Rhino left bleeding at Assam's Orang National Park after suspected poachers cut off horn

A semi-adult male rhinoceros in the Orang National Park has been left injured after an alleged attempt of poaching. The bleeding rhino, moving around the marshland of the national park, was spotted by the elephant patrol team on 9 May without its horn. The Forest and Wildlife Department suspects that it’s a case of poaching where the poachers tranquillized the animal before taking away its horn. The rhino did not have injury marks anywhere else and the horn was neatly axed off. “Initially we thought the rhino lost its horn due to infighting. It happens at times. We informed the Principal Chief Conservator of Forest. The team from Guwahati then sedated the rhino and went near it. There were no injury marks on the animal but the horn was axed away,” said Pradipta Baruah, Divisional Forest Officer Mangaldoi Division. “It is a clear case of poaching where the poachers tranquilized then animal before taking away its horn. This incident in Orang is the first instance after 2017,” he said. The doctor looking after the seriously injured rhino informed that the animal is doing fine and there has been no maggot formation in the injured area. “We are keeping watch on the animal round the clock,” added the DFP. The officials said that the injured rhino has been administered medicine by veterinary doctors and there has been no maggot formation on the wound. “The rhino’s condition is stable now and it has been allowed to remain in the wild under doctors’ supervision,” officials said. This is the second case of Rhino poaching in Assam this year and the first instance of its kind at the Orang National Park since 2017. Orang National Park, located on the north bank of the Brahmaputra River in Darrang and Sonitpur district, recorded around 23 per cent rise in one-horned rhino population over the last four years. The population of one-horned rhinoceros has increased by 24 over the last four years in Assam’s Orang National Park, the count now stands at 125, officials said. The previous rhino population estimation was done in 2018. With inputs from agencies Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.