Guwahati: Forest personnel on Saturday, August 8, discovered the carcass of a dead female one-horned rhino that had been riddled with bullets north of Meteka beel under Gabrai anti-poaching camp under Kaziranga Range, Assam.
Six rounds of empty cartridge of a .303 rifle were recovered from the spot. The horn of the rhino has taken away by the poachers, officials said.
"On 07/08/2020 the staff of Gabrai, Borbeel tower, and Kathanibari camp have heard 6 rounds of gunshots at about 3.00 pm. The ambush was laid down along the Brahmaputra river bank at night. On the early morning following the footprints of poachers the carcass was recovered", an official said.
A suspected poacher has been detained under the Biswanath Wildlife division and an investigation is going on.
Kaziranga officials took to Twitter to convey the tragic incident. "An adult female rhino was found killed due to gunshot. The incident happened yesterday. One suspected poacher is detained and an investigation is on", read a tweet sent out from the official handle of the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve.
Rhino poaching in Assam is one of the major environmental issues in India which continues in the region of Kaziranga National Park, Manas National Park, and some other grasslands of Assam. These rhinos are inhabited most of the floodplain of the Indogangetic and Brahmaputra riverine tracts and the neighboring foothills.
The rhinos become especially prone to poaching during the monsoons when they venture out of the wild seeking higher ground. Many animals meet their deaths near the Kaziranga National Park, while crossing the road.