75 per cent of rhinoceros habitat submerged

At least 22 animals, including four rhinos, have perished in Kaziranga National Park (KNP) in the current wave of floods in Assam.

Divisional Forest Officer Dibyodhar Gogoi told PTI on Wednesday that the third wave of the deluge has submerged 75 per cent of rhino habitat in the KNP and claimed the lives of four great Indian rhinoceros, 14 hog deer, three wild boars and one Sambar deer. Four other animals were killed in separate accidents on NH 37 when they tried to escape from the flooded KNP, Gogoi said.

Nine animals have been rescued so far from the flooded park and put under the care of the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) veterinarians, Forest Department sources said. CWRC wildlife rescue team is on high alert fearing another wave of flood in the park as incessant rain over the past week has caused the water levels in rivers to rise above the danger mark in many parts of the state.

Park authorities and anti-poaching camps personnel are also on high alert to contain casualties. KNP sources said personnel in 25 of the 126 flood-affected camps were moved to higher ground.

The situation inside the park is critical as the flood water level is rising in its western parts that is adjacent to the swollen Brahmaputra, KNP director Sanjev Bora said. Flood water is, however, receding in the eastern range. Emergency helplines have been opened for information on distressed wildlife, park authorities said.