First Rhino Calf born into new Rhino Breeding Program in India's Manas Natioal Park

A greater one-horned rhino (or Indian rhino) mother, one of 18 rhinos of the same species put in Manas Nat. Park as part of a newly established breeding population, recently gave birth to the first offspring born from a translocated rhino in Manas. Is it just me, or have rhinos been in the spotlight alot lately?

The Manas rhino project, part of the Indian Rhino Vision 2020 intiative, is an effort to encourage a new breeding site inside the lawfully protected boundaries of Manas National Park. It aims to increase the amount of Indian rhinos to 3,00 by 2020. In fact, most of the Indian rhinos lived in one other National Park, and establishing a new breeding poulation will make breeding rates faster and diversify the species' gene pool, putting them at less of a risk of major disease. As you probably already know, rhinos and elephants are under extreme pressure from poaching, a threat that forever looms above the welfare of the species' future. At least 17 rhinos have been killed illegaly for their horns this year in India's Assam state, but this is dwarfed by the number of rhinos poached in South Africa this year. Is there hope? That's up to us to decide...

-PJ

 

 

 

Source & photo: World Wildlife.org