40 years later, rhinos return to Assam’s Laokhowa-Burachapori sanctuaries

GUWAHATI: The Assam government is ecstatic as rhinos have returned to Laokhowa and Burachapori wildlife sanctuaries after 40 years.

“Happy to share that after 40 years, our iconic rhinos have returned to Laokhowa and Burachapori. They have returned within 1 year of our successful anti-encroachment operation in the region,” Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

He said 51.7 sq km of forest cover was retrieved through the eviction drive.

The park’s Director Sonali Ghosh described the return of two rhinos to the protected area as mother nature’s magic.

“The Laokhowa-Burachapori Wildlife Sanctuary and the 1st addition to Burachapori Wildlife Sanctuary (total 309.20 sq km) has witnessed mother nature’s magic with the return of two rhinos to the landscape after a gap of almost 40 years,” she said.

Until 1983, this protected region, which is a part of “greater” Kaziranga National Park, had 45-50 rhinos but they were wiped out by the poachers. However, since November last year, they have been sighted again.

Ghosh said that post-1983, there was degradation of grassland habitat due to anthropogenic pressure. Stray rhinos from the Orang National Park on the north bank of the Brahmaputra and the core area of Kaziranga were known to enter through the river’s sandbar areas but they never stayed for long.