by Bhupen Goswami

Guwahati : With 98 per cent of the World Heritage Site submerged and thousands of animal struggling to say afloat, meet the bunch of people who dive in to save the day.The death toll of animals in Kaziranga National Park (KNP) has increased from 42 to 73 in the past 24 hours as more carcasses, including two one-horned rhinos were found on Wednesday, July 17. The two rhinos drowned due to the floods. The total number of rhinos killed by the floods has now gone up to five. In addition to this, two carcasses of sambars and two of wild boars were also found on Wednesday. Further, eight hog deer died after drowning, three were hit by vehicles and four perished during treatment at the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) and many died of exhaustion as well. In total, 77 animals- 49 hog deer, two rhino calves, one elephant calf, one sambar and three other animals were rescued by forest officials and CWRC. It should be noted that a large number of rhinos, elephants and deer have taken shelter on the highlands of nearby Karbi Anglong hills when the floods peaked inside the park. Many rhinos and wild buffaloes also moved to the 33-odd highlands constructed by the forest department inside the park. Officials have mentioned that the water level in Kaziranga receded by 65 cm on Wednesday, a respite, since until Monday, the water level was above three feet in many places inside the park. However, 169 of the 199 anti-poaching camps still remain flooded.