Kaziranga — home to the original unicorn
Unicorns, till the business folks appropriated the term, were mythical beasts — a horse with a single horn on its forehead.
Greek literature popularized unicorns, but the creature itself was likely inspired by a far more interesting animal — the great one-horned rhinoceros.
The Indian rhinoceros once roamed large parts of north India, but rampant hunting soon decimated its population rapidly. It is said that the wife of Lord Curzon, the erstwhile Viceroy of India, was keen to see one in the wild and travelled to the Kaziranga sanctuary in 1906. So few were they in number that she pressed upon Lord Curzon to declare the species protected and demarcate land for its protection. Thus came into being the Kaziranga Wildlife Sanctuary.
Like many other places in India, there are various stories about the name itself. A popular one is that a boy named Kazi loved a girl named Ranga who was from another tribe. Since their families didn’t approve of their romance, they fled one day into the dark forests never to return. The forests were then named Kaziranga in their memory.
Anyway, back to the rhino. Most kids would know the answer to the trivia question — what is the rhino horn made of? Keratin is the right answer, in case you’ve forgotten — the same stuff that makes up our fingernails.
Not many would know that the animal was close to extinction — there were reportedly less than 400 of them alive in 1960. The rhino conservation effort is one of the bigger success stories. Today, there are over 2400 rhinos in Kaziranga alone.
The initial reserve spanned about 240 sq km; later additional area was declared protected. Today, the Kaziranga reserve spans about 400 sq km across two districts in Assam. Kaziranga was declared a World Heritage Site in the 1980s and is home to other species like the Indian wild buffalo, tigers, elephants, various species of turtles, deer and more.
We woke early in the morning and set out for an elephant ride inside Kaziranga to spot the rhino. You can take either the elephant safari, where a number of elephants carrying up to 4 tourists wander into the park around areas that are frequented by the rhino, or take the jeep safari that covers a 30km trail around major watering holes for the animals.
Our morning sojourn was eventful, and Sudha and I were happy we had woken Reyu up at 4:30 AM. We spotted a male grazing elephant grass (that’s the common variety of grass that grows there). As more elephants converged around the rhino, he gave a short snort and galloped away.
Male rhinos can weigh up to 2 tons and are surprisingly agile. They can run as fast as 60kmph so it would be difficult outrunning one were he to charge at you.
After breakfast, we took the jeep safari into another region of Kaziranga. The first half of the trip was uneventful. A lot of the elephant grass was beginning to dry around the trail, and our jeep driver told us that the grass dries up fully by February. The forest department then burns down the grass in sections using controlled fire to help it regenerate in March and April. In case you’re visiting Kaziranga, try avoiding February as they say it’s difficult to spot rhinos then.
A while later, we drove past a vast swamp, where we spotted at a distance a mother rhino and her calf. However, it seemed like that would be all as there were no more sightings for most of the hour that followed, till, unexpectedly, we chanced upon a rhino feasting on the grass near the trail.
While rhino populations have risen over the years, there have been cases of sporadic poaching. The forest department has armed guards at various locations, and we heard they are also deploying drones to keep the rhinos safe.
It’s not just the poachers who cause trouble.
The Brahmaputra which flows through a part often floods the park and causes the animals to get to elevated ground. Sometimes, they wander onto roads and may be hit by vehicles. Though the highway runs through the park, there are speed limits for vehicles to prevent such mishap. Our driver told us that most commercial vehicles obey, but private vehicles often ignore these speed limits. That’s sad, considering these majestic animals have few other homes. Pobitara Sanctuary near Guwahati is a smaller sanctuary, but there are not many other places where the rhino can graze unafraid. Tigers are known to attack baby rhinos, but adult rhinos have no other predator than man.
Kaziranga boasts not only of the wildlife sanctuary but also India’s largest park of orchids. The park hosts an excellent program at 6:30 PM every evening showcasing the various dance forms at Assam.
Kaziranga is well-worth the visit. Conservation is at the heart of the economy, and the rhino takes its place of pride.
