 Reference Base  The greater one-horned rhino of Assam is threatened by po... |
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| Location: |
Asia - South Asia - India |
| Subject: |
Distribution - Poaching |
| Species: |
Indian Rhino |
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The present Range Officer, B.N. Talukdar, estimates that at least 75% of the poached rhinos are killed when they wander outside the Sanctuary, which about a third of them do each night to look for food. This is the major problem; if rhinos could be kept inside the Sanctuary, poaching would decline. The main hunters are Nagas, Bodos and Bangladeshis resident in Assam who obtain their rifles from Nagaland and Bangladesh. Pit poaching does not occur in Pabitora as the grass is so overgrazed that the diggers and the mounds of earth would be easily spotted. Three power lines run directly through the Sanctuary. The first electrocutions occurred in 1989 (Vigne & Martin, 1991). There were no cases in 1993, however. The lines are patrolled at night, including those which are located outside the Sanctuary in the nearby villages.
Pabitora has 78 field staff with 14 .315 rifles and one 12-bore shot gun. Fifteen casual labourers help to patrol, along with four Home Guards. There are 25 anti-poaching camps, 14 of which are now outside the Sanctuary. There used to be an intelligence system, but this has been brought to an end by the severe lack of funds. It must be re-established as poaching increased in 1992 and 1993 with seven rhinos killed.
Maintenance and development of the Wildlife Sanctuary
Since our last visit to Pabitora in 1990, the habitat has deteriorated drastically; grass two metres high is now just stubble. The main reason is that the villagers illegally graze about 3,000 cattle within this small Sanctuary, and cattle grazing has been getting steadily more intense (Talukdar, pers. comm.). It is the main threat after poaching. The rhinos leave the Sanctuary because of disturbance and insufficient food.
Pabitora is surrounded by Bengali villages, and crop damage by rhinos mainly trampling the paddy is second in importance to the damage from wild boar. Crop damage here is probably the most serious in the state, yet there is no compensation. In addition, rhinos killed at least two people in 1987 and one in 1992. At least 1 5 to 20 rhinos go out each night in the dry season when crops are growing, and sometimes wander more than 30 km. The field staff can only help by driving the rhinos back into the Sanctuary with firecrackers and gunshots.
Due to the present shortage of funds, the ordinary Sanctuary maintenance was not carried out in late 1993 after the monsoon. For example, during our visit, the roads had not been cleared, making patrol work harder. Another difficulty is that people continually come illegally into Pabitora for thatch and fish. To worsen the problem, there is a lake leased to fishermen until the year 2000 in the southern part of the Sanctuary, which further encourages poaching. To save Pabitora, the trespassing and overgrazing must be stopped; this needs police assistance. Attempts have been made, resulting in mob attacks by the villagers. In August 1993 one policeman was beaten by the local people, and the Range Officer was forced to kill a farmer in self-defence (Talukdar, pers. comm.). Even if all the cattle were removed so that the grass could re-grow, the Sanctuary would still be too small for the 56 rhinos. Extensions to the Sanctuary have been proposed, but with villages on all sides, competition for land is severe.
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