Rhinos threatened by poaching, translocation: global body

Despite efforts by the state government to clamp down on illegal rhino poaching, the species in Assam is continuing to face the threat of extinction, an international report has warned.

In its report, international watchdog for illegal wildlife trade  CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) has warned India that the one-horned rhino is facing increasing threat from poaching in Assam’s Kaziranga National Park and death due to translocation of the species in Manas National Park.  The report said Assam lost 40 rhinos to poaching between 2010 to 2012, besides this seven rhinos died while they were being translocated to Manas from Kaziranga  under the ambitious  Indian Rhino Vision 2020.

Another eight translocated rhinos died in Manas in 2013 when the state lost 41 animals in total, the report noted. Though death due to poaching reduced to 30 in 2014 and 20 in 2015, the rhinos continue to face the threat with nine incidents being reported this year. 

The report states that the porous Indo-Myanmar boarder along Nagaland and Manipur has become the transit route for rhino horns. It first moves to the Kachin state in Myanmar and then to Yunan province in China, where it reaches the hands of the international traders.