Assam's famous one-horned rhinoceros, hunted for decades, is getting a retrieve from poachers after concerted efforts. But much more needs to be done to keep the momentum going, reports TWF correspondent Ranjita Biswas from Kaziranga National Park.

The early morning mist was yet to lift from the wintry landscape of the Brahmaputra valley. The blue hills of Assam made a dark silhouette in the background of the Kaziranga National Park. The elephants were lined up on the fringe of the sanctuary to carry the tourists, eager to get a glimpse of the famous one-horned rhinoceros. The Park is open for only about six months in winter and the demand is heavy to witness the wonderful animal in its natural habitat.

As the elephants waded through the elephant grass, the only sound in the silence zone was the swish of the grass. And then they came into view, in twos and threes, munching on the grass placidly. Make no mistake. It can be aggressive, this herbivorous animal, particularly if there's a baby around. Despite its armour-plated appearance and preference for wallowing in the marshy terrain, the rhino can be surprisingly swift. It is rather short-sighted but has an acute sense of smell.

But despite its reputation, the rhino has been at the receiving end of man's greed for ages though it is protected under CITES (Convention for International Trade in Endangered Species for Flora and Fauna).

Over the years, its number has greatly been reduced at the hand of poachers. It's only been in recent years that the concerted effort by the forest department has seen the number of killings going down. According to the last census in 1999, informs Park director N. K. Vasu, the number of rhinos at Kaziranga now stands at 1552, a steady rise from 366 in 1966. He agrees that the gap of six years between the censuses could have been shorter. But lack of adequate funds is a problem too and some programmes have had to be curtailed. There are 452 forest guards employed presently though the sanctioned number is 529. They man the 125 camps scattered across the forest to keep vigil. Theirs is a lonely task, but within the constraints, they are doing a commendable job. Last year, only three rhinos were killed as compared to 235 between 1983-89. However, while rhino dominates, Kaziranga is also home to 882 elephants, 86 tigers, 1142 wild buffaloes, 5045 hog deer, 481 wild boars among other animals, and wide variety of birds.

There's a saying in local language that the flesh of the deer is its greatest enemy. It could be true of the rhino's horn as well. The unusual projection is nothing but a compact mass of agglutinated hair. But its reputation as an aphrodisiac, and prized in traditional Chinese medicine, has seen it being hunted down for centuries. The sexual prowess attributed to the horn could be result of its resemblance to the linga (worshipped as Shiva in India) or phallus. Moreover, copulation period of the rhino is much longer compared to other animals. This species of rhino-horn is more in demand than the African two-horned black rhino, which is endangered too, according to K. K. Baruah, former principal forest conservator, Assam. In Yemen, it is fashioned into dagger handles supposedly lending power and strength.

At one time the Indo-Gangetic plain had thousands of the one-horned rhino roaming around. The species Rhinoceros Unicornis is thought to be the mythical unicorn found in the earliest pictorial art of Mesopotemia. In the Indian subcontinent, a 3000 B.C seal belonging to the pre-Aryan Mohenjodaro civilization shows a rhino inscribed on it. Even in Indian mythology, it is projected as a powerful animal fit to carry the supreme God, Vishnu, on its back.

The animal's symbolic physical prowess has added to local myths as well. In Nepal, which has a pocket of rhinos, consuming its urine is supposed to cure diseases like asthma. In medieval royal families of Assam and neighbouring countries, cups made of rhino horn was in great demand as it was attributed venom absorbing qualities. And who doesn't know that in palace intrigues poisoning was one of the commonest methods of annihilating unwanted members? Rhino horn rings were also worn by childless couples (perhaps to enhance fertility) and lunatics. In Assamese villages water drunk from a horn was thought to the 'elixir of life' and specially beneficial to pregnant women.

The horn's reputation as a traditional Viagra and the astronomical price it hawks in the international market, mainly South East Asia, attracts poachers like a bear to the honey-pot. With time the poachers became increasingly clever too, using sophisticated arms, even open-ended electric wires connected to high-tension cable to immobolise the unsuspecting animal. Sometimes they cut off the horn even before it was dead. The terrain, a little distance from the foothills of the Himalayas with deep jungles and international borders like Nepal, Myanmar etc makes it an easy getaway for the criminals. The decades long insurgency problem in the North-East also saw an escalation in rhino-hunting, experts point out, with much of the money used to buy arms and ammunition. Meanwhile, there has been campaign by international bodies in S E Asia too to prevent the horn's use and allay the myth about its aphrodisiac qualities

Now as the years of efforts are at last wielding result, understandably Park officials worry about too much density which is not healthy for the animal. Some have been relocated over the years in other parks like Pabitara nearer to capital Guwahati, which has the highest concentration of rhinos in the world today at 76 rhinos at 16 sq.km.

Even for Kaziranga, which is divided into four areas : Bagori, Kohora, Agatoli and Burapahar, space crunch is a problem now that poaching has been contained to a satisfactory extent, says Vasu. Originally, the Park was to have 860 sq. km area but only 430 sq. were covered. As the Park is located near the north-south corridor National Highway 37 with heavy traffic and skirted by human habitation, many of them encroachers, it is a constant headache for the conservationists. Besides, it is important to have these encroachments removed as there are proofs that some poachers work in collusion with local villagers. When an attempt was made to retrieve the encroached areas there were lengthy court cases. But now there has been some progress, though only 280 sq. km of the area has been retrieved, according to the forest ministry.

These areas go even beyond to the Brahmaputra's north bank. Ace forest ranger Dhanidhar Boro, who has won recognition from IUCN, the World Conservation Union, pointed across the white sands of the river to a village on the other side. His tale of how he tracked down a poacher by boat on a tip-off was like a real-life adventure story. His battle scars are evidence of some of the near misses. But it also focused on the need to let Kaziranga have its legitimate area back. And let the rhino, a wonder of Nature, live in peace. As Boro said, "Nature never betrays you, we betray Nature." His words come from his grassroots experience. Something we tend to forget.