Status of One-horned Rhinoceros in North-eastern India

The Indian Rhinoceros or universally known as the Great One Horned Rhino is mostly found in north eastern part of India. By the 19th century, this seemingly pre-historic huge mammal is a globally endangered species due to the problem of poaching and encroachment. But all thanks to the serious conservation efforts of Indian and Nepal government, rhinoceros are back in our planet. Now the name of Indian Rhinoceros are synonymous to a great success story of conservation.

In the entire world there are just 5 different kinds of rhinoceros available namely One horned Indian rhinoceros, Sumatran rhinoceros, Javan Rhinoceros, African White and Black rhinoceros. One horned rhinoceros are mostly found in both the Himalaya and Indo-Burma Biodiversity Hot spots and the Terai-Duar Savannas and Grasslands. The majority of their population is concentrated in southern Nepal, northeastern India and some parts of India. They mostly confined to the tall grasslands and forests in the foothills of the Himalayas.

The main diet of the Indian rhinoceros which is scientifically known as Rhinoceros unicornis includes fruit, leaves, branches of trees and shrubs, and cultivated crops. They usually drink very dirty water from streams, rivers, lakes puddles, or wallows. Indian one horned rhinoceros is different from its all counter parts. It is the second largest of all the five species. Both male and female rhino has a single horn made up of keratin on their nose. It is 8 to 24 inches (20 to 61 cm) long and covered with a loose folds of skin. The horn is not available in the newborn. The male generally weigh 1,800 - 2,700 kg while female 1600 kg. The physical color of Indian rhino is brownish-gray, hairless, with bends of skin.

Earlier there were large number of one-horned rhinoceros spreads throughout the Indo-Gangetic plain region. But due to excessive hunting their strength has reduced drastically. Today, approximately about 3,000 Indian Rhinos live in the wild, 1,800 of which are found in India's Assam alone. Some of the world famous protected areas of Rhinoceros in North East India are Kaziranga National park and Manas Tiger Reserve. But to know the overall status of the species it is necessary to monitor the population outside the protected areas.

No doubt with the beginning of this century the rhinos population in Assam has increased but the scenario is totally different outside the protected areas. The strength of the rhinoceros has declined in significantly in areas like Burhachapori Reserved Forest located towards north of Laokhowa national park, Pani-Dihing in Sibsagar district, Kukurakata Forest Reserve situated in the west of the Kaziranga National Park and Bagser Reserved Forest in Nagaon district etc mainly due to poaching of rhino horn. So, its high time for the Government to give proper attention to the forest reserves apart from national parks in order to increase the population of the rhinoceros in India.