Even as a decaying rhinoceros carcass without horn was found in Kaziranga’s Kohora range in January 2022, the post-mortem report and ‘circumstantial evidence’ made authorities to conclude that the animal was killed the previous month, which made 2022 a zero rhino poaching year.
“Carcass found on January 20 doesn’t mean that it was poached just then. The post-mortem report stated that it was poached around 15 days ago since it was decaying. This and other circumstantial evidence such as staff statements have led us to conclude that the animal would have been killed in December 2021,” said Jatindra Sarma, Field Director, Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve.
On January 2 this year, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced that “not a single rhino” was poached in the state in 2022 following which Prime Minister Narendra Modi also congratulated him. “This is great news! Compliments to the people of Assam, who have shown the way and been proactive in their efforts to protect the rhinos,” the PM tweeted Tuesday.
Zero Poaching!
2022 was really special for our rhino conservation efforts. Not a single rhino being poached in 2022 & just 2 in 2021, the gentle giant is now much safer in Assam.
Kudos to @assamforest dept & @assampolice for their sincere efforts to protect the iconic animal. pic.twitter.com/mVIHsD0xFe
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) January 2, 2023
However, citing an RTI reply, activist Dilip Nath said the response he had received from the office of the Divisional Forest Officer on December 9 had confirmed one rhino poaching in 2022. “Both [CM’s claim and RTI reply] of these things can’t be true. In that case, are we being misled?”
The data received by Nath states that one rhino was poached in 2021, the data being referred to by the Chief Minister show two rhino poachings in 2021, the official said.
The last arrest in the case (involving the January 20 carcass) was done on December 29, 2022, when Saiful Islam, a suspected rhino poacher was arrested in Biswanath Chariali.
A rhino census conducted in March 2022 had counted 2,613 animals in Kaziranga and 48 rhino deaths were recorded through the year, all attributed to ‘natural causes’ such as old age, illness and attacks by tigers.
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In records maintained by Kaziranga officials dating back to 1995, there have been cases of poaching every single year till now. Since 2000, this peaked in 2017 and 2018, both of which years had 27 rhinos poached in a single year. Since then, the numbers have been dropping from 17 and 18 in 2015 and 2016, respectively, to 6, 7 and 3 in 2017, 2018 and 2019, respectively.
In June 2021, the Assam government had constituted an Anti-Poaching Task Force headed by Special DGP (Law and Order) Assam Police G P Singh, comprising senior police and forest department officials.
