Three Kaziranga National Park rhino calves released in Manas

Three rhino calves that were rescued during the 2019 floods in Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve were successfully released at Sidajhra area under Manas Tiger Reserve.
Three Kaziranga National Park rhino calves released in Manas

A CORRESPONDENT

BARPETA: Three rhino calves – two females and a male – that were rescued during the 2019 floods in Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve and hand raised at the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC), were successfully released at Sidajhra area under Manas Tiger Reserve on Saturday morning.

Rescued by the Assam Forest Department (AFD) and the IFAW- WTI vets from the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) at Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve, these rhino calves have undergone a protocol of rehabilitation for two years before they were translocated to Manas Tiger Reserve (MTR) following the IFAW- WTI commitment of 'Bringing Back Manas' on Friday.

The convoy, travelling around 380 km since Friday evening from CWRC – Kaziranga NP&TR reached Manas Tiger Reserve (MTR) in the early hours of Saturday for the scheduled release of the animals in their dedicated boma, where they will be kept and observed for a stipulated period for habituation before their final release in the wilderness of the reserve.

Anindya Swargowari, Additional PCCF and CHD Forests BTC, oversaw the animal release and appreciated the teamwork. After the successful release of the rhinos, Amal Chandra Sharma, Director, Manas Tiger Project (MTP), said, "The three rehabilitated rhinos' introduction at the boma in Sidajhar forest camp area has its own importance towards bringing back Manas. The second translocation of rhinos from CWRC to Sidajhar will not only enrich the park's rhino population as flagship species but also help in the protection of the landscape. With the extensive wildlife protection activity at Sidajhar on the western part of the river Beki, we are hopeful that these rhinos will definitely enrich the population with their offspring in the coming years."

Earlier, before the move from CWRC, all three rhino calves went through health check-ups and marking before they were loaded in individual crates for the translocation by the expert team of IFAW-WTI veterinarians along with KNP & TR FVO led by Head vet Dr. Bhaskar Choudhury.

Among the three animals, two females were rescued from Hatimura (Biswanath-North Bank) and Kuthuri area whereas the male was from Solmara during the Kaziranga floods that hit in July-August 2019.

Under the commitment to bring back Manas, AFD-WTI-IFAW along with BTR, have augmented Manas with 19 rhinos, including offspring of the released rhinos, born in the wilderness of Manas Tiger Reserve since 2006, out of the total population of 44 rhinos (Rhino Estimation 2021).

The release of flood-rescued and rehabilitated rhinos into Manas Tiger Reserve is a part of the long-term project of IFAW-WTI with AFD and BTR, where the translocated rhinos have bred, and their progeny have added to the rhino population of Manas Tiger Reserve.

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