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No rhinos were poached in 2022 in the Indian region of Assam for the first time in 45 years.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced that the state had recorded zero Indian rhinos poached last year.
The minister tweeted: “Zero Poaching!
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"2022 was really special for our rhino conservation efforts. Not a single rhino being poached in 2022 & just 2 in 2021, the gentle giant is now much safer in Assam.”
He also credited the coordinated efforts of Assam Forests and Assam police for helping to protect the species.
According to Special DGP G P Singh, the last recorded rhino poach date is December 28, 2021.
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“Anti Rhino poaching efforts have yielded spectacular results. There has been no rhino poaching in Assam in Year 2022. Last poaching was on Dec 28th 2021 at Hilakunda, Kohora in Golaghat district. We would strive to keep the graph flat,” he wrote.
According to IFAW, the Indian rhino is labelled ‘vulnerable’ on the IUCN Red List and is frequently poached for its horn, which is considered a prize in some cultures.
It’s also used in traditional Chinese medicine, which has been falsely reported to cure everything from cancer to hangovers.
The Indian rhino uses its horn, which can grow to approximately 10 inches (25.4cm), to protect its territory and calves from predators.
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While the species was widespread across the entire northern region of India, these rhinos have been pushed close to the brink of extinction, as according to World Wildlife, less than 2,000 remained in the early '90s.
However, due to government conservationist efforts, the species has doubled in northeastern India and the Terai grasslands of Nepal since then.
Assam, home to the world’s largest population of one-horned rhinos, has nearly 2,900 animals across the region today.
According to a census conducted in March 2022, Assam’s Kaziranga National Park (KNP) alone has 2,613 animals, with more than 250 other rhinos in the Orang, Pobitora, and Manas parks, as per the Indian Express.
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During World Rhino Day back in 2019, the Assam government set fire to nearly 2,500 horns seized from poachers.
According to a media release obtained by Outlook India, officials wanted to ‘bust myths about rhino horns’ while sending ‘a loud and clear message to the poachers and smugglers that such items have no value’.
Topics: Good News, News, World News, Animals, Animal Cruelty