohora range of Kaziranga National Park. Monsoon rains have started to approach Assam and with the continuous downpour since last monday evening viz. June 11, 2018 water from the nearby Karbi Hills have started descending down to the low lying areas of the villages near Bokakhat flooding the Diphlu River that flows across Kaziranga National Park. According to local residents, this years floods has been very severe and worst since the one in 1980 as the first wave of flood itself has caused extensive damage. The National Highway 37 running from Bokakhat and Kaziranga National Park to other parts of Assam has been cut off and vehicles are unable to move. Few culverts have been destroyed thereby causing disruptions of traffic across the villages.

Supreme Court directs closure of 10 Stone Quarries around Kaziranga National Park

June 9, 2018: Source ~ Sentinel Assam

Under the directions of the Honorable Supreme Court of India, the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of Karbi Anglong East Division has ordered the closure of 10 mining site (Stone quarries) adjacent to the World Heritage Site of Kaziranga National Park to protect the diverse wildlife here at Kaziranga National Park.

These quarries are all located around the areas of the Kaziranga National Park within the area that has been marked as an eco sensitive zone (10 km radius) by the Kaziranga National Park authority and also has been endorsed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT). However, provisions have been allocated to the owners to identify new sites for alternative quarries and plans have been asked to be drafted.

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Kaziranga National Park closes its gates to visitors from June 1st, 2018:

June 01, 2018

Kaziranga National Park closed its gates for visitors on June 1st, 2018 for the season 2017-18. Every year, the monsoons in Assam bring in a heavy amount of rainfall that causes the river Brahmaputra to flood and its waters enters the Kaziranga National Park. When it rains heavily in Kaziranga, the water quickly overtakes the low lying southern portions of Kaziranga, including Bagori and Kohora. As a result, without having any major high boundaries, the water from the Brahmaputra and its tributaries start flowing into the interiors of the Kaziranga National Park. This is when the Park authorities have to take adequate steps for safeguarding the life of the animals inside the Kaziranga National Park. Although adequate steps are taken regularly to protect the habitat of the Kaziranga National Park, the huge area of the Park always is an obstacle to protect the entire area of Kaziranga.

The number of highlands at Kaziranga National Park are not adequate to provide shelter to all the animals of the Park. Even though many of these animals of Kaziranga take shelter in these highlands but a majority of them need to migrate to the nearby Karbi Anglong and Naga hills to take shelter. The major hindrance here is the National Highway that falls in between these animals and the hills. The park authorities take several steps to reduce the speed on vehicles plying on this National Park to reduce the risk to these animals of Kaziranga. Speed bumps at regular intervals are placed for vehicles to keep their speedometer on check. The park authorities set up road blockades at regular intervals to educate the drivers about the precious fauna of Kaziranga National Park and to value their lives. Speed checks are strictly enforced and vehicles violating the speed limit are enforced with a huge fine so that they do not repeat the mistake again.

So it can be said that the authorities of Kaziranga National Park are kept busy across the year. During the season time to keep the infrastructure of Kaziranga National Park intact and to educate the visitors here about the dos and don’ts at Kaziranga and in monsoons to protect the wildlife habitat of Kaziranga National Park and also the year around for regular check against poachers. Though with all such steps the risk to animal life is minimized but still many animals die in Kaziranga National Park due to the annual floods. Some of them drown in the flood waters, some of them carried away by the river water, some due to unavailability of adequate food resources and some of these animals mostly the Indian Rhinoceros falling prey to the aggressive and ruthless poachers. The amazing biodiversity of Kaziranga National Park has to undergo through this difficult ordeal each and every year with many animals surviving and battling the forces of Mother Nature to see a new tomorrow. Floods continue and will always remain a threat to the amazing Fauna species of Kaziranga National Park.

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Threats of Mining and Erosion at Kaziranga National Park:

May 23, 2018 ~ Source: india.mongabay.com

Loss of living habitat for its animals is looming over Kaziranga National Park due to rampant mining and quarrying operations at the adjoining Karbi Anglong Hills. Stone mining at the Karbi Anglong Hills pose a threat that will result in destroying of the animal corridors that these animals at Kaziranga National Park use as refuge to migrate to the upper plains when floods grip Kaziranga National Park. Explaining the situation, scientist Bibhab Kumar Talukdar, secretary general and CEO of NGO Aranyak said “Wild animals can get the sense of upcoming flood and they often move towards high land in the landscape during the flood. Though there are some highlands in Kaziranga, the Karbi Anglong hills serve as a natural highland that are visible to the wild animals from a distance.”

