Rhino killed
The carcass of the female rhino which was killed by forest guard. Image - Northeast Now

In a bizarre incident, a female rhino was killed in the firing of forest guard engaged in the Agaratoli forest in the world heritage site, Kaziranga National Park (KNP), on Monday.

According to information, in the evening at 6 on Monday, a female rhino attacked the forest guards on duty in the bank of the Kapur Khosa Beel, which is located in the north of the Tamulipathar Forest Camp in the Agaratoli forest.

Sources said that in order to protect themselves the forest guard on duty had to open fire at the female rhino in which the rhino lost her life.

After receiving the information about the death of the rhino in Agaratoli forest, the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Kaziranga National Park, Rohini Ballav Saikia, has rushed to the spot of the incident.

The forest personnel have recovered the horn of the slain rhino.

The DFO of the national park has announced a probe into the incident.

Earlier also, incidents of killing rhino in Kaziranga National Park by forest guards in self defence had taken place.

Last year, on September 20, a forest guard inadvertently killed an adult rhino in the national park when he opened fire in self-defence to scare away a pachyderm, which had attacked a team of forest personnel on duty.

In 2016 also, an adult male had died in a similar manner. That incident also took place in the Agratoli forest. One of the forest guards, who were attacked by an adult rhino while patrolling in the forest, fired a bullet in which the rhino died.

Uttam Saikia is Northeast Now Correspondent in Kaziranga. He can be reached at: [email protected]

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