20th Rhino Shot in 2007 in Kaziranga: Poacher killed.

December 2007: Yet another rhino of Kaziranga National Park fell prey to poachers’ bullets on December 16, bringing the total number killed in 2007 to a record 20.

The horn had been cut from the animal and stolen but was later recovered by the Forest Department officials when they intercepted and killed a poacher from a group of three who were attempting to flee from the national park. Another rhino had been found dead and its horn stolen bordering the park on December 14. Both were adult females.

The Forest Department officials, reacting to the sound of a gunshot, reached Bagori range to find the dead rhino with its horn missing and empty .303 rifle cartridges. They kept constant vigil and blocked all possible exit routes from the site. At around 2:30 am the next morning, they intercepted three poachers. The poachers opened fire and the Forest officials retaliated, and, sadly, one of the poachers was killed while the other two managed to escape. The officials recovered the freshly removed horn and a .303 rifle.

In another incident, four poachers were arrested on Bhakte Chapori, an island in the Brahmaputra River. Uttam Saikia, Wildlife Warden, said ‘there were two stray rhinos on Bhakte Chapori which is an ideal habitat for the rhinos. The Forest Department received information about poachers stalking the rhinos and had initiated the operation to capture them.’
The poachers, he said, were noticed when one of them had climbed up a tree to locate the rhinos. The team then surrounded the spot and arrested them. A hand made gun, a bottle of gun powder hand made bullets were among the items recovered from the poachers.