 Reference Base  Smuggling routes for West Bengal's rhino horn and recent ... |
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Martin, E.B., 1996. Smuggling routes for West Bengal's rhino horn and recent successes in curbing poaching. Pachyderm 21: 28-34, figs. 1-6
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| Location: |
Asia - South Asia - India |
| Subject: |
Distribution - Poaching |
| Species: |
Indian Rhino |
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During the early 1990s, rhino poaching continued at low levels in both Jaldapara and Gorumara. Illicit hunters today are mostly West Bengalis, Bangladeshi refugees (often landless) and sometimes inhabitants of Assam. Both sanctuaries are surrounded by a huge and impoverished human population, which increases poaching pressure. The poachers are organised into gangs by middlemen from West Bengal, Nepal and possibly Bhutan. The gangs usually kill rhinos in the early morning or late afternoon but sometimes hunt at night during a full moon. A typical gang consists of five people: one shoots the rhino (using a muzzle-loader or modern rifle), the others remove the horn and hooves; on rare occasions (such as in 1991) the male reproductive organs are removed. There are no records of meat being taken from a rhino. The poachers then bury the carcass to avoid detection.
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