A magical morning soothing to a weary soul the magnificent dawn literally takes your breath away everything is in harmony this is the kaziranga national park a pristine forest land stretching across 1000 square kilometers in the northeastern state of assam in india here tall grasslands are interspersed with ponds and patches of woodlands making it a perfect refuge for some of the most endangered species big five starting from rhinos tiger elephant swamp deer and buffalo and we are having healthy population of rhinos around 2400 plus elephant around 1100 plus tiger 120 around 3000 buffaloes and 800 plus the zombie are also it’s a endangered species at the start of the 1900s there were only about two dozen indian rhinos poaching was at its peak until just a few years ago the highest one for poaching year was the 2013 and 14 where the average poaching is about 25. last three years in 2017 186 each and last year 2019 is the lowest that is only three today kaziranga boasts the single largest breeding population of the indian rhinos ramesh gogoi the divisional forest officer says foot patrol has been the most effective deterrent food petrol is almost 1000 plus people are walking inside in the facing camps we have 178 anti-bussing camps they defend the waters and land day and night ready to take on the poachers risking their own lives to protect kaziranga’s cherished wildlife i had the privilege to spend an entire day with these unsung heroes they leave behind their families for days on end and sacrifice personal comforts three people share this tiny space and cook on this man-made stove called a chula but despite the limitations they shared a delicious vegetarian meal with me kogan doli has been a forest guard for the past 9 years [Music] but make no mistake about it tracking down poachers isn’t for the faint of heart because posters are not lemon they are smarter than us they are using all their tactics rarely do they come face to face with the poachers but if they do there will be casualties we have a casualty of our staffers it’s not just the poachers that pose a danger some of the guards have been injured or killed by rhinos while on foot patrol doley recalls that fateful day he had a close call despite the inherent risks doli and other forest guards are committed to protecting the animals once you are posted in kazura means you have to do your duty because this is the only way you can save your job another key aspect is to engage frequently with the five neighboring districts we have to maintain the relation with the five deputy commissioner by supernanda police and different villages different communities central government agencies are also involved wildlife crime control bