🦏 Rhino poaching falls to zero in large Indian reserve

For the first time since 1977, not a single Indian rhino in the Indian state of Assam fell victim to poachers last year, reports the Hindustan Times.

As recently as 2013 and 2014, poachers killed 27 rhinos each year, but better surveillance has made it much harder for poachers to hunt.

Overall, things are going well for the Indian rhinoceros. In the last 20 years, the stock has grown from 200 individuals to around 3,700.

Of these, about 2,600 live in reserves in Assam where no rhinos were killed by poachers in 2022. One reason is that more rangers and police have been working in and around the reserve since a special force was formed in 2021. The force has also worked closely with the surrounding communities to receive tips about suspected poaching. The result is that 58 poachers were jailed last year while four died in battles with the police.

Rhinos still fall prey to poachers outside the reserve, but authorities believe they can deal with that in the future as well.

“If we keep increasing the pressure, rhino poaching will stop completely. To get there, the cost to the poachers has to be higher than the money they can earn from the hunt," said Superintendent of Police G P Singh, in a comment to the Hindustan Times.

🦏 More Indian rhinos today than 100 years ago

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