The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has come up with a report that highlights the long term implications of survival of species like Elephants and Tigers is being targeted by the quarrying and mining activities that is resulting in destruction of wildlife corridors and wildlife habitats and has urged the Government of Assam to take immediate steps to ban these operations within a 10 km radius of the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve.

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New Age Technology measures adopted for protection of wildlife during floods at Kaziranga National Park:

June 1, 2018

Modern technology serves as a boon and this time this has come in the form of a mobile app that will protect the lives of animals at Kaziranga National Park during the annual floods here. A mobile app developed by the NIC center in Golaghat, Assam will assist the officials at Kaziranga National Park to monitor the speed of vehicles along the National Highway 37 that cuts through the Kaziranga National Park. This app will help keep a check on vehicle speeds when the animals cross the roads to seek refuge at higher grounds to save from drowning in the flood waters. Speeding cars have often been reported to hit animals crossing the roads leading to casualty. Cars will now be allowed to cross the highway at Kaziranga National Park at designated speed limits only and thereby will not collide against animals.

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Another Rhino down at Kaziranga National Park – Poachers kill rhino:

In another sad incident at Assam’s famous Kaziranga National Park, poachers again shot at an Indian Rhinoceros near the Kaoimari forest camp at the Bagori Safari range of Kaziranga National Park. Forest official of Kaziranga rushed immediately to the spot and managed to fire at the poachers and shot own 1 among the 5 poachers. The officials were able to recover  the rhino horn and also a rifle along with two bags of poaching materials and ammunitions. The body of the rhinoceros was yet to be recovered and search operations continued to find it here at Kaziranga National Park.

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Forest Guards of Kaziranga National Park attacked for trying to prevent illegal fishing

May 16, 2018: Source ~ Times of India

In a drastic incident, a mob attacked forest guards at the Sildubi area here at Kaziranga National Park when the guards tried to stop three men from illegally fishing within the protected area of Kaziranga National Park.

As per reports, at around 11 AM the guards spotted three locals fishing illegally inside the protected areas of the park and tried to stop them. During the course of the argument many villagers joined the three men and started to manhandle the guards The guards sustained injuries on their faces and hands. An FIR has been filed with the Jamuguri police station against the attackers.

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Rhino poaching continues at Kaziranga National Park:

May 14, 2018

In yet another incident at the famed Kaziranga National Park in Assam, poachers managed to kill an adult 30 year old male rhinoceros and escaped with its prized horn. This is the fourth news of a Rhino being poached at Kaziranga National Park for the year 2018. The dead body of the rhinoceros was found near the banks of the Brahmaputra river. An immediate search operation was launched upon hearing the gun shots on 10th May at around 7.30 AM near the Burapahar range of Kaziranga National Park. With rain waters beginning to flow inside the National Park, the animals have started to take refuge in higher grounds towards Karbi Anglong and it might seem that the poachers had managed to enter the Kaziranga National Park from the porous boundaries of Karbi Anglong. Forest Minister of Assam condemned the heinous act and laid stress on better anti poaching campaigns and measures at Kaziranga National Park.

This is the fourth case of rhino being poached for its horn at Kaziranga this year. Rhino species have always been vulnerable to attack due to its prized horn. The large porous boundaries of the Kaziranga National Park makes it vulnerable to poachers who find an easy way to sneak in. In the year 2016, around 18 incidents of poaching were reported while in 2017 around 15 cases were reported. This year on 14th January, a female rhinoceros was killed in the Bagori range of the Kaziranga National Park and on 11th February another case of rhino poaching was reported.

Regular steps to contain poaching are taken at Kaziranga National Park. Strategic camps are set up regularly to contain infiltration along with it the National Park will deploy more number of automated drones to monitor the area of the park. Electronic recording devices have been installed at strategic locations to monitor regular activity. Also Belgian Dogs have been deployed to keep a check on poachers. These fierce dogs have been able to provide a better success rate at containing poachers and about 40 poachers have been captured from 2013 by the officials of Kaziranga National Park.

