Guwahati, April 05: The Chief Wildlife Warden (CWLW) of Assam has failed to provide the “factual reports” on the one-horn rhino population census conducted in the Kaziranga National Park (KNP) to the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. This comes after Assam environmental activist Rohit Choudhury alleged anomalies in the estimation of the rhino population in the park.

On February 19, 2023, the Ministry sought a report from the CWLW, but Choudhury claimed that the wildlife wing of the Assam forest department has not adhered to the Central Government’s directives. Choudhury alleged that the rhino population estimation in the Kaziranga National Park in 2022 was inflated by manipulating survey data sheets.

According to Choudhury, the data sheets from the enumeration across the 84 compartments of the national park showed that the actual count of rhinos was 2,042. However, the figures were “adjusted” after a sample survey in some randomly selected compartments to show 2,613 rhinos—an increase of 200 from the 2,413 rhinos estimated in 2018. Choudhury claimed that the survey data sheets were doctored to “mislead the government and the public on the actual number of rhinos” in the national park.

The Kaziranga National Park is home to the one-horn rhino, and it is known for its population of the species.

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