After 72 hours of painful ordeal, female rhino dies at Kaziranga

A female rhino died after getting stuck into a slush pit for 72 hours at Assam’s Kaziranga National Park. According to local authorities, the rhino got stuck in the pit after she got into a fight with a few male rhinos, a report in the NDTV said. According to the report, the fight left her back paralysed and as time passed she was entrenched in the mud. While rhinos are occasionally caught in the slushy grounds of the park, they mostly manage to come out. [caption id=“attachment_1702509” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  In 2014, poachers killed 22 rhinos in Kaziranga. Agencies[/caption] Medical and rescue teams were rushed from Guwahati, but in spite of their best efforts, the rhino could not be rescued. After 72 hours of ’excruciating’ pain, the rhinoceros died. Rhino deaths in Assam have put the state on high alert. Infact, on Sunday, Union minister of state for environment, forest and climate change  Prakash Javadekar was in Guwahati and he announced a special Centre-funded rhino protection force for the state. This year alone, 22 rhinos from Kaziranga were killed by poachers. Speaking to the media, Javadekar said, “The special rhino protection force will consist of youth who are from the surrounding villages of Kaziranga. They have fair knowledge about the park. We want the locals to participate in our efforts to prevent poaching.”