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Woodland Park Zoo at Seattle open Assam Rhino Reserve – gets its first ever One Horned Rhinoceros

May 7, 2018 ~ Source: Seattle Times

A special exhibit called as the Assam Rhino Reserve was opened on May 5th at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, USA. This exhibit will showcase the Indian One Horned Rhinoceros, Asian Brown Tortoise and the Demoiselle Cranes. As a part of this initiative, the Assam Rhino Reserve got its first ever male one horned Rhinoceros named Taj after a long two day transport by road from the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. Soon Taj would be joined by another male companion Glenn. The Assam Rhino Reserve will showcase the treat to these species against wildlife trafficking and poaching and the amazing adaptation of these species to survive against extinction. He Indian One Horned Rhinoceros once found across the northern part of the Indian Subcontinent, their population rapidly declined due to hunting, huma conflicts and poaching. An initiative taken at Assam’s Kaziranga National Park saved them from extinction and today around 3600 of them survive across various protected areas of India and Nepal and Kaziranga National Park is home to 2/3rd of the total population.

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Speedy highland construction at Kaziranga National Park a must – says Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal

April 10, 2018

With the upcoming monsoon season in Assam, it becomes necessary to protect all animal habitat across the State and mostly at Kaziranga National Park which is prone to severe floods every year causing a threat to the life of the endangered animal species here. Keeping this in mind the Chief Minister of Assam, Mr. Sarbananda Sonowal visited the UNESCO World Heritage Site at Kaziranga National Park and took note of the progress of work on building highlands at the National Park that would act as a shelter for the animals during the floods. As many as 40 additional highlands are being constructed to protect the animals and the forest department has been continuously monitoring the work progress. The Chief Minister also laid emphasis for planting trees on these highlands that would serve as an important food source for the herbivores of Kaziranga National Park.

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Adopt A Heritage Scheme: Assam sees protests over Kaziranga National Park, Ahom-era monuments adoption

May 02, 2018 ~ Source Times of India

Different parts across the States of Assam saw protests from various organizations against a decision to hand over the heritage monuments along with the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Kaziranga National Park to private organizations for the maintenance of the tourism infrastructure across these places.

The protests led by youth groups and KMSS threatened to intensify the protests if these heritage sites in Assam were handed over to private operators. The opposition party of the State has asked the Government of Assam to hold talks with the Center to exclude the sites in Assam under the Adopt a Heritage Scheme.

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Priyanka Chopra gets Kaziranga National Park to open its gates for special Assam ad shoot

April 30, 2018 ~ Source Indiatoday

The brand ambassador of Assam Tourism, Actress Priyanka Chopra was recently in Assam to shoot for several ad campaigns under the Awesome Assam Tourism Campaign Promo. In these Ads, Priyanka Chopra is seen dancing to the tunes of the Assamese folk dance Bihu, savoring ethnic Assamese Cuisine, sighting the Indian One Horned Rhinoceros at the Kaziranga National Park on an Elephant back and showcasing the rich beauty and natural landscapes the State has to offer through its tourism potential to the World. Titled Awesome Assam, through these videos Priyanka points out why you should visit Assam atleast once in your lifetime and also that ‘Once you visit Assam, it stays with you forever.’ What is interesting is in these ads is that the State Government for the first time opened the gates of the Kaziranga National Park for filming this ad. Kaziranga National Park is a restricted area that does not allow commercial filming.

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Forest guard injured in rhino attack in Kaziranga National Park

May 01, 2018 ~ Source Indiablooms.com

In an unfortunate incident at the Kaziranga National Park in Assam, a forest guard was attacked and injured by an Indian Rhinoceros. The injured forest guard has been identified as Sabir Ahmed Laskar who was engaged at the Holalpet forest camp in Kohora range of Kaziranga National Park. According to another forest guard, they were on a patrol near the area when the Rhino suddenly came and attacked Mr. Sabir and witnessing the incident they managed to flee the area. The injured guard was later admitted to a local Hospital and transferred to the Guwahati Medical College for better treatment. Over the years many forest guards at Kaziranga National Park have been injured or killed in animal attacks.

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England Cricketer Kevin Pietersen posts a heart-warming post in Hindi after increase in rhino population at Kaziranga National Park

April 02, 2018 ~ Source Zeenews

The recently completed Rhino Census at Kaziranga National Park spelt good news to all nature lovers and wildlife activists as their number grew by almost 12 since the last three years. Many people expressed their joy on hearing this news and one ardent Rhino fan famous English cricketer Kevin Pietersen expressed his joy in a different way totally. Kevin took to Twitter and posted a message in Hindi expressing his joy in hearing the news. However, it is still not clear as to who helped Kevin to compose this message as it is not sure whether Kevin knows HInd to write this post.

