Assam floods: 131 wild animals, including 6 rhinos, dead in Kaziranga National Park

Kaziranga (Assam) [India], July 8 (ANI): As many as 131 wild animals, including six rhinos, have died so far at Kaziranga National Park due to floods in Assam, according to the park authority on Monday.

The Field Director of Kaziranga National Park, Sonali Ghosh, said that so far, 131 wild animals have died in Kaziranga National Park due to flooding.

“Six rhinos, 100 hog deer, and two sambar died after drowning in flood waters, while 17 hog deer, one each Swamp deer, Rhesus Macaque, and Otter (Pup) died under care. Two hog deer died after being hit by a vehicle,” Sonali Ghosh said.

The park authority and the forest department have also managed to rescue 97 wild animals during the floods.

While the flood situation in the national park has been improving, 69 forest camps out of 233 are underwater.

“22 forest camps under the Kaziranga range, 20 camps under the Bagori range, 14 camps under the Agratoli range, 4 each in Burapahar, Bokakhat and Nagaon Wildlife Division and one camp under the Biswanath Wildlife Division are currently underwater,” the park authority said.

The park authority has also vacated four forest camps, including two each in the Kaziranga range and Bokakhat range, due to flooding.

The Assam floods have recently worsened, with eight human lives lost due to flooding in the last 24 hours, taking the total death toll to 66 this year.

According to the report released by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority on Sunday, two people each from Dhurbi and Nalbari districts and one each from Cachar, Goalpara, Dhemaji and Sivasagar lost their lives in the floods.

Over 27.74 lakh people in 28 districts are still affected by the flood in the state.

Rescue teams from NDRF, SDRF, Fire & Emergency Services, and local administration are all engaged in the rescue efforts in flood-hit areas.