Orphaned Rhino Calf Finds New Home at India's CWRC

On September 22, an orphaned rhino calf, whose mother was shot dead the previous Sunday by poachers on the edge of the Kaziranga National Park(KNP), was brought to its new home at the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation & Conservation (CWRC). The one and half year-old female calf was being monitored 24 hours by the CWRC staff and the Assam Forest Department, which had deployed nine working elephants to keep watch on its movement and ensure that it was safe from predators.

More than 80% of the surviving global population of two thousand or so Greater One Horned Rhinoceros resides in the KNP. Rhinoceros horn, prized in traditional Chinese medicine as an analgesic and a revitalizer (though not scientifically proven to provide these effects), is the root cause of the decimation of this species. This calf's mother is the 16th rhino killed this year in the KNP and the sixth outside the park. The patrolling staff had heard gunshots on Sunday night and rushed to the Hathikuli range before the poachers could cut the horn.

For the full story visit the Wildlife Trust of India web site.