Rhinos in Assam

Rhinos in Assam

News: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced on January 1 that no rhinos were poached in the state in 2022.

About:
• The Indian rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) is found only in the Brahmaputra valley, parts of North Bengal, and parts of southern Nepal.
• It has a single black horn that can grow up to 60 cm, and a tough, grey-brown hide with skin folds, which gives the animal its characteristic armour-plated look.
• The Indian rhino is listed as vulnerable in the IUCN Red List. The WWF says the “recovery of the greater one-horned rhino is among the greatest conservation success stories in Asia”.
• According to the WWF, there are around 3,700 Indian rhinos in the wild today. Assam’s Kaziranga National Park (KNP) alone has 2,613 animals, according to a census carried out in March 2022. There are more than 250 other rhinos in the Orang, Pobitora, and Manas parks. 

Why were Rhinos poached?
• Rhinos have been poached for their horn, which is prized in some cultures. 
• Additionally, ground rhino horn is used in traditional Chinese medicine to cure a range of ailments, from cancer to hangovers, and also as an aphrodisiac.
• While in n Vietnam, a rhino horn is considered a status symbol. 

What efforts were made by Assam government to break the myth surrounding Rhino horns?
• In 2019, the Assam government constituted a Special Rhino Protection Force to keep a check on rhino poaching and related activities at Kaziranga National Park (KNP). 
• On September 22, World Rhino Day, in 2021, almost 2,500 rhino horns were burnt publicly in Bokakhat in KNP to “bust myths about rhino horns”.