Rehab for Baby Rhinos
India takes creative measures to protect its few remaining one-horned rhinos.
BOKAKHAT, Assam, India, Nov. 28, 2007 — -- She wanted her mother. That's why she kept returning to the spot where she had last seen her. But her mother was dead, killed by poachers days before.
Still, the baby one-horned rhinoceros continued to revisit the area. Eventually, she was spotted by villagers in a nearby tea plantation where wildlife experts captured her.
At just 16 months, the rhino was too young to survive on her own. She was only about 800 pounds — "only" because that's just a quarter the weight of adult rhinos. Her small size made her susceptible to the dangers of nature, namely tigers and floods. Poachers had no use for the baby who had not yet grown her coveted horn.
But wildlife experts have a use for her: to save the species from extinction.
"In Assam, we have around 2,200 rhinos left in the wild so every species is important," said Anjan Talukdar, a wildlife veterinarian for Wildlife Trust of India. He is leading a team to rehabilitate the baby rhino. "If you think about how many species there are, then every species is important. So we have to take care of each and every individual."
The young rhino resides at the Center for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation, located a few miles from Kaziranga National Park. Ninety percent of the world's population of one-horned rhinos lives in this park with its perfect rhino environment of tall grass and swampland. Kaziranga loses 60 to 70 rhinos each year because of floods, tigers and poachers.
Tourists visiting the park can get within several hundred yards of rhinos while safely perched on the back of elephants. Daily elephant rides leave from the Kaziranga Tourist Complex twice a morning and cost about $20 (plus camera and video fees of $12 and $25). Tour and transportation arrangements can be made for guests staying at the Wild Grass Resort, a handsome lodge situated nearby. The eco-friendly resort's terrific staff will answer any questions about the park or the remote region of Assam.
Asked for more information about this baby rhino, Talukdar revealed she doesn't have a name. That, the doctor says, would domesticate her and she needs to return to the wild. So far, she has not lost her animal-like nature. Despite her size, she is very strong and escaped from her first pen by breaking through a fence.
