Locking horns to save rhino

Bijay Sankar Bora

THE new Forest Minister, Promila Rani Brahma’s pro-active approach to curb rhino poaching in the state, especially in the famed rhino abode of Kaziranga National Park, has led to the police and Special Task Force (STF) nabbing at least 10 poachers during the course of last week alone.

Two Karbi tribal women, being used as couriers to collect money from rhino horn buyers in Dimapur’s (Nagaland) clandestine wildlife parts market, were also apprehended with Rs 24.2 lakh in cash.

Promila’s fury had its first casualty in the form of park director M Ali, who allegedly covered up a poaching incident in the eastern range when the Minister herself was in the park on June 7. After the media exposed the poaching incident, the director was forced to admit that a rhino had indeed been killed and that led to his suspension with immediate effect.

The Minister has vowed to protect the rhino from poachers at any cost.

Organised wildlife smugglers are always on the prowl to kill the rhino and cut the horn to be sold in the international illegal market. Experts feel poaching can be minimised only when the protection plan is good, enforcement agencies are sensitive and Intelligence gathering on the poachers’ movement is efficient. But often it is seen that poaching is controlled only because of the determined efforts of a few individual officers.

The price of a rhino horn five-six years back in Dimapur, Siliguri or Manipur was Rs 4-6 lakh per kg. Of late, there has been talk that the going rate is Rs 40-50 lakh in Dimapur or Manipur, but this greatly exaggerated figure is seen as a ploy by wildlife smugglers to lure people, specially unemployed youth, to get engaged in rhino poaching.

From 1998 to 2006, rhino poaching was under control in Assam and the figure was below 10 per year. It suddenly shot up in 2007 in Kaziranga, only to recede the following year after proactive action by the frontline forest staff.

However, rhino poaching increased in the tiny Orang National Park to six in 2009, while the figure in Kaziranga touched 13. In 2010 and 2011, poaching in Kaziranga was shown as declining as per official figures: 7 killed in 2010 and six in 2011. The frontline staff, however, claimed that the number was more but unwritten directives from the then minister, also the Chief Wildlife Warden of Assam, ensured that poaching incidents were not recorded.

Since some rhino poaching cases were kept under cover, it led to a virtual breakdown of internal administration in the Kaziranga park.

In 2013, rhino poaching in Kaziranga touched 31 as the new DFO put on record all the poaching incidents. Due to intense public pressure, coupled with joining of the new DFO and subsequent engagement of the Special Task Force of Assam Police, rhino poaching did see a fall in 2014 and 2015.

That some forest staff members could be involved got corroborated with the recent arrest of at least four of them.

An unbiased investigation by agencies like the CBI, it is felt, may led to revelations of the involvement of senior police officials and Karbi tribal militants in the rhino poaching episodes.