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Goods New for Kaziranga: increase in number of the One Horned Rhino population

April 13, 2018 ~ Source qrius.com

The successful completion of the recent rhino count at Kaziranga National Park has brought some very good news to the people of Assam. The population of the pride of Assam viz. the Indian One Horned Rhinoceros has risen to a significant number of 12 here at Kaziranga. This increase in population comes as a sigh of relief to the officials of Kaziranga as the National Park has lost more than 500 numbers of them to poachers since the nineties.

In a complex survey that involved the use of 17 SUVs and 40 Elephants along with 300 government and NGO officials, authorities were able to pin the number to a 2413 this year which is a rise since the earlier number of 2401. Assam across the State has a total population of 2645 rhinos with other population spread across the Manas National Park and Rajiv Gandhi Orang National Park along with the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary.

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Assam Tourism to celebrate World Rhino Day on September 22 every year

February 23, 2018 

The Government of Assam along with the Department of Tourism has chosen September 22 as a day to celebrate as the ‘World Rhino Day’. In a meeting that was conducted by the State Board of Wildlife, the Honourable Chief Minister of Assam, Mr. Sarbananda Sonowal had expressed to have a day dedicated as a tribute to the One Horned Rhinoceros which is the pride of Assam especially the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Kaziranga National Park. The Chief Minister requested the members of the Forest Department of Kaziranga National Park to keep a strong vigil against any poaching activities at the Kaziranga National Park. He also pledged to protect the Elephant Population of the State as a few incidents of accidents at Railway Crossings leading to the death of Elephants were reported recently. He said that he will hold a high level meeting with the members of the Indian Railways to devise steps to prevent such incidents from happening again. The Chief Minister also laid stress on installing surveillance and building watchtowers across important sections of the National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries of Assam.

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Rhino Shot Dead By Poachers In Kaziranga National Park

January 15, 2018 ~ Source NDTV

Sad news struck at Assam’s Kaziranga National Park again today as another incident of Rhino poaching was reported here that killed an adult female one horned Rhinoceros. However, the poachers couldn’t carry the horn of the dead Rhinoceros.

The Forest Guards who were stationed at the Daflong Camp under the Bagori Safari range sprang to immediate action on hearing two gunshots at around 9 PM and fired six rounds to retaliate in the defence of the animals. This scared the poachers who immediately left the ground. A large scale operation to nab the poachers has been launched.

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Rhino and Calf Shot Dead in Kaziranga National Park of Assam

November 05, 2017 ~ Source NDTV

Tragedy struck again at Kaziranga National Park today as an adult female rhinoceros and her calf were shot dead by poachers near the Tunakati forest camp at the Burapahar range of Kaziranga. This news comes three days after the body of another adult rhino was found dead here. The poachers had fled with the rhino horn and left behind several empty cartridges of the AK-47 assault rifle. With these deaths the toll of Rhino killing rode to 5 this year as earlier in the year poachers killed another 2 rhinos one at the Hatibali Chapori ad another at the at the Burapahar range of Kaziranga National Park.

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Assam’s Kaziranga National Park opens for tourists

October 02, 2017 ~ Source Zee News

The Forest and Environment minister of Assam Ms. Promila Rani Brahma formally announced the opening of the gates at the Kaziranga National Park for allowing access to visitors who will be coming to the Park for the tourist season 2017-18. The occasion was also attended by the Agricultural minister of Assam Mr. Atul Bora and the Chairman of Assam Tourism Development Corporation Mr. Jayanta Malla Baruah along with other dignitaries and forest officials of Kaziranga National park. Earlier the park used to reopen in the month of November but keeping in mind the vacation season and with instructions from the authorities about the feasibility, it has been decided to reopen the park from October to May as against the earlier November to April. At present only two safari ranges at Kohora and Bagori has been opened for the tourists. Only Jeep Safari has been made accessible to the visitors while the Elephant Safaris will begin from October 11th People especially tourists have welcomed this move as they will now get more time to explore this UNESCO World Heritage Site and Important Bird Area.

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Assam floods: Over 225 animals dead in Kaziranga National Park

August 19, 2017 ~ Source Zee News

The floods in Assam cause havoc every year as the rising levels of the River Brahmaputra and its tributaries flow into the plains and cause displacement of many people and animals. The first wave of floods in July caused severe damage to human and animal life already this year. While people were still trying to overcome the devastation caused by the first wave, the second wave gripped the State this month causing a lot of trouble to the people. The second wave submerged around 25 districts of Assam and affected over 33 lakh people.

