An endangered one-horned rhino and a tiger have been found dead in the Kaziranga national park in north-east India, officials say. They say that it is not immediately clear whether they were killed by poachers, but an official said the horn of the rhino was missing. About 12 tigers and six rhinos have been killed so far this year triggering concerns that poaching is on the rise. Kaziranga has nearly two-thirds of the world's remaining one-horned rhinos. A full grown rhino horn fetches more than $21,000 on the Asian black market and rhino horn powder is considered a powerful aphrodisiac. The one-horned rhino has been described as the only pre-historic animal in the world still surviving. Electrocuted "There were no bullet market on the rhino and it was old but I can't say why its horn is missing," forestry official D Kalita said. Officials say that poachers often cut electric wires during power cuts and lay them on beaten tracks used by rhinos. The animals then tread on these live wires and are electrocuted. On 19 September a rhino, a tiger and an elephant were found dead in the Kaziranga park in the state of Assam. Mr Kalita said that while the animals are indeed killed by poachers for their horns, tusks or body parts, some also die of poisoning. Villagers living on the edges of the Kaziranga park are upset by frequent attacks by tigers and elephants straying out of the park and often use poison to kill them. Poaching of wild animals is also rising elsewhere in Assam. Forest guards complain of inadequate staff numbers and poor equipment to take on the poachers. But at least two poachers confessed after their arrests that they had bribed policemen to be allowed to operate in the Kaziranga area. | ||
More animal deaths in India park
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