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HOME Trouble in 'Paradise' The bullet hit the target- the centre of head. Bang on. Leaving a little hole from where it entered. Point blank, must be. The front legs caved in first, the head then thudded into the ground. The rest of the body crashed after. The shock and the pain sent muscle convulsions through the body. The digestive tubes squeezed out the last dropping, she was carrying in her rectum. It was half hanging out. Yes she was a she. A female. A mother of a two year old calf, some said. When I saw her, her eyes were half closed and she had a bloodied muzzle. A deep cavity above it, where her horn would have been a few hours ago. Blood was still oozing in coagulated droplets and puss, now fermented in the mid day tropical heat, was gurgling out from her snout.
I was in Kaziranga for 10 days, last week on a Rhino film scouting project. In these 10 days, there was 2 poaching cases. One in the western range, Bagori and the second in Solmari village, a Km outside the central range,All oput together Kohora. With these two, this year's toll has gone up to 20. Highest in the last few years. And there is no definite reason to believe that these poaching figures are correct. Tigers and Rhinos are two different animals but managed by the same forest department! Kaziranga is under siege. All Kaziranga's guards carry guns and shoot at sight orders if they encounter poachers. Their commitment to protection is very high. Many have lost their lives in encounters. Rangers like Boro, are legends in Kaziranga. For the last 10 years Boro has fought the poachers from the front. Kaziranga is a difficult life. Flooded for 4 months, the guards live in camps on stilts and live out the fear of encountering elephants, rhinos, tigers, wild buffaloes and poachers, daily on their foot patrolling. Yes the guards are disgruntled. Their salaries are sometimes held up for 3 months. Their rations do not reach their remote camps on time. For lack of adequate fuel budgets! The park's border is demarcated by the Bhramaputra on one side and the other 3 sides are surrounded by villages. Crop depredation by elephant and rhino is a huge issue during the cultivation season. Low or almost no compensation have only fuelled villagers ire. The area of Karbi Anglong, across the NH 37, which runs along the park, is a hot bed of insurgency and arms. All put together there is big trouble brewing in Kaziranga. The wildlife conservationists have always hailed Kaziranga as THE model park for showcasing how wildlife conservation in protected reserves should be run. With guns and committed guards. But this 'guns and guards' model seems to have been shaken up badly. There is more than meets the eye in Kaziranga. Some serious thought and enquiry needs to be made in Kaziranga before the Rhino goes the Tiger way. |
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