Rhino population rises in Jaldapara Sanctuary

Siliguri, Dec 31: Good news for the wildlife lovers. Rhinopopulation has increased to 112 from 108 at Jaldapara Sanctuary inNorth Bengal.

After conducting an internal Census of the endangered speciesrecently, Forest department said here today that the population ofRhinos is increasing fast. At least 112 Rhinos had been found duringthe Census, which were 108 during the last official Census early thisyear.

Wildlife Warden of Jaldapara Sanctuary Anjan Guha told UNI todaythat two more Rhinos were identified on August 30 and November 17 atEast zone of the Sanctuary.

Now the total number of Rhinos are 112. Out of this, 70 Rhinoswere adult, 12 middle-aged and 30 new borns. And out of 70 adultRhinos, 37 were male and 33 female.

Mr Guha said, ''About 16 Rhinos were born within last eighteenmonths. We expect the number to touch 115 in two to three months if thegrowth remained same.'' He said the forest department took a number ofsteps to increase the Rhino population in last six years.

The hovering tourists and the poachers were restricted inside the forest to help creatures live peacefully, he said.

''Proper infrastructure and habitation were also provided to theRhinos,'' officer of Coochbehar Forest Division Manindra Biswas said.

He said, ''We took initiatives to provide the properinfrastructure for Rhino habitation. We have been looking after theRhino population and monitoring the poachers.''

UNI