New Delhi: Poachers electrocuted one rhino in Pabitora Wildlife Sanctuary on January 9, near its northeastern border near Kuranibari village. Two of the poachers were also electrocuted in the process, while the other two escaped. Police have recovered the horn from the residence of one of the poachers.

The poachers had laid an 800-meter live cable near the border of the park, a place from where the rhinos usually stray out of the protected area in search of crops and food, especially in the evenings.

Reports from our field officer in Pabitora say that the other two poachers apparently cut the horn from the dead rhino and escaped from the scene. The bodies of the rhino and the two poachers were found early on January 10, when the patrolling forest guard detected the live wire and found the dead bodies.

Preliminary investigations have revealed that a third member of the group was also injured during the incident and was treated at a local hospital. The Officer in Charge of Mayong police station (under who’s jurisdiction the park falls) Mr S Pradip Nath and the forest officials started investigations immediately and raided a number of families in search of the horn and the poachers.

The team recovered the horn (weight 1.5 kg) from the house of Johura Khatun, allegedly the mother of one of the poachers. They have also arrested a number of traders and middlemen to obtain information on the culprits. Meanwhile, the two dead poachers have been identified as Ahmed Ali and Hanif Ali.

Pabitora has an 18 month spell of no poaching since June 2000, until this incident on January 9, 2002. This was mainly due to efforts taken by the park’s range officer, police and active support provided by WTI. In this small sanctuary of 16 sq km the rhino population stands at more than 80, which is the highest density of rhinos in their range.