‘Impact of eviction’: Rhinos return Assam’s Burachapori wildlife after 40 years

Assam’s Burachapori wildlife sanctuary has witnessed the presence of rhinoceros after 40 years, forest officials said. They said this happened because of successful eviction drives conducted by the state government last year.
Burachapori, which is part of the Greater Kaziranga National Park (KNP), was once a haven for the Rhinos and the population was more than 50. But due to frequent poaching and illegal encroachment of land in the early 1980s, the rhino population went down to zero in 1983, said KNP director Sonali Ghosh.
“Until 1983 the population was 45-50 but they were poached out and there was a degradation of grassland habitat due to anthropogenic pressure,” Ghosh said.
Chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday took to X to share the information. “Happy to share that after 40 years our iconic Rhinos have returned to Laokhowa and Burachapori. They have returned within 1 year of our successful anti-encroachment operation in the region,” he wrote.
The Assam government had last year carried out a massive eviction drive to remove encroachments in forest reserves.
Sarma said that 51.7 sq km of forest cover was retrieved from the evictions across the state in 2023. Forest officials said that the eviction drive at Laokhowa and Burachapori was carried out between 13 and 15 February 2023, which led to a clearing of 1,282 hectares of forest land and it allowed the rhinos to enter the protected forests easily.
“Since November 2023, rhinos were sighted at Burachapori and Laokhowa wildlife areas but they did not stay. Now two rhinos have started living here. They came from Orang National Park and through the recently restored (evicted areas) of Arimari,” the KNP director said.
Ghose said that apart from rhinos, 10 tigers were also seen in the protected forest area which indicates a good prey base of herbivores. “It is also one of the few areas in the country to have an excellent habitat of freshwater mangroves,” she said.
She added that after the eviction drive last year, the state government sent new recruits and filled the vacancies of 75 frontline positions, including deputy rangers, foresters, and forest guards, to strengthen the vigil at protected forest areas.
“The government is committed to strengthening the landscape and restoring the lost glory of this historic protected areas and ensuring habitat connectivity between the Rhino range of Orang-Laokhowa-Burachapori-Kaziranga landscapes,” Ghosh added.