2 rhinos die as Assam floods drown Kaziranga National Park

Guwahati: Torrential rains have continued in several parts of Assam, destroying homes and rendering thousands of people homeless. In this spate of monsoons, animals too have been great sufferers.

Officials revealed on Wednesday that 2 one-horned rhinos were killed due to drowning in the state's Kaziranga national park and tiger reserve, which is currently reeling under floods. According to officials, the dead bodies of the two animals were found on Tuesday at Tinimukhuni Nallah and Miikrjan Tongi areas in the central area of the 430 square kilometers (km) park.

With these two casualties, the total number of rhinos killed in this year's monsoon has risen to 3. The carcass of a male rhino that had seemingly died due to natural reasons was found in the western range of the park on June 26.

With the rains playing spoilsport across Assam, 90% of the National Park's total area has been inundated under floodwaters, and 152 of the total 223 camps inside the park have been submerged. Out of these, 14 camps have been vacated entirely.

66 wild animals have died during this monsoon with 23 deaths (two rhinos, five wild boars, a swamp deer, 14 hog deer, and a porcupine) due to drowning and 12 (all hog deer) after they were hit by speeding vehicles, Karziranga officials said in a bulletin. At the same time, a total of 45 animals (all hog deer) have been injured during the monsoons (44 due to floods and one due to a vehicle hit). Forest personnel has so far rescued 117 animals, including a one-year-old female rhino calf, which had got separated from its mother.

Animals are especially prone to road accidents during the monsoons as they have a tendency of crossing the National Highway in order to seek refuge in the hills of Karbi Anglong district. Although the speed limit has been fixed at 40 kmph in the area, several animals meet with accidents.

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