Pertinent development project proposals came up for discussion at the crucial sixth meeting of the State Board for Wildlife, Assam (SBWL) held in Guwahati.

In this meeting, the Board was apprised of all the initiatives taken by the Assam Government for improving wildlife protection in the State. The Board appreciated the move to establish Tiger Conservation Foundations for Kaziranga, Manas and Nameri Tiger Reserves, the Wildlife (Protection) Assam Amendment Act, 2009 and giving power to forest personnel to use firearms without prior government sanction and immunity from prosecution.

GUWAHATI: Assam has reason to cheer. A census of one-horned rhinos at the renowned Kaziranga National Park (KNP) recorded an increase of 242 animals over a three-year period. This was disclosed by State Forest and Environment Minister Rockybul Hussain today.

The last census in 2009 recorded 2,048 rhinos in KNP, of which eight were translocated to Manas National Park. The two-day-long census, which ended on Sunday evening, recorded the presence of 2,290 one-horned rhinos in the Park.

GUWAHATI: A census of one-horned rhinos at the renowned Kaziranga National Park (KNP) in Assam recorded an increase of almost 250 animals over a three-year period. The last census in 2009 recorded 2,048 rhinos in KNP, of which eight were trans-located to Manas National Park. The two-day-long census, which ended late Sunday evening, recorded the presence of 2,290 one-horned rhinos in the Park, a senior official involved in the census operation told IANS on Monday.

Guwahati: Assam has recorded a remarkable growth in its elephant population, according to the recently concluded elephant census in the state.

The elephant census this year recorded a total of 5,620 elephants in Assam compared to 5,246 elephants in the 2009 census year, state Forest Minister Rockybul Hussain said and added that an increase of 374 in the jumbo population was a good indication. The forest minister also released a report regarding the elephant census.

Guwahati, March 20: The Pobitora forest authorities will request the state government to conduct research to help them know how many rhinos Pobitora wildlife sanctuary can accommodate without overcrowding. Spread across an area of 38.8 square km the rhino habitat, however, is confined to a mere 16 square km area of the sanctuary.

Guwahati, March 11: Assam forest authorities are optimistic that they will be able to have a rhino population of 3,000 in the state by 2020. For Indian Rhino Vision 2020 to meet its goal of 3,000 rhinos, Assam’s rhino population will have to increase by about 80 animals over the next eight years, representing a growth rate of approximately 4 per cent per year.

The Manas National Park in Assam on Monday received four rhinos, in the first translocation from Kaziranga, which has the largest population of one-horned rhinos in the world.

Three females and a male — translocated under the Indian Rhino Vision 2020 programme — were released in Manas around 7 a.m. “They are doing fine,” P.K. Brahma, Range Officer, Manas National Park told The Hindu . The total number of rhinos it has received has now gone up to 16, including 14 translocated ones.

Around 3.30pm today, a convoy of four trucks left Kaziranga National Park taking two one-horned female rhinos with their calves to an alien land far away from Kaziranga, considered the home of this endangered species. The four animals were translocated from Kaziranga to Manas National Park today as part of the Indian Rhino Vision 2020, which aims at having a population of nearly 3,000 wild rhinos in the protected areas of Assam by 2020.

Jorhat: The International Fund for Animal Welfare -– Wildlife Trust of India (IFWA-WTI) today signed an MoU with the Bhutan government to carry out conservation of wildlife in the Himalayan kingdom. The development is seen as a big boost to conservation of wildlife at Manas National Park in Assam as experts were of the view that there was a need for trans-border management of the park, a World Heritage Site and Royal Manas National Park of Bhutan to enhance the long-term conservation prospects of both.

MUSHALPUR: Eastern Himalayan region is identified as one of the 34 biodiversity hotspots in the world. Manas Tiger Reserve, which is included under Eastern Himalayan region, is also known as the habitat of flagship species like Asian elephant and Indian rhinoceros. This tiger reserve, also adorned as a biosphere reserve, Elephant Reserve National Park and World Heritage Site (core zone) is overlapped by conservation zones like North Bank Landscape and Bhutan Biological Conservation Complex.