Authorities of Assam’s Kaziranga National Park on Thursday found the carcass of an Indian rhinoceros that was killed by poachers the previous night for its horn. This makes it the 18th one-horned rhino to be poached inside the park this year, Hindustan Times reported.
Shells of a .303 rifle were found near the body of the adult male rhino located in the national park’s Bagori range. “The latest kill seems to be handiwork of small-time operators who entered the park by crossing the Brahmaputra river,” a park official said.
The endangered animal continues to be targeted by poachers for its horn despite efforts to bust their operations and a number of arrests. The incident comes exactly a week after a rhino was killed using AK-47 assault rifles last Wednesday. After the killing on December 15, Assam Forest Minister Pramila Rani Brahma had reviewed the national park’s anti-poaching strategies and introduced a few change of guards to protect the animals better, IANS reported.
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