Over 240 animals, including 20 one-horned rhinos and 185 hog deer, have reportedly died within the last seven to ten days due to the heavy floods that hit the Kaziranga National Park in Assam. Over 80 percent of the World Heritage Site has got submerged under water following continuous rainfall since last week.
Must Read: Assam witnesses worst flood in a decade
“While 13 rhinos died due to drowning and four died of natural death due to old age, hog deer suffered the worst with 152 of them getting drowned and 12 knocked down by vehicles on National Highway 715 that forms the southern boundary”, Subhasis Das, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Kaziranga, was quoted by the Indian Express.
The 200 animals that have been rescued are undergoing treatment at the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC), India's only wildlife field hospital located in Kaziranga.
People living near Kaziranga National Park in Golaghat district of Assam have lost their homes as the area is inundated. The only way to get inside the park, which is closed for visitors in monsoon, is by boats.
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