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December 3, 2009 | One-horned rhinos find safe haven in Dudhwa national park | Dudhwa (Uttar Pradesh): The Dudhwa National Park, which is located in the foothills of the Himalayas in Uttar Pradesh, has become an ideal home to the famed one-horned rhinoceros that is listed among the endangered species. The number of rhinos at this sanctuary has increased, courtesy the successful
relocation of these animals from Kaziranga in Assam and breeding them. The
translocation
of the rhinos was initiated in 1984 after the last of the rhinos at Dudhwa was
killed by the European game hunters in 1878. R L Singh, an expert on rhinos and
Conservator of the Rhinoceros Relocation Project at Dudhwa mentioned that the
rhinos are more endangered than the tigers as evident from the illegal trade of
rhino horns by the mafia. The horns of rhinos are believed to possess therapeutic
values and extensively used in oriental medicines. He said that the rhino relocation
and breeding project at Dudhwa has proved to be a grand success. "In the year
1984 we brought here around five rhinos from Kaziranga National Park. After one
year we bought 5 female rhinos from Chitwan National Park in Nepal and in return
gave them 16 tame elephants. I am very happy to inform you that at present we
have 28 rhinos in Dudhwa National Park," said R L Singh. Mohammad Naseen, a
caretaker
in the Dudhwa Rhino Rehabilitation Project mentioned that rhinos are more in danger
than the tigers. As he put it, tigers though being small in numbers exist at various
places throughout the country unlike the rhinos, which are found only in the Kaziranga
National Park of north-eastern Assam and the Gorumara and Jaldapara sanctuaries
in the neighbouring West Bengal state. "The problem with Rhino is that it is available
only at one place and that is in the Brahamaputra valley of Assam. It is because
of this reason that it is termed as endangered specie. Nowhere else this species
will find a safe habitat. Dudhwa National Park must be credited for it is the
only place where the animal (rhino) that had gone extinct was brought back after
100 years and without any aid in form of food and water, it survived on its own
and multiplied," said Mohammad Naseen, caretaker, Rhino Rehabilitation Project,
Dudhwa National Park. Singh also noted that the success of the Rhino Project at
Dudhwa has prompted other national parks with climate suitable for rhinos to survive
and breed to follow suit. |
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