By Syed Zarir Hussain, IANS
Kaziranga (Assam) : Wildlife authorities are alarmed after poachers killed 10 endangered one-horned rhinoceros for their prized horns at the Kaziranga National Park in Assam.
A wildlife department official said the latest killing was reported Friday at Kaziranga, 220 km east of Guwahati. All the killings have taken place this year.
"It is a matter of concern. The tug of war is continuing between the forest guards and the poachers who are equipped with sophisticated weapons fitted with silencers," park warden S.N. Buragohain told IANS.
This is the first time in a decade that the number of rhinos killed in a year has touched the double digits. As per latest figures, 1,855 of the world's estimated 2,700 rhinos lumber around the wilds of the 430 sq km park. But their numbers ironically make the giant mammals a favourite target for poaching.
"We are trying our best to check poaching and have killed three poachers and arrested six this year," the warden said.
Organised poachers kill rhinos for their horns, which many believe contain aphrodisiac qualities, besides being used as medicines for curing fever, stomach ailments and other diseases in parts of South Asia.
Buyers from the Middle East also face the rhino horn, turning them into handles of ornamental daggers. Elephant ivory tusks are primarily used for making ornaments and decorative items.
Profits in the illegal rhino horn trade are staggering – rhino horn sells for up to Rs.1.5 million per kg in the international market after they are smuggled to China or sold in other clandestine Asian markets.
"The recent spurt in poaching of rhinos could be attributed to the increase in demand for the horn in the international market," Buragohain said.
Poachers have been able to take advantage of the park being hit by an acute staff shortage. And therefore the beasts fall prey to poachers unchallenged.
"The total sanctioned strength of frontline staff is about 560 although about 111 posts have been lying vacant since 1989. On top of it, at least 35 more forest guards have been taken out of duties after being injured by wild animals inside the park over the past five years," a park ranger said.
According to rangers, poacher gangs use rifles and carbines to kill the rhinos.
"We are equipped with obsolete weapons and most of our forest guards are in the age group of 40 to 50. We need to revamp the staff and get fresh and young people for better results," another park ranger said.
The fresh incidents of poaching come at a time when park authorities believed the endangered one-horned rhinos were charging back from the brink of extinction.
Five rhinos were poached last year while seven were killed in 2005. According to government estimates, poachers killed about 500 of the beasts in the past two decades.