The Assam Assembly Elections have recently been making headlines due to varying claims by different political parties about a significant reduction in the poaching of the Greater One-Horned Rhino. According to the information provided by the Assam Forest Department, poaching rates have declined by up to 86% in the last three years.
About The Greater One-Horned Rhino
The Greater One-Horned Rhino is one of the five distinct rhino species in the world. The other four species include the Black Rhino, which is the smaller of the two African species, and the White Rhino, for which researchers have recently created an embryo using In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). There’s also the Javan Rhino, listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List, and the Sumatran Rhino, which has recently gone extinct in Malaysia.
This specific Rhino, also known as the Indian rhino, is recognized by its single black horn and a grey-brown hide with skin folds. Living primarily on a diet of grasses, leaves, branches of shrubs and trees, fruit, and aquatic plants, it is the largest of the rhino species.
Habitat and Distribution of the Rhino Species
The Indian Rhino species can be found in the Indo-Nepal terai, northern West Bengal and Assam. In India, they are mainly present in Assam, West Bengal, and Uttar Pradesh. Assam alone is home to an estimated 2,640 rhinos across four protected areas: Pabitora Wildlife Reserve, Rajiv Gandhi Orang National Park, Kaziranga National Park, and Manas National Park. Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve (KNPTR) alone safeguards around 2,400 rhinos.
Protection Status
The Indian Rhino currently falls under the ‘Vulnerable’ category of the IUCN Red List. According to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), it is categorised in Appendix I which includes species that are threatened with extinction. CITES prohibits international trade in specimens of these species except for non-commercial purposes such as scientific research. The Indian Rhino is also protected by the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule I.
Challenges to Conservation
Despite protective measures, the threats to the survival of the Indian Rhino persist. These include illegal poaching, especially for their horns, habitat loss, high population density, and decreasing genetic diversity.
Indian Rhino Conservation Efforts
Efforts for conservation and protection of the species have been internationally recognized. The five rhino range nations—India, Bhutan, Nepal, Indonesia, and Malaysia—have signed ‘The New Delhi Declaration on Asian Rhinos 2019’. Additionally, India’s Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has begun creating DNA profiles of all rhinos in the country.
In 2019, the National Rhino Conservation Strategy was launched for the greater one-horned rhinoceros. Moreover, Indian Rhino Vision 2020, initiated in 2005, aimed at achieving a wild population of at least 3,000 greater one-horned rhinos across seven protected areas in Assam by 2020.
Kaziranga National Park
Located in Assam, the Kaziranga National Park covers 42,996 hectares, making it the single largest undisturbed and representative area in the Brahmaputra Valley floodplain. The park, which was declared a national park in 1974, has been a tiger reserve since 2007.
Internationally, it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985 and is recognized as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International. It is home to an estimated 104 tigers, making it the location with the fourth highest tiger population in India.
Kaziranga’s conservation efforts are primarily centred around four species: Rhino, Elephant, Royal Bengal tiger, and Asiatic water buffalo. It also hosts 9 of the 14 species of primates found in the Indian subcontinent.
Other National Parks in Assam
Assam also houses several other national parks including Dibru-Saikhowa National Park, Manas National Park, Nameri National Park, Rajiv Gandhi Orang National Park, and Dehing Patkai National Park.