Rhino recovered from wanderlust

Assam, India: A young rhino that went on a 14-day trek across India, through villages as well as countryside, was finally persuaded to abandon its wanderlust by conservation specialists and return to where its journey began.

The five-year-old rhino, one of the two relocated earlier this year to Assam world heritage site Manas National Park had strayed as far as 68 kilometres away to Kalseni in Guwahati.

The animal had to be tranquilised and put back to its natural habitat before it could be harmed by curious onlookers and poachers. It is believed it was trying to find its way to its previous home in Pobitora wildlife sanctuary.

"The rhino was being tracked all the while with the help of the signals transmitted from his radio collar," said Sujoy Banerjee, Species Conservation Programme Director for WWF-India.

He said the radio signals were superimposed on a map of the area using global positioning system to pinpoint his exact location.

All through its journey the rhino had many curious onlookers, eager to catch a glimpse of it while some even wanted to touch its sacred horn. Others asked WWF personnel for its hair or a piece of its skin, both of which have religious significance in the region.

Not even its dung was left undisturbed! Since it is considered auspicious to keep rhino dung in the granaries, its dung just vanished.

Officials suspect that the animal might again go on a similar "adventure" and move eastward towards Pobitora wildlife sanctuary.

"There is sufficient food for the animal in the Manas park but still the rhino has been attempting to move out of the area,” Banerjee said.

The return of rhinos to Manas this year was an emotional moment for local residents, who lost their last rhinos a decade ago during a 20-year period of civil disturbance that wrecked infrastructure in the famed National Park and allowed poachers free reign.

Officials at the park have been asked to keep a constant vigil on the two male rhinos to ensure they settle down well in the region as it would take some time to subside the "homing instinct" in the animals, which were translocated under the Indian Rhino Vision 2020 programme.

As part of this ambitious project, the Assam government and conservation groups including WWF-India are working to translocate up to 20 rhinos to the park over the years from their homes in both Kaziranga National Park and Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary.