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Indian Rhino Vision 2020 Update 5 December 2008

Background

The greater one-horned rhino is one of the two greatest success stories in rhino conservation (the other one being the southern white rhino in South Africa). With strict and adaptive protection from Indian and Nepalese wildlife authorities, greater one- horned rhino numbers have recovered from fewer than 20 in the early 1900s to around 2,700-2,800 today. However, poaching pressure has remained high and this recovery is precarious without increased and accelerated support for conservation efforts in and Nepal.

The stronghold of the greater one-horned rhino is the Indian state of , which holds more than 2,000 animals. The species’ recovery to 1855 in , 68 in Orang National Park and 81 in Pabitora Wildlife Sanctuary has been led by the Assam Department. While these three areas experienced conservation successes, two other areas, Laokhowa Wildlife Sanctuary and , did not experience the same success. Social unrest led to the extermination of rhinos by poachers in the 1980s and 1990s. The land, however, remained intact under the control of the Forest Department. With a new sociopolitical system in place that included autonomy given to local people in the form of Bodoland Territorial District Council, the support from the local communities was garnered to restore Manas back to its past status as a World Heritage Site.

In 2005, the Assam Forest explored the possibility of restoring the Manas rhino population with the International Rhino Foundation, WWF-India and the US Fish and Wildlife Service by creating an ambitious project, Indian Rhino Vision 2020 (IRV 2020). The IRV 2020 goal is to increase the total rhino population in Assam from about 2,000 to 3,000 over the next 15 years (i.e., by 2020) and, just as significantly, ensure that these rhinos are distributed over at least seven Protected Areas to provide long-term viability of an Assam metapopulation of rhino.

The first phase of the 15-year project was originally scheduled to last 3 years (July 2005 to June 2008), with intermediate objectives to:

• Improve rhino protection in all sources and target protected areas; and • Translocate 20-30 rhino from Pabitora and Kaziranga to Manas National Park where they will be protected and monitored.

As part of IRV 2020, the constituted a Rhino Task Force, incorporating conservationists from diverse background, including government, local communities, and NGOs, to implement the project.

Current Status of IRV 2020

In the first of many translocations planned under IRV 2020, on April 11th 2008, two male rhinos were translocated from Pabitora to Manas National Park.

The rhinos were released into the area within the red boundary on the map below.

We anticipate that at least 18 more animals will be moved to Manas National Park. At present, plans are to dart 2.6 animals from Pabitora and 3.7 from Kaziranga and translocate suitable candidates. The translocations will commence in early 2009, after the rainy .

The last meeting of the IRV 2020 Task Force was held on 15 October 2008 at the Assam State Zoo. A decision was taken to start the electric fencing work in the southern boundary of Manas (see below) and accordingly Mr. Tariq Aziz (WWF-India) has taken the responsibility to find suitable company having experience in putting the electric fence. It was also decided to more actively pursue acquisition of tranquilizing drugs, which the Indian Government buys in bulk quantities. The license to buy the drugs is only given to Nandankanan Zoo in India and to Wildlife Institute of India. Both of them purchase the drugs on as as-needed basis according to annual requests by the Forest Department. If the drugs are in place, by early January the translocation of the 18 rhinos will occur. A need for community awareness around Manas was also stressed in the task force meeting keeping in mind the potential for rhino-human conflict as the rhinos move about within (and sometimes outside of) the Park boundaries.

Challenges to-date in Manas

The two male rhinos from Pabitora were released in the area within the red boundary on the map above on 12 April 2008. However, both males began breaching the southern boundary of the park almost immediately. Three local villagers outside the Park were injured in July 2008. On 1 September, one of the male rhinos strayed out of the Park about 50 km east, almost reaching another Protected Area, Barnadi Wildlife Sanctuary. The animal was closely followed by park guards. It took 2 weeks to bring the rhino back to Manas from the area where it strayed out, largely because of floods which made it difficult to find a safe place to immobilize the animal for transport. On 14 September, the rhino were darted and the next day was returned to the Park, where it was placed into a small boma with an electrified fence. This boma is part of a facility maintained by the Wildlife Trust of India and Assam Forest Department, used as holding for four female rescued rhinos. The straying male not only was in danger but the Forest Department incurred costs over US$ 7,000 for efforts made to bring the animal back to Manas.

Considering this, as well as plans to translocate 18 more rhinos into Manas in coming , a decision was made either to erect an 8.9-km electric fence around 5 km2 of and bodies adjoining the existing small electric fence (see map on following page) or erecting electric fence in entire southern boundary of the Manas NP. The majority of the funds for this fencing are in hand, and the fence construction will begin in December 2008.

IRV 2020 efforts will also be strengthened by more emphasis on community engagement. The IRV 2020 partners plan to select communities from eastern and central part of Manas to enable them to participate in orientation camps and field visits to the Park to increase their enthusiasm about wildlife conservation and to seek their active support and cooperation in re-building Manas National Park.

Orang National Park

Greater one-horned rhinos have done exceptionally well in Orang National Park, increasing from 46 in 2000 to 68 in early 2008. The figure below shows losses from natural causes and from poaching in Orang National Park from 1987 through 2007.

Poaching and Natural Death in Orang NP Poaching Natural Death 14 12 10 8 6 Number 4 2 0 "1987" "1988" "1989" "1990" "1991" "1992" "1993" "1994" "1995" "1996" "1997" "1998" "1999" "2000" "2001" "2002" "2003" "2004" "2005" "2006" "2007" Year While poaching has been slowed in Orang National Park since the late 1990s, there has been a recent spate of poaching in a number of Indian parks, including Kaziranga and Orang National Parks. Eight rhinos have been lost in Kaziranga thus far in 2008, and six rhinos have been poached in Orang.

Therefore, the highest priority need for 2008 in Orang National Park has been to improve monitoring and protection of the rhino population, and to improve the ability of rhino protection personnel to quickly respond to poaching incidents. Accordingly, on 28 November 2008, 31 bicycles and two motorbikes were presented to Orang National Park, funded by ’s contribution.

Activities to take place in late 2008-early 2009 are:

• Training of field officers and anti-poaching staff to fight poaching and to enhance the morale of the staff. Retired Army officers or police officers will be trainers, along with some legal experts. • Purchase of a speed boat to improve anti-poaching capacity on the river. • Ensuring that adequate fuel is available for increased, active patrolling. • Purchase of search lights to more readily spot potential poachers and wildlife at night. • Purchase of several metal detectors to be used periodically within and outside the Park to determine whether poachers are burying their arms for re-use in subsequent crimes. Poachers often keep their arms buried under the soil to evade raids by enforcement agencies. • Support for forest and national park staff to travel to courts to follow up on poaching cases. • Purchase of additional uniforms (caps, shirts, sturdy shoes) for forest guards.