Kaziranga: Yet another rhino calf was rescued from the floods and brought to the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC), where its wounds were treated by the Centre veterinarian. This brings the count of rhino calves at the Centre to three. A total of 12 hog deer were also rescued from the floods till yesterday evening, with more such cases expected over the next few days.Around 1 pm IST, the forest staff at Kaziranga National Park sent an SOS to CWRC. Bhaskar Chowdhury, the centre veterinarian found the six month old calf caught in a maze of water hyacinth in the Baghori range of the park. It had sustained minor cuts and bruises in fighting the flood waters. On arrival at the centre at 3 pm , the calf was treated for its injuries and given electrolytes along with milk.

File picture of a hog deer being brought to CWRC for treatment

The sudden influx of rescued animals has put a space crunch on CWRC. The new rhino calf will be housed in a room at the CWRC campus. "A new enclosure will have to be built for the four month old female rhino calf, which was rescued on July 14 th . The new six month old calf, which is also a female will be housed in a room at CWRC till its condition stabilizes," said Rathin Burman, Center Manager at CWRC." Both the rescued rhinos will be housed separately to ensure quarantine for a couple of months, since there is a large influx of rescued animals at the Centre and we are taking all precautions to prevent the outbreak of any disease," added Burman.

Following the fresh spurt in floods, the water level in the Kaziranga National Park has risen, submerging more areas of the park. The exodus of animals to higher ground, mainly elephants and deer continues, especially at night. Park officials and Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) staff have been on night patrols on the national highway that cuts through the park. While elephants somehow manage to move to high ground, it is the hog deer which seem to be the worst affected by the rising water levels. Of the 12 hog deer rescued yesterday, four were brought dead to the Centre, five were released to a safer place, and three were stabilized at the Centre overnight. Two of the three hog deer were released this morning.

Earlier yesterday afternoon, two leopard cubs were brought to the CWRC following a request from the staff at the tea estate where they were found by a gardener. The cubs, a male and a female are only four days old and have not managed to open their eyes to the world yet. They have been put on a diet of formula milk fed from bottles, and are still in an incubator. Bhaskar Chowdhury, the Centre veterinarian reported, "the neonate cubs are being bottle fed and stabilized. They will stay in the incubator till they open their eyes, which is expected to happen in a week’s time".

Meanwhile, Kadambari Mainkar, the Project Officer from WTI headquarters has her hands full, feeding the two month old leopard cub with a pipette, and preparing formula for the rhino calf rescued earlier. The rhino calf has begun exploring her surroundings when she is led out of her room into the open when the sun shines.

The 430 square kilometer Kaziranga National Park (KNP) is a World Heritage Site and home to approximately 1500 of the estimated total population of 2000 Greater one-horned rhinos, besides many other species of mammals, including elephants and tigers.

The CWRC’s role has been crucial in the rescue and rehabilitation of animals during the annual floods at Kaziranga. The CWRC has been jointly established by the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) and its partner the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and the Department of Forest and Environment, Government of Assam.