Bringing rhinos back to Manas: Release of a hand-raised rhino calf into the boma in Manas National Park for acclimatisation

Among the grave threats faced by the greater one-horned rhinoceros today is the uneven population distribution along its home range. Kaziranga National Park in the northeast Indian state of Assam is home to more than 1800 individuals, about three quarters of the world's greater one-horned rhinoceros population distributed in India and Nepal. Chitwan National Park in Nepal has the second-largest population of about 400 individuals, which is less than one-fourth of the Kaziranga population.

Conservationists are wary of this situation and liken it to the "all eggs in one basket" syndrome, since the survival of the species is more or less pegged on the wellbeing of the Kaziranga rhino population.

For long-term conservation of the species, the need to expand its distribution is the unanimous assertion. New population of rhinos have been established in Bardia National Park and Suklaphanta Wildlife Reserve in Nepal and in Dudhwa National Park in India. Manas National Park in western part of Assam along the Indo-Bhutan border also offers an ideal location for this conservation venture. Once home to about 100 rhinos, Manas lost its entire population to poachers by 2000, but still retains habitat suitable for rhino survival.   

In February 2006, for the first time in India, the Assam Forest Department and Wildlife Trust of India - International Fund for Animal Welfare (WTI-IFAW)  translocated a hand-raised rhino calf to Manas.

This marked the beginning of an ambitious project to reintroduce rhinos to Manas, where the species was driven to local extinction by poaching. WTI-IFAW's Rhino Rehabilitation Project aims to gradually repopulate rhinos in Manas, by relocating and rehabilitating orphaned or displaced hand-raised rhinos from Kaziranga National Park. This effort to repopulate rhinos in Manas is supported by the Bodoland Territorial Council and the Assam Forest Department. 

Kaziranga National Park largely falls within the Brahmaputra River flood plains and gets inundated annually in the rainy season. The floods take a heavy toll on wildlife including rhinos. In addition to death by drowning and displacement on being washed away, increased rhino poaching has also been associated with these floods as the escaping animals are highly vulnerable when they move out of the park in search of higher ground.

The Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC), situated near Kaziranga National Park has been rescuing displaced rhino calves since its inception in 2002. The project is a joint venture between the Assam Forest Department and WTI-IFAW.

An orphan rhino calf being bottle-fed at CWRC

A resident veterinarian and animal keepers look after the rescued rhino calves and other animals at CWRC. Initially housed in the stabilisation chamber for varying periods depending on the age, the rhino calves are later transferred to a spacious outdoor enclosure within the centre.

Left: Animal keepers tending to a rhino calf in the stabilisation chamber at CWRC Right: Calves in the outdoor enclosure

Once the captive calves stable and old enough, they are readied for their relocation to the release site in Manas for a 'soft-release'.  The rhinos are screened for diseases to prevent transmission into the wild and are radio-collared to facilitate post-release monitoring. They are then transported to Manas in trucks, usually mildly sedated to prevent panic.

Left: Radio-collaring a rhino calf before its relocation to Manas NP Right: The rhino calf to be relocated, inspects the wooden crate placed in its enclosure.

In Manas, a spacious boma (a temporary enclosure) spanning about 33 acres has been created at Bansbari Range. The rhinos, relocated from CWRC, are released into the boma where they are confined till they attain sexual maturity. The boma ensures protection to the calves from predators, while allowing them to acclimatise to the local environment. The rhinos in the boma have no interactions with humans except during periodical medical assessments.

Left: Rhino translocation to Manas NP in a truck Right: Release of a rhino calf into the boma in Manas NP.

After about two or three years of acclimatisation, the calves are released into the wild and are remotely monitored round-the-clock with the help of radio-transmitters.     

Translocated rhino calves in boma

 

 

A rhino calf inspects the open boma gate during its release into the wild

• In November 2008, three female greater one-horned rhinoceros were released in the wild from their temporary enclosure (boma) in Manas National Park in western Assam. (Read Story)
  The release successfully culminated the efforts of the Assam Forest Department and Wildlife Trust of India - International Fund for Animal Welfare (WTI-IFAW) to "bring rhinos back to Manas", which began with the translocation of an individual from Kaziranga in January 2006. This was the first ever attempt to re-introduce the rhinos in Manas, which lost its 100 or so rhinos to poachers by the year 2000. Two more rhinos were translocated a year later and another in February, 2008.
  

• Three female rhino calves, hand-raised at the CWRC and acclimatised to the wild in their boma in Manas, were released from their enclosure in November 2008. The calves had been radio-collared at CWRC, before their relocation to Manas. Daily monitoring allows the animal keepers to keep track of the released rhinos, who have not yet ventured far from the boma. Security in the park has also been enhanced by the authorities to protect the rhinos from poachers.  
  
  
• This project was the first to reintroduce rhinos in Manas National Park. This was also the first in India to use hand-raised rhino individuals for species reintroduction programme.
  
  
• The first rhino to be relocated to Manas, Mainao was rescued as a few-weeks-old from Baghori Range of Kaziranga National Park during the floods in 2002. Swept away by the water, she was stuck on a forked branch of a tree stump. As the water level reduced, she faced the threat of being hung by her neck. Fortunately, she was noticed by a forest guard and was 'rescued'. She was hand-raised at CWRC for about three years before her relocation to Manas in February 2006. Mainao was among the three calves released into the wild in November 2008.  

Left: Mainao, soon after her rescue in 2002 Right: Mainao, at CWRC, two years after her rescue