Floods in India: 500 animals drown in national park

Park authorities said number of casualties is like to increase as carcasses are being found inside the park every day.

NEW DELHI: India’s famed Kaziranga National Park has lost 559 animals, including 14 rhinos, in the ongoing floods so far, the Indian media reported on Saturday.

Park authorities said the number of casualties is like to increase as carcasses are being found inside the park every day. According to reports, carcasses of 14 rhinos, 475 hog deer, 30 wild boars, five porcupines, one wild buffalo, one elephant, two hog badgers, 10 swamp deer, two pythons, 18 sambers and a fox have been found so far. Besides, two rhinos were killed by poachers.

The hunters, taking advantage of the floods, killed the pachyderms at Haldhibari and Karbi hills and chopped off their horns. On the other hand, altogether 70 animals – two rhino calves, as many elephant calves, 63 hog deer, two barking and one swamp deer - have been rescued by forest officials.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 8^th, 2012.