One more one-horned rhinoceros was killed at Kaziranga National Park on Monday, bringing the toll this year to four. A divisional forest officer said the female adult was killed on the westernmost side of the Bagori range. Forest rangers said they heard gunshots very late on Sunday night, but they could recover the rhino’s carcass only on Tuesday because it had fallen into a ditch and was covered by tall grass. Its horn and some body parts were missing.

The park is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It houses the world’s largest number of the vulnerable species. Seventeen rhinos were killed in the park in 2015. Demand for the rhino’s horn is very high as it is a popular ingredient in traditional Asian medicine, and is often used as an ornament too.