Hand-reared rhino has a baby, a first for India

Saira Kurup, TNN | Apr 6, 2013
Forest officials in India have notched up a proud first. Nine years after she was rescued from the swirling flood waters of the Brahmaputra in Kaziranga national park, Ganga has become the first hand-reared one-horned rhino in the country to give birth to a calf.

The delivery took place in the wild in Manas national park. Bhaskar Choudhury, regional head, northeast India, IFAW-WTI (International Fund for Animal Welfare-Wildlife Trust of India), is feeling as proud as a new parent. "This is the most significant news for rhinos and their rehabilitation. The success of a rehab programme depends on the species producing their offspring. We are very happy," he says. IFAW-WTI runs a programme with the Assam forest department to bring rhinos back to Manas, which lost all its rhinos to poaching in 2000.

In July 2004, a badly injured Ganga, then four months old, was rescued from Kaziranga and brought to WTI's rehab centre. The calf was in shock after being separated from its mother. "The basic challenge was to make it survive after the mother could not be found," says Choudhury. Ganga was then gently hand-reared, bottle-fed and weaned for three years, before being gradually acclimatised to the wild in Manas -- her interaction with humans almost ceased, except for periodic medical assessments.

All those efforts have now borne fruition. On Friday, Ganga's three-day-old female calf was first sighted by wildlife experts around noon. "We have been observing them for the past few hours and the calf is suckling every few minutes. Ganga too has adopted the calf. These are good signs, as the chances of rejection by hand-reared rhino mothers are more, than by those in the wild," says Choudhury.

WTI started the rhino re-introduction programme in Manas in 2006. Overall, five hand-reared and radio-collared rhinos have been introduced in Manas so far. The calf's birth is a significant development for the country, which has only 2500 one-horned rhinos now. Manas has 23, and the rest are in Kaziranga. Last year, 20 rhinos were killed by poachers in Kaziranga and this year, 13 have been killed in the first three months alone. "Our biggest worry for the calf is that it will be orphaned if its mother is targeted by poachers," adds Chowdhury. He is hopeful that the two other hand-reared female rhinos in Manas would take cue from Ganga and add to the rhino numbers soon.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/flora-fauna/Hand-reared-rhino-has-a-baby-a-first-for-India/articleshow/19407874.cms

‘Run-of-the-river dams won’t affect inflows into India’

GARGI PARSAI
Amid concern in India over China’s plans to construct dams upstream on the Brahmaputra, a senior government official said here on Wednesday that the run-of-the-river projects would not affect inflows into India.

Reacting to the news that China plans to construct three new hydropower dams in the middle reaches of the Brahmaputra (or Yarlung Zangbo as it is known in China), Union Water Resources Secretary Dhruv Vijay Singh told The Hindu that the Indian government was aware of the dams being constructed/proposed by China. “We are keeping a close watch. These are run-of-the-river dams with no storage and will not affect inflows into India,” he said.

However, the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People, an NGO, said these being run-of-the-river projects, there may not be any change in the annual flows of the river, but the flow patterns may change and concern about flooding and erosioncould not be overlooked.

The Hindu reported on Tuesday that the Chinese State Council had approved the construction of three new dams on the Brahmaputra under a new energy development plan for 2015.

In India, the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation is constructing the Upper Siang Hydroelectric Project on the Siang tributary of the Brahmaputra in Arunachal Pradesh and the 2000 MW Lower Subansiri project on Subansiri, another tributary of the Brahmaputra on the Arunachal Pradesh, Assam border.

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/runoftheriver-dams-wont-affect-inflows-into-india/article4363288.ece

Two rhinos killed by poachers in Assam

PTI

Two adult Rhinos with their horns
chopped off were found dead today in
separate forest areas of central Assam.

Orang National Park, located on the north bank of the Brahmaputra River in Darrang district. GUWAHATI/MORIGAON: Two adult Rhinos with their horns chopped off were found dead today in separate forest areas of central Assam.

Both the male rhinos had been killed by poachers, Forest department officials said.

The carcass of one of the rhinos was recovered from Gopaljaroni area near Gohpur in Sonitpur district. The rhino's horn was chopped off, along with its tail and some other body parts, they said.

It is yet to be ascertained when it was killed, the officials said.

Following the recovery of the carcass, 12 persons were detained in Gohpur while they were engaged in distributing flesh of the rhino.

It is suspected that the rhino had strayed from the Northern Range of Kaziranga National Park. The range is located in the north bank of the Brahmaputra in Sonitpur district, while the other ranges are in the south bank.

The other rhino with its horn removed was found dead in the wetlands near Brahmaputra river in Morigaon district of Assam.

Officials said the animal was killed during the past 48 hours and left at Sheetalmari char under Belguri police station, they said.

The rhino has reportedly strayed from the Orang National Park, located on the north bank of the Brahmaputra River in Darrang district, and crossed to the southern bank in Morigaon through one of the four corridors used by animals during the winter months.

Rhino horn is highly valued across the world for its alleged aphrodisiac qualities and use in traditional medicine.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/flora-fauna/Two-rhinos-killed-by-poachers-in-Assam/articleshow/17984286.cms