Assam's Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary, which is known for its dense population of Indian Rhinos, is set to reopen on November 10 after almost seven months.
The wildlife sanctuary on the southern bank of Brahmaputra river was closed since March due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the monsoon season.
According to sources, animals, trees, forest camps and various infrastructure in Pobitora were seriously affected due to floods this year which had ravaged the state. The inflow of foreign tourists was also very low during January and February this year due to deadly protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in December 2019.
Addionally, the wildlife sanctuary incurred heavy losses this year, generating only Rs 30 lakhs, which is one-third of the previous year's earnings.
Israeli Ambassador Dr Ron Malka visited Pobitora three days ago and hoped that his country's people would come to the sanctuary.
Pobitora is home to more than 100 rhinos, 2,000 wild buffaloes, thousands of hogs, barking deer, leopards and different species of snakes and tortoises. Migratory birds can also be seen in the advent of winter.
The sanctuary is a habitat for Assam's second- largest population of the Indian rhinoceros after the Kaziranga National Park, a World Heritage Site.
