Bike Rally To Ladakh With A Cause of ‘Save Rhino, Save Assam’

GUWAHATI: A team of nine riders from Assam is conducting a tour to Ladakh with the noble initiative ‘Save Rhino, Save Assam’ campaign while promoting Assam Tourism. “As rhino poaching is rampant in Assam and Northeast, we would like to spread the message throughout India to save the species from extension and create safer habitat for wildlife”, informed Subhasish Bhattacharjee, a member of the nine-member team. “We want to ride not just for the amusement but for a cause. We want the country to know that rhino is the pride of Assam and is an endangered species. The government needs to take concrete measures to preserve the beautiful animal”, another team member said. “We are a group of both boys and girls and will be covering almost 2262 kilometers on bikes to spread the message.

Rhinoceros poaching in Assam is the major issue in India, which is still continued in the region. Assam has 2600 rhinoceros, of which 2,400 are in the Kaziranga National Park (KNP). Poachers from Nagaland and Manipur, who use different kind assault rifles (AK 47, AK 56, etc). From 1980 to 1997, a total of 530 rhinos were poached, averaging nearly 30 rhinos per year. The highest poaching in a year was 48 rhinos were reported in the year 1992, when its population was 1,100. In the years 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016, rhino poaching cases were 27, 27, 17 and 18 respectively. Six rhinos were poached till November 2017. The markets for rhino horn are in China and Taiwan. Rhino population in the Park was 940 in 1980, grew to 1,300 in 1997 and was 2,400 as per the latest census in 2015.

Some other Protected Areas (PAs) in Assam also have rhino populations, equally vulnerable as at KNP for poaching.

Also Read: New Delhi Declaration: International Collaboration To Help Protect Rhinos in Assam