By Bhupen Goswami

Guwahati : The latest wave of floods in the state of Assam has left a trail of destruction in its wake. Over 78 lakh people in as many as 33 districts have been affected due to the floods, and many high-profile celebrities have sent their “hopes and prayers” for the people of Assam suffering due to the calamity of floods. Although rescue and relief measures are underway, the suffering of animals has largely been overlooked. Over in Upper Assam, the animals of the famous Kaziranga National Park are also in a fix. After 95% of the Park was submerged in water, many of the animals tried to escape to the higher lands on the Karbi Anglong side of the park. However, life was not too kind to these animals. Soon, pictures started emerging of Kaziranga animals which had been run over by vehicles along the NH-37 (alarmingly, fourteen deer have been run over by speeding vehicles so far).

Moreover, many animals have also drowned in the park. As per official records, as many as fifty 107 animals have died as a result of floods and many carcasses of endangered animals (such as the one-horned rhino) have been recovered. 10 rhinos and 2 rhino babies have also been killed. It may be mentioned that 6 of the rhinos died as a result of drowning. Meanwhile, a 90-kg Royal Bengal tiger was captured on camera yesterday when it was sleeping on the bed of a scrap shop it had entered to escape the floods, to everyone’s utter amazement. Moreover, images of rhinos resting on patches of land to seek respite from the fury of floods has caught the attention of people. However, this is not the first time that the majestic animals have been killed due to floods. Back in 2017, at least nine rhinos (and 124 animals overall) were killed due to floods. Speaking to Inside Northeast, animal rights activist Bhaskar Deb Konwar says: “Floods in Kaziranga is a yearly event. The Govt should formulate a long term policy for proper management to ensure safety of the animals during floods.Suggestions like building high lands inside the park and not to block the animal path to the nearby hills shall be immediately implemented.The way the animals have lost their lives due to floods is highly deplorable.

”The rising floodwater levels in the state posed a threat to the wild animals in Kaziranga National Park which has been entirely under-water owing to incessant rains in the region. 90% of the park which was submerged underwater has not yet completely dried up for which the animals have moved to other places and a telling picture of exhausted rhinos resting on patches of land at Kaziranga has surfaced on the internet. Large numbers of animals of the park have been affected due to flood which includes rhinos, deers and elephants trapped in the sanctuary at the moment as per state legislator Mrinal Saikia. Speaking to Reuters, Saikia said that the animals are having a tough time. “Indeed, as videos and pictures of the situation at Kaziranga clearly depict wild animals enduring the wrath of the raging waters,” Saikia said. Indian Forest Service (IFS) officials while shared a video which shows that deer waded through deep waters in the sanctuary while rhino calves found it difficult to survive. According to forest officials of KNP, 67 deers have died due to flood till date out of which 14 died after hit by cars, 39 died after they floated in water and 10 for other reasons. As per the forest officials report, 7 rhinos have died in the flood out of which 6 died due after falling in water and one died in some other reasons. One each of elephant and Buffalo also lost lives in flood till Thursday while 5 numbers of wild pigs, 1 rabbit also died in flood. It has also been reported that 58 numbers of animals have been rescued in the ongoing flood out of which 43 deer have been relieved after treatment. 4 deers have died during treatment. The forest officials also informed that 11 wild animals are under treatment at Panbari Wildlife Conservation and Rehabilitation Centre out of which 9 are deers and 2 rhino calves. The report also says that 83 animals have died in 2019 flood so far. On the other hand, 98 out of 199 forest camps are still under-water and the forest officials have not been able to enter in 9 camps. Forest Ranger of KNP, however, said that rescue teams are using boats to traverse the park to save stranded animals saying that it had been a long time since this type of flood has affected the Park. According to reports of AFP, more than 107 animals have died so far. While some animals died due to flood, some died in the accident while trying to cross the busy highway and reach the nearby Karbi hills after it escaped from the flooded Kaziranga park.