State Chief Wildlife Warden MC Malakar said that while a number of poachers have been killed by forest guards in encounters in and around the National Park in the past few years, a new batch of poachers is suspected to have become active in the past few months.

“Between 1998 and 2006 several poachers were killed and we were able to check the incidents of poaching. But going by the sudden increase in poaching, it appears that some new elements have started targeting the Kaziranga rhinos,” Malakar told The Indian Express.

While poachers had killed as many as 47 rhinos in and around Kaziranga between 1998 and 2006, they managed to wipe out 21 rhinos in 2007 alone. This year, one rhino was killed on January 7, followed by a mother and a calf on January 19.

Meanwhile, several leading NGOs working in the field of wildlife conservation on Tuesday urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi to intervene so that the Kaziranga rhinos could be saved.

“While Kaziranga has been recognised the world over as one of the best-managed national parks, rhino poaching has suddenly increased at an alarming rate,” the NGOs said in letters sent to Singh and Gandhi.

NGOs also asked the Prime Minister to seek an explanation from Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and State Forest Minister on rhino poaching.

Kaziranga, it may be recalled, is currently facing a shortage of over 100 forest guards against a sanctioned strength of 487. The state Government had promised 50 armed Home Guard personnel in April last year, but only 20 were provided.

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