Most affected region again is the Kaziranga National Park, where 70% of the park got flooded. As per officials around a total of 225 animals have died in the floods this year. With the flood waters receding now however the pace is very slow and around 30% of the Kaziranga National Park is still inundated. The dead animals at Kaziranga include 15 Rhinos, 4 Elephants, 178 Hog Deers and 1 Tiger.

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Assam Forest Department to construct highlands for animal protection at Kaziranga

August 05, 2017 ~ Source Zee News

It is not only poaching that affects the population of the animals at Kaziranga National Park. Annual floods take an equal toll on the lives of animals at Kaziranga mostly the Indian Rhinoceros. This year around 5 rhinos have already been killed by the drowning in the flood waters.

In order to take active measures against the loss of animal lives, the forest department has decided to build around 30 highlands inside the premises of the park as the animals of Kaziranga National Park are sensitive and search for nearby highlands during floods to rescue themselves. The Forest Minister of Assam stated that a feasibility study is being conducted to see the positive effects of these highlands and once completed funds would be seeked for the construction of these highlands for the protection of animals at Kaziranga National Park.

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91 animals, including seven rhinos died in floods in Kaziranga National Park

July 31, 2017 ~ Source Zee News

The first wave of floods have struck Assam and already caused severe damage to the infrastructure and homes of the people of the State. These floods have already claimed the lives of more than 70 people. Along with people, many animals have also lost their lives especially at the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve. The toll of animals dead have risen to around 90 till now which includes 5 rhinos, 82 hog deers and 2 sambar deers. Funds have been released by the Central and State Governments to counter the situation of the floods. The funds have been used to set up 1098 relief camps across the State. Along with this, these funds have been utilized to create highlands, procure boats, rescue and rehabilitation of animals, creating preventive structure against erosion, creation of road networks etc. is being utilized.

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Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal Visits Flood Hit Kaziranga National Park

July 13, 2017 ~ Source NDTV

Assam Chief Minister Mr. Sarbananda Sonowal visited the flood affected areas of Kaziranga National Park on Wednesday and took a toll of the present situation. The Chief Minister took an extensive survey of the area on a boat ride to assess the damage done by floods at the Bagori range of Kaziranga National Park. He directed a Coordination Committee comprising of Deputy Commissioners, Superintendent of Police, Forest Officers of 5 districts to assess the situation of the floods regularly and adopt the best possible measures to protect the wildlife. He also directed the committee to take stringent measures against the poaching of these animals at Kaziranga National Park.

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Green Court Asks Assam Government To Ensure Animal Safety in Kaziranga

July 12, 2017 ~ Source NDTV

The National Green Tribunal today has asked the Government of Assam to take protective measures of the animals here especially during the monsoon season when the park gets flooded with rain water and animals start coming out of the park in search of highlands to rescue themselves from getting drowned and often land up in the National Highway where unfortunately they are at times struck by speeding cars and get killed. Road accidents cause the death of many animals during the annual floods here at Kaziranga National Park. The tribunal has informed the Government to take steps urgently to protect the wildlife as it was concerned with the cases of road accidents at Kaziranga National Park.

The State Government has informed the tribunal about the protective measures being taken and how then have introduced and strict measures of overspeeding by introducing time cards and laying of speed bumps at regular intervals. Patrol teams are placed at regular intervals informing vehicle drivers not to overspeed and harm animals. Heavy fine up to the tune of INR 5000 is being imposed on vehicles for overspeeding and around 1,010 challans have been been issued till July 10 for overspeeding and overloading of vehicles.

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BBC Disallowed To Film In Tiger Reserves For Five Years: Government

March 29, 2017 ~ Source NDTV

A widespread stir against a documentary released by BBC on Kaziranga National Park where it has ‘misrepresented’ the immunity provided to the forest staff at Kaziranga National Park as a ‘Shoot to Kill’ policy has led to a ban on the network where it has been stated that the network will not be allowed to film at the Tiger Reserves in India for the next 5 years.

Environment Minister Anil Madhav Dave said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha that there were several “inconsistencies” between the “synopsis provided by the BBC producer and the final documentary released for airing”.

“The government is aware of a documentary released by the BBC in which they misrepresented the immunity provided to forest personnel under section 197 of CrPC as ‘shoot-to-kill’ policy.

