Wild animals at Kaziranga National Park bear the brunt of floods

Guwahati, July 16: The ongoing floods in Assam have claimed the lives of over 200 wild animals, including 10 rhinos at the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve (KNPTR) despite the authorities taking multi-pronged measures to save the lives of animals.

According to the KNPTR authorities, flood intensity this year was the highest in the last 10 years in terms of area inundation and depth of the flood water.

KNPTR Director Sonali Ghosh said that Kaziranga has witnessed all-time high floods this year with HFL (Highest Flood Level) recorded at 87.47 metres on July 1 at Nimatighat.

While flood waters have receded now, the wild animals continue to migrate and cross between Kaziranga and the Karbi Anglong hills, she said.

Forest and wildlife officials have so far rescued 143 wild animals.

The KNPTR authorities over the years have been taking manifold measures to protect the wild animals from the recurring floods. These include the construction of scientifically designed highlands for housing animals during floods, and restrictions on vehicle movement along the national highways and highways passing through the national park.

The wildlife casualty this year includes 167 hog deer, 10 rhinos, two swamp deer, and two sambars. Fourteen wild animals including 10 hog deer died during treatment.

“We have taken multi-pronged measures to protect wild animals during the floods. Movement of vehicular traffic has been regulated on the national highways which pass through the national park. Barricades have been set up and human chains of frontline workers have been activated to protect the animals,” Ghosh, a senior Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer, told IANS.

Sensors used in the corridor areas and drones have also been mobilised to monitor the situation. Awareness campaigns involving the communities were conducted to save the lives of the animals, the KNPTR Director said.

Ghosh, the first woman IFS officer to be made KNPTR Director, said the park has 150 man-made, scientifically-designed highlands for housing animals during floods.

Before 2016, there were 111 highlands in the park which were mostly small. After 2016, a large number of big highlands have been constructed.

In 1988, over 1,200 wild animals, including 45 rhinos, died due to the floods, while in 2012, 793 wild animals including 15 rhinos lost their lives.

In 2017, 291 animals including 24 rhinos died due to the floods.

At the same time, hundreds of wild animals have been rescued by forest and wildlife officials over the years.

Besides wild animals, lakhs of domestic animals also bear the brunt of floods each year in Assam. Over 15.28 lakh animals were affected during the peak of the flooding till July 5, which also affected 24.20 lakh people in 30 of Assam’s 35 districts.

Around 100 people have died due to the floods in Assam this year while around 10 persons died due to landslides and other calamities caused by the monsoon rain that lashed the region early last month.

The highest number of deaths (22) were reported from Cachar district in southern Assam.

The Kaziranga national park is home to more than 2,600 rhinos, Royal Bengal tigers, Asian elephants, wild buffalos, and thousands of birds of over 125 species, among others.