KAZIRANGA: The country’s first scientifically managed wildlife rehabilitation and reintroduction centre was inaugurated at Borjuri here today by the Assam Forest Minister, Mr Pradyut Bordoloi. The Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC), established by Wildlife Trust of India’s Wild Rescue programme, is a state-of-the-art rescue and rehabilitation facility.The project, which has been supported by the Government of India’s Animal Welfare Division, (which was with the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment) and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) with which WTI has a unique international partnership, has already been at the forefront in rescuing and rehabilitating animals during floods which annually sweep through the Kaziranga National Park.

The project was initiated with deployment of an animal ambulance to be used for the rescue of wild animals in distress in Assam. The mission of the centre is to put such animals back to where they belong in a scientific fashion in line with national and international guidelines. The centre will cater to the entire Northeast.

The Executive Director of Wildlife Trust of India, Mr Vivek Menon, said till now the practice had been to rescue a wild animal and put it into a zoo. “This centre is going to radically change the very concept of rehabilitation. The process is actually complete only when the animal is properly rehabilitated back into the wild,” he asserted.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Bordoloi called the centre “the pride of Assam and the Northeast,” and lauded the efforts of IFAW and WTI in setting it up. He said the CWRC had come as a heaven-sent opportunity for the animals of Kaziranga, particularly during the longdrawn floods season. The park director, Mr NK Vasu, hoped the centre would grow further and soon start taking care of carnivores too.

The centre will rescue temporarily disadvantaged wild animals, which have been confiscated, injured, maimed, orphaned, sick and/or astray; optimise the conservation value and re-introduction potential of the rescued wild animals; not endanger the behavioral, conservation and health status of the rescued wild animals during the period of confinement, or in anyway diminish its re-introduction potential; promote ethical and humane methods of handling, maintenance in captivity, and veterinary care; and, release back to the wild with re-introduction and monitoring programmes developed following prescribed standard international guidelines for the rescued wild animals.

The WTI Wild Rescue team has been assisting the Kaziranga National Park authorities in the rescue and rehabilitation of wild animals for more than two years now. In September 2000, the Wild Rescue team had rescued a two-week-old wild elephant calf from Bogori range of the park with its umbilical cord still attached. It was trapped in water hyacinth and had been abandoned by the herd. The calf was taken into the park and administered medical aid. Meanwhile, the forest guard managed to find the rest of the herd and in a joint operation, the calf was returned to its family. This was the first ever incident of its kind where an elephant calf was rescued and put back into its natal herd.