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First Rhino Death Of 2017 Reported In Kaziranga

January 9, 2017 ~ Source NDTV

In what can be reported as the first death of a Rhino at Kaziranga National Park, a carcass of an adult male rhinoceros was discovered today inside the premises of Kaziranga National Park.

The authorities reported that the dead body of the animal was found lying at the Padurijan area near the Sildubi Camp at Kaziranga National Park. Authorities have added that the Rhino death was caused due to natural causes and the horn was found intact.

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Home Minister of India Visits Flood-Hit Assam

July 30, 2016 ~ Source NDTV

The Union home minister of India Mr. Rajnath Singh along with Union Home Minister of State Mr. Kiren Rijju and Minister for DoNER Jitendra Singh visited Assam today and took a toll of the flood situation that has affected over 18 lakh people across the 22 districts of Assam. The Union Minister along with authorized dignitaries and officials will also take a note of the situation at Kaziranga National Park and the districts of Nagaon and Morigaon. At the end they will meet the Chief Minister of Assam before returning to back to Delhi.

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6 Baby Rhinos Saved From Flooded Kaziranga National Park

July 28, 2016 ~ Source NDTV

The toll of Assam floods have been quite evident here at the Kaziranga National Park. Many animals have already lost their lives to the fury of the floods. Not only the bigger animals but even the young ones have had to face the peril of the monsoons of Assam. In one such incident, a team of the Assam Forest Department and mobile veterinary service team of the Center for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation have rescued six baby rhinos from various areas of the Kaziranga National Park. These young rhinos aged from one month to one year were separated from their mother and washed away with the floods. They have now been rescued and are being treated. Around 12 forest department officials have been actively involved in saving such animals displaced in the floods at the Kaziranga National Park.

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About 12 Lakh People Affected In floods of Assam; 60% Of Kaziranga Inundated

July 26, 2016 ~ Source NDTV

Continuous rainfall over the past few days owing to the monsoon season have caused widespread floods across the State of Assam. In the past 24 hours itself, the number of people affected by these floods have gone up from 6 lakhs to 12 lakhs. The flood situation is more tense in the area of Upper Assam and the districts of Golaghat and Dhemaji are under water. Around 7 people have died in flood and landslide related accidents. Around 2000 relief camps have been set up across the State of Assam where over 1 lakh people have refuge where they are being provided with shelter, food and water.

The situation is even more grim in the Kaziranga National Park where around 60% of the park has been submerged and many forest officials and animals have been affected due to the floods. This has made the animals at Kaziranga National Park more vulnerable to poaching.

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9 Poachers Arrested For Killing Rhino In Kaziranga National Park

May 03, 2106 ~ Source NDTV

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On the Day Of Will-Kate’s Kaziranga Tour, Poachers gun down a Rhino 

April 14, 2016 ~ Source NDTV

The audacity of the poachers continues to grow as they defy all rules to hunt down animals at the World Heritage Site of Kaziranga National Park. In this incident, the poachers managed to gun down a Rhinoceros just a few hours after the visit of Prince William and his wife Princess Middleton’s visit to the Kaziranga National Park. Due to the royal family’s visit heavy security measures were adopted here at Kaziranga and despite these measures the poachers managed to carry out this act of crime.

As per forest officials, the guards here gunshots at 11.10 pm on wednesday and they launched a search operation where they found the carcass of the dead rhino. They also managed to recover empty cartridges of AK-47s that were used to kill the animals. The poachers has also managed to kill another female one horned rhinoceros just two days prior to the visit of the royal couple here at Kaziranga National Park.

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Prince William, Kate To Visit UNESCO World Heritage Site Kaziranga National Park

April 12, 2016 ~ Source NDTV

The Royal couple, Prince William and Kate Middleton, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are all set to grace the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Kaziranga National Park with their presence on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The Chief Minister of Assam Mr. Tarun Gogoi will receive the royal couple on their arrival at Kaziranga National Park from Tezpur which is located a 90 minute drive away from the Park. The couple will then be taken to the Diphlu River Lodge where they will halt during their stay.

On wednesday morning, they will be taken to the Bagori Safari range for a 2 hour long Jeep Safari to sight the varied Flora and fauna of the Kaziranga National Park and later they will interact with the anti-poaching staff and the visit the animal rehabilitation center here at Kaziranga National Park.

