1989, 80
In 1989, well-armed poaching gangs began to use hit-and-run tactics, sneaking into the park at night, shooting 2-3 rhinos and escaping quickly with the horns. Tribals from neighbouring states are thought to be involved. Of 36 rhinos poached in Kaziranga in 1989, the majority were killed this way.
The United Liberation front of Assam (ULFA) published a list of poacher's names in the local newspaper, warning that they would be killed unless they stopped poaching. Last year [1989] they claimed responsibility for killing 3 poachers and one middleman.
Another lethal poaching tactic started in Sept 1989 when a rhino was electrocuted to death in Pobitora by a wire attached to a high-tensile power line traversing the park. A second electrocution occurred shortly afterwards. Poachers ingenuously hook wires onto the power lines, drawing current from it to a rhino track where these live wires are suspended 1 m above the ground. During the night a rhino tocuhes the wire and is electrocuted to death. Burns on the rhino carcases indicate that they struggle to escape for about 5 minutes before succumbing to the shock.
In 1989, Bodo tribal extremists, who want a separate state within India, started to create havoc in and around Manas, causing a breakdown in law and oder. Over 100 people were killed including several wildlife employees, and the sanctuary was closed to all visitors. Many trees were felled and animals poached. At least 5 rhinos were killed, including one which was strangled in a noose. The horns vanished without a trace.
1989, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, $15,000 per kilo wholesale. Middlemen were offering poachers in Assam $6250 a kilo
Gauhati Zoo could auction a pair, which would fetch well over $100.000.
11 examples present
Kaziranga, large horn, weighs 875 gr. - illustrated
