Guwahati, March 23 (PTI): Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary in Assam has registered an increase of five rhinoceros, taking the total count of the animal in the protected forest to 107, a forest official said.
There are 50 female, 30 male and 27 cub rhinoceroses in the 38.81 sq km forest, which is the highest density of one-horned rhinoceros.
A two-day census of the animal was conducted from Monday and the wildlife sanctuary was divided into nine zones, with 11 numerators and nine supervisors appointed for the purpose.
Apart from forest officials, members of rhino conservation organisations such as Aaranyak, WWF, Elephant Foundation and local NGOs also took part in the census.
A total of 102 rhinos were recorded during the 2018 census and there has been no incident of poaching reported from the wildlife sanctuary since 2014, the forest official said.
The rhino population in Orang National Park has also increased by 24 to 125. A three-day rhino census will be conducted in Kaziranga National Park from March 26.
Once critically endangered, rhinos have been upgraded as vulnerable species by IUCN from 2009, and as per the 2018 census, Assam has 2,652 rhinos with Kaziranga having the highest population of 2,413.
Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from news agency feeds and has not been edited by The Morung Express.
Source: PTI
