According to the census conducted in March 1999 in the Pabitora Wildlife Sanctuary, there are 43 adult rhinos, which is 58.11 % of the total rhino population; 12 subadults, 16.22%; and 19 calves, 25.68% (table 1). The 24 adult male rhinos make up 30.43% of the population, the 31 females 41.89%, and calves the balance. The male-to-female ratio stands at 1: 1.29. Only 8 rhinos were found in 1971 when the government of Assam declared Pabitora a forest reserve. In a span of about 28 years, the rhino population in Pabitora increased from 8 to 74. Table 1. Census figures of rhino in the Pabitora Wildlife Sanctuary Year Adult Sub-adult Calf Total Male Fem Notsexed Male Fem Notsexed 1987 17 19 - 5 8 - 5 54 1993 18 21 1 1 2 2 11 56 1995 11 28 3 3 1 13 9 68 1999 17 26 - 7 5 - 19 74 End table.
Orang NP, India. Most deaths that are termed natural are caused by anthrax or related diseases.
Conserving and protecting rhino in the 21st century in Assam will depend on continued relentless efforts by the forest staty to save the rhinos from poachers. Poaching will remain a major threat to the rhino population. Therefore, anti-poaching efforts have to be improved and maintained. Receiving information in advance on the movement of poachers and wildlife smugglers is extremely crucial in apprehending illegal wildlife traders and disrupting their activities. It is therefore imperative that clandestine channels of information are developed and a collection system is maintained to assist anti-poaching staff. In addition to the hazards caused by rhino poachers, natural floods and diseases, the state ofassam is likely to experience a further increase in human population. Weakly protected rhino sanctuaries would easily fall prey to encroachers, especially around the Brahmaputra Valley. Unless the government of Assam expands its rhino sanctuaries in the next two years, the increased human population pressure will threaten the future of the rhino living in the few existing pockets like Kaziranga, Orang, Pabitora and Manas. The six additions to KNP cover an area of 430 kmy . Some were handed over to KNP last year, but the government has not yet handed over the sixth addition, which covers an area of around 376 km'. The expanded area to Pabitora Sanctuary also urgently needs to be handed over to provide more habitat for the increasing population of rhinos in Pabitora. It will also reduce the incidence of rhinos straying out of the sanctuary because habitat and food are in short supply. A number of water bodies in the rhino-bearing areas in Assam have shrunk in size and depth because of the siltation brought about by flooding. It is therefore imperative that these water bodies be desilted to maintain the wetland habitats for the rhinos. The future of the rhino will depend not only on ecological and natural factors but also on sociopolitical factors. The need is urgent to enhance the existing intelligence network and to initiate social welfare for the fringe villages with the aim of controlling village population explosion. If zero population growth could be achieved in the villages at the fringes of the rhino-bearing protected areas, the conflict between villagers and rhinos would be reduced. The Forest Department and the NGOs need to work together to achieve this uphill task. Hence challenges before us are many, and only coordinated efforts will help us achieve our task of rhino conservation during the 21st century. Working in isolation will create more problems than solutions. With dedicated efforts, the Forest Department, which has nearly a hundred year of experience in rhino conservation, and with support from the NG0s and local people, the challenging task of conserving rhinos in Assam for next hundred years seems not a distant cry. Periodic evaluation of the successes and the failures of rhino conservation in various parts of Assam by the Forest Department and the NGOs will certainly make action at the appropriate time more possible.
Flood is another major problem that greatly hampers rhino conservation. During the flood of 1998, two rhino calves died in Pabitora. Flooding also increases silt deposition in the existing wetlands, making water scarce for the rhinos. This may have caused the rhinos to stray out of the sanctuary during winter, exposing themselves to danger from poachers. Livestock grazing inside the sanctuary is another cause of concern for Pabitora. According to the Forest Department of Assam, more than 50% of the grasslands have degenerated because livestock have overgrazed it. To solve this problem, the Pabitora range officer has constructed a pound-a temporary enclosure where the livestock are confined to prevent them from grazing in the sanctuary. Now livestock owners are fined if their animals are found inside the sanctuary. During patrol, the forest guards herd the livestock that they find inside the sanctuary into the pound.
Rhino numbers have increased from about 20 at the beginning of this century to 1700 animals in 2000. This success has been achieved through the dedicated efforts of the governments of Assam and India, supported by the local people. Vigne and Martin (1998), in updating information on the state of the rhino in Assam in 1997, put the number at 1406.
The status of rhino in Orang has been of great concern of late because of the increased number of incidents of poaching. As a result of the conservation ettorts made since Orang was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1985, its rhino population increased from 65 in 1985 to 97 in 1991 (Talukdar 1995). However, Vigne and Martin (1998) showed that the number of poaching incidents increased during 1994 to 1997, when poachers killed 36 rhinos. The current study shows that from January 1998 to September 2000, 25 more rhinos were killed by poachers in Orang, resulting in only 46 rhinos counted during the 1999 rhino census there. The local NGOs and officials from the forest department considered the seriousness of the situation and proposed that the Assam government upgrade the Orang Wildlife Sanctuary to a national park. In April 1999, the government finally declared Orang a national park. A number of NG0s, mainly Aaranyak, supported by the David Shepherd Conservation Foundation, have donated 18 walkie-talkies and 10 solar panels to Orang to enhance the anti-poaching efforts of the forest staff. The Rhino Foundation, supported by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, has donated two base stations for wireless communication and more walkie-talkies, thus strengthening the wireless network system to a great extent. A Gypsy 4-wheel-drive vehicle was donated to Orang by Care for the Wild, a local NGO, and Aaranyak and the David Shepherd Conservation Foundation donated a locally made metal speed boat to improve the mobility of the forest staff and allow them to carry out their duties effectively. The improved wireless network in Orang has led to fewer rhinos being poached-from 12 in 1998 to 7 in 1999 and 6 in 2000 by the end of September. The forest guards of Orang killed a poacher in an encounter in 1999. Local NGOs in Assam like the Rhino Foundation, Aaranyak and Early Birds fully supported Orang during those years of heavy poaching, helping staff to bring the situation under control. Aaranyak organized two legal awareness camps for range officers, forest guards and officials, which the divisional forest offices. also attended. An advocate of the Gauhati High Court who was also the Aaranyak legal consultant conducted the orientation camps. The participants learned various aspects of existing law and law enforcement to protect endangered species. The Rhino Foundation repaired the boat used in the anti-poaching efforts, and Early Birds held vaccination camps for the domestic cattle in the villages bordering the park to stop the transmission of the deadly anthrax from domestic cattle to wild rhinos. The Early Birds plan of creating an immune belt to stop the spread of anthrax is aimed to have a long-term effect in reducing rhino death from the disease in the national park. Most deaths that are termed natural are caused by anthrax or related diseases. Although flood is one of the major disasters in Kaziranga National Park and the Pabitora Wildlife Sanctuary, its impact on Orang National Park is negligible. Not a single rhino in Orang has been killed by flood. Although some areas of Orang are flooded, the higher northern terrace rei-nains dry, and rhinos migrate to these areas when floodwaters are high. Protection measures need to be improved to further strengthen the anti-poaching network and reduce rhino poaching in Orang. The NGOs continue to improve their support.
