With the starting of the Monsoon season, people get relief from the scorching heat but the animals especially the one-horned rhino are in danger as poachers take advantage of greater camouflage and flooding.
According to reports, the UNESCO-recognised reserve Kaziranga National Park which is home to the world's one-horned rhinos draws hunters who can earn as much as $ 150,000 for one horn on a black market serving foreign demand for its use in traditional Chinese medicine.
In thecurrent year, three rhinos have been killed so far.
The lives of rhinos are at risk during monsoon, it can be an especially grueling battle as the grass reaches head-height, providing perfect cover for poachers and flooding forces the animals to move to higher ground which sometimes move to the outskirts of the park.
A ranger ofthe park on the condition of anonymity said that they are always on their toesin this season and that there is hardly any rest for them. He said that theyare being informed of the poachers entering into the park anytime and that theyhave to respond immediately.
The rangerfurther stated that the main attraction of the park are the one-horned rhinoswhich used to be widespread in the region but hunting and habitat loss hasslashed their numbers to just a few thousand, almost all in Assam.
The horn ofthe rhinos are being sold at a high rate as prized in some forms of traditionalChinese and South East Asian medicine, acolytes believe the horns which containkeratin, the protein which also found in human hair and nails can cure anythingfrom cancer to curses or can be used as an aphrodisiac.
According tomedia reports, in 2014 poachers killed 27 rhinos inside the park followed by 16in 2015. But a sharp increase in the number of rangers which stands at 700 atpresent helped reduce poaching to seven in 2017 and six in 2018.
