Shootout in Kaziranga After Poachers Kill Tiger, Rhino, Elephant
A gun battle broke out between forest officials and poachers in Kaziranga National Park after the killing of a tiger, rhino, and elephant.
In the span of just a few days, poachers managed to kill a tiger, rhino, and elephant in India’s Kaziranga National Park. Despite an exchange of bullets between forest officials and poachers, the poachers escaped.
- » See also: On the Brink of Extinction: Call to Close Cruel and Inhumane Tiger Farms
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According to the Times of India, forest officials ambushed the poachers shortly after they killed the rhino and hacked off its horn. A shootout that reportedly lasted “late into the night” unfortunately ended with the poachers escaping through the Karbi Anglong district.
Barely 24 hours before the rhino was killed, forest officials discovered the carcass of a male tiger. The suspected cause of death is secondary poisoning, as up to ten cattle have died in the area after consuming grass laced with poisoned salt. Authorities believe the poisoned salt was set out by poachers to lure rhinos outside the park, and noted that if a tiger consumed any poisoned livestock, it would also be killed.
A post-mortem examination to determine the tiger’s exact cause of death is being done by a team from the College of Veterinary Science, working with members of the Wildlife Crime Bureau.
Sadly, on the same day, forest officials found the the carcass of a young elephant who had been shot.
The tusks and trunk had been hacked off.
Officials said it had been two years since an elephant had been killed by poachers in the Kaziranga-Karbi Anglong area.
Authorities suspect poaching gang
Officials believe that a seasoned poacher is now based in Karbi Anglong and is taking advantage of local unrest to guide poachers into Kaziranga. Recently, guns were stolen from Kaziranga forest guards by suspected militants.
Our intelligence sources said a seasoned poacher now based in Karbi Anglong provided all kinds of assistance to the gang for sneaking into the park. We don’t want to disclose his name as we are formulating a strategy to nab him.
Authorities are convinced the recent surrender and arrest of local poachers - and villagers who helped them - have ruled out the involvement of locals. A notorious local poacher, known as Farse Killok Rangber, is now behind bars for his involvement in killing 22 rhino in Kaziranga since 1992.
The killing of the young elephant has wildlife authorities worried about the elephants that travel between Kaziranga and neighboring forests. Project officer of WWF-Indian Kaziranga-Karbi Anglong Landscape Conservation Programme, Garga Mohan Das, is especially concerned about Panbari Reserve Forest.
The latest elephant killing has increased the risk of poachers entering into Panbari Reserve Forest, which is a vital corridor for the elephants of Kaziranga.
Recently, UNESCO requested stronger anti-poaching measures for Kaziranga National Park, which is home to two-thirds of the world’s greater one-horned rhino population.
Tiger, rhino, elephant poaching on the rise
The last few years have seen a tragic increase in the killing of tigers, rhino, and elephants.
Many wildlife experts attribute these crimes to the recent rise of incomes in China, where there is an insatiable demand for tiger parts, rhino horn, and elephant ivory.
A recent Financial Times article - Shopping habits of China’s suddenly wealthy - sounds yet another alarm for species already decimated by this demand, and points out that ivory is on the shopping list of China’s newly affluent.
… traditional Chinese tastes, combined with the explosion in wealth during the past decade, have created a rapacious and unsustainable call for the body parts of endangered species. The manufacture of Âtraditional delicacies, ornaments and medicinal ingredients has helped to cut swathes through populations of sharks, elephants, seahorses and other species across the world – and that demand is only expected to increase.
The link between increased poaching of tigers, rhino, and elephants and China’s rising affluence has become too much of a “coincidence” to ignore any longer: It’s time to take a closer look at this “coincidence” - before it’s too late.
Image source: istock.com
I agree. Some co-incidence ! Motorized morons. What a nightmare, and the Beijing gang denigh it all.
[...] arrest of three poachers is the latest development in last weekend’s shootout in Kaziranga between forest guards and poachers. The trio was captured in Nagaon as they were trying to escape through the Karbi Anglong [...]
[...] month, a rhino, tiger, and elephant were killed inside the park within a span of just a few days. Fortunately, three rhino poachers were later [...]
Here is what the Indian park rangers need to do. Since it is a National Park, and there are laws about that, nobody should be seen with the “tool” to poach, kill, etc…Consequently, if you are walking around with these tools, you are up to no-good, therefore you shall be treated as guilty, as it is only a matter of time before you commit the crime. You have already shown intention…which leads me to the conclusion that you, the poacher, shall be treated as such, meaning in order to protect the park officials in doing their job, give them M 110 sniper rifles, and if the poacher is seen carrying the “tools of the trade”…take them out!
Poachers…have a nice day!