Rescued rhino calves being provided care at the CWRC, Kaziranga.
Credit: Kaziranga National Park
Guwahati: It began as an emergency response to wildlife caught in serious floods in Assam's Kaziranga National Park way back in 2002. In 23 years of its journey, the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC), country's first such rescue and rehabilitation centre, has provided succor to over 9,500 wildlife--63 per cent of which have been successfully reintroduced to their natural habitats.
The centre not only provides care and rehabilitation to wildlife injured or separated during the floods that hits Kaziranga almost every year but now operates as a model of collaboration formed jointly by the Assam forest department, Wildlife Trust of India and International Fund for Animal Welfare.
"The CWRC is still the only facility in India to have successfully addressed the welfare and rehabilitation needs of 357 wildlife species, ranging from rhino and elephant calves to clouded leopards and hog deer. CWRC’s work began as an urgent response to the annual floods in Kaziranga, offering rapid relief and rehabilitation to thousands of displaced and injured animals every monsoon season," director of Kaziranga, Sonali Ghosh said.
The 1,300-odd square kilometer Kaziranga, also a Unesco heritage site, is an attraction for tourists for being the largest home for the prized one-horned rhinos. Royal Bengal tigers, Asian elephants, wild water buffalo and swamp deers and a large species of birds are the other attractions in the park. But the flood that hits the park and acts as rejuvenation of its grassland and ecology, also kills many animals. The flood-hit animals are often rescued by forest personnel and locals and are rushed to the CWRC for care and rehabilitation.
"During the crises, CWRC’s rescue teams mobilize rapidly, deploying 30–40 veterinarians, keepers, and volunteers through four dedicated units and temporary camps for intensive rescue and care operations. Their mobile veterinary service units reach stranded or orphaned animals—especially rhino and elephant calves, deer, and otters—while also providing outreach to nearby villages to reduce human-animal conflict and support community-led conservation efforts. CWRC’s dedicated flood-season operations routinely save over 700 animals each year, embodying its role as Assam’s frontline in wildlife disaster response."
The centre has also helped in vital conservation achievements such as reintroducing rhinos to Manas National Park and translocating Hoolock gibbons to safer habitats. CWRC’s skilled teams have restored orphan elephants, wild buffaloes, black bears, and greater adjutant storks to the wild—many rescued from the brink during times of disaster and conflict.
"The CWRC's lasting impact stands as a testament to science-led conservation and the power of cross-sector partnerships in protecting India’s irreplaceable wildlife and natural heritage," Ghosh said.