JULY 5, 2019
by Anup Sharma
The monsoon may bring respite from the scorching heat, but for the rangers and animals at Kaziranga National Park it also brings danger as poachers take advantage of greater camouflage and flooding.
The UNESCO-recognised reserve, home to two-thirds of the world's one-horned rhinos, draws hunters who can earn as much as $150,000 for one horn on a black market serving foreign demand for its use in traditional Chinese medicine.
Three rhinos have been killed so far this year.
And in rainy season, it can be an especially gruelling battle—the grass reaches head-height, providing perfect cover for poachers and flooding forces the animals to move to higher ground, sometimes to the outskirts of the park.
"We are always on our toes in this season. There is hardly any rest for us. Information about poachers entering the park comes anytime and we have to respond immediately," explains ranger Gopi Kanta Deka.
He and his dedicated colleagues—on duty constantly for weeks at a time in this period, sometimes sleeping out in the open—must follow the animals to protect them from harm.
"We walk in groups from one anti-poaching camp to another or paddle boats during high floods to reach those areas from where the information has come in and get to the job quickly," he adds.
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