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Context: Rhino poacher from Assam arrested in Kerala

One-horned Rhino:

• The Indian rhinoceros also called greater one-horned rhinoceros or great Indian rhinoceros is a rhinoceros species native to the Indian subcontinent.
• It is the only large mammal species in Asia to be down-listed from endangered to vulnerable in the International Union for Conservation of Nature, IUCN Red list in 2008.
• Threats: Poaching for horns and habitat destruction.

National Rhino Conservation Strategy for India:

• It called for active engagement between India and Nepal to conserve the greater one-horned rhinoceros.
• The single population of rhinos in Sukla-Phanta (Nepal), Valmiki tiger reserve (India)and Chitwan National Park (Nepal) and Dudhwa (India) is separated by the political boundary between the two countries.
• Instead of managing the two populations differ in the two countries, plan focus on the managing rhino population with the same protocol.
• The plan calls for expanding distribution range as occurrence of 90 per cent of the rhino in one protected area is a cause of concern.
• It also calls for strengthening protection, having dedicated research and monitoring and strict enforcement.
• The objectives include
• strengthening protection,
• expanding the distribution range,
• research and monitoring, and
• adequate and sustained funding.

Indian Rhino Vision 2020 (IRV2020):

• Designed in 2005, the IRV2020 is believed to have achieved its target of attaining a population of 3,000 rhinos in Assam.
• But the plan to spread the Rhinoceros unicornis across four protected areas beyond Kaziranga National Park, Orang National Park and Pobitora could not materialise.
• Wild-to-wild translocations were an essential part of IRV2020 – moving rhinos from densely populated parks like Kaziranga NP, to ones in need of more rhinos, like Manas NP.
• Rhinos are now found in four Protected Areas in Assam: Pabitora Wildlife Reserve, Rajiv Gandhi Orang National Park, Kaziranga National Park, and Manas National Park.

About Kaziranga National park:

• It is home to more than 2200 Indian one-horned rhinoceros, approximately 2/3rd of their total world population.
• It is located in the edge of the Eastern Himalayan biodiversity hotspots – Golaghat and Nagaon district.
• In 1985, it was declared as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
• It was declared as Tiger Reserve in 2006.
• It is recognized as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International for the conservation of avifaunal species.

Other protected areas of Assam:

https://indianexpress.com/article/india/kerala/rhino-poacher-from-assam-arrested-in-kerala-7778098/

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