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Adult Female Rhino Killed In Kaziranga National Park

March 23, 2016 ~ Source NDTV

Poachers managed to cause another sad incident here at Kaziranga National Park as they gunned down an adult female rhinoceros and took away its horn. Forest guards patrolling the area of the Kaziranga National Park near the Tunikhati camp at the Burapahar range found the carcass of the adult female rhinoceros without its horn. They also managed to recover a 303 rifle and 18 empty cartridges from the site. The toll of rhino deaths this year has gone up to 5 and security inside the premises of Kaziranga National Park has been beefed up.

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2016 has been a terrible year for Kaziranga National Park as 2 Rhinos have been killed In Last 48 Hours.

January 27, 2016 ~ Source NDTV

In a tragic incident in less than 48 hours 2 rhinoceros were gunned down at the Burapahar range of Kaziranga National Park taking the toll to 3 Rhinos this year.

As per officials, forest guards heard gunshots near the Burapahar range and launched an immediate search operation. Although the poachers has already fled with the Rhino horn the guards were able to recover to the rhino carcass.

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Two Rhino Poachers Killed at Kaziranga National Park

January 1, 2016 ~ Source NDTV

The forest guards of Kaziranga National Park managed to foil an attempt of poaching and managed to gun down 2 poachers in an encounter at the Bagori Range of Kaziranga National Park. As per the officials, around 6 poachers had entered the premises of the Park to carry out Rhino poaching and were detected by the forest guards who got into an encounter with the poachers. Four of the poachers managed to flee while two were killed.

Earlier on wednesday, an adult female rhinoceros was killed at the Kaziranga National Park along with a forest guard who tried to stop the poachers. Rhino species have always been vulnerable to poaching here at Kaziranga National Park. These ruthless poachers have killed and dehorned almost 200 rhinoceros over the past 13 years and in the year 2014 itself around 20 rhinos were killed. The Government of Assam has adopted various stringent measures to stop the menace of poaching but poachers find a way to carry out this act of crime.

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How Guards at Kaziranga National Park are coping with the Assam floods

August 25, 2015 ~ Source NDTV

The flood situation in Assam has worsened and has affected over 8 lakh people till now. There are reports of as many as 14 people dead in these floods. The State Government of Assam has opened many relief camp across the State and around 1.5 lakh people have taken refuge in these camps.

The situation is even more difficult for the forest guards at Kaziranga National Park. Their camps inside the forest reserve have been flooded and they do not have proper place to stay. Over 20 forest camps across the area of the Kaziranga National Park have been flooded forcing the guards to take refuge in the available ones which are a few only. This is making their job of protecting the endangered one horned Rhinoceros a flagship species of Kaziranga National Park all the more challenging as during floods the poachers find it easier to seek in and hunt down these animals for their prized horn.

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Rhino Killed in Assam’s Kaziranga National Park

June 30, 2015 ~ Source NDTV

Ruthless poachers in yet another sad incident gunned down another rhinoceros here at Kaziranga National Park taking this years toll to 12 since January 2015. The Rhino carcass was recovered from the Burapahar range by patrolling forest officials. The carcass bore injury marks and had its horn removed indicating an act of poaching. Rhino horns are in huge demand in the International markets and Kaziranga National Park spread over 855 sq. km. has almost 70% of the World’s One Horned Rhino population.

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Rhino Killed at Kaziranga National Park in Assam in a suspected poaching attempt

April 10, 2015 ~ Source NDTV

In a shocking incident, suspected poachers hunted an adult female rhino and removed its horn at the Kaziranga National Park. Patrolling forest guards on hearing gunshots set out on an immediate search operation at the Boribil forest camp area. They couldn’t nab the poachers but were able to recover the carcass of the Rhino lying on the ground with its horns removed.

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Kaziranga National Park count shows more number of Rhinos on survey

April 02, 2015 ~ Source NDTV

There is good news for all wildlife enthusiasts around the World. Kaziranga National Park has shown a remarkable increase in the count of Rhino species here. As per the latest survey conducted the number has risen to 2,401 rhinos. This is a considerable increase from the earlier count which was done in 2013 that showed the number to be 2,329. This growth in rhino numbers has been a result of a continued fought battle over the years among the staff of the Kaziranga National Park and the merciless poachers. In the last five years itself around 250 people have been charged with poaching of rhino and are yet to be convicted. Rhino species at Kaziranga National Park shall always remain vulnerable to such heinous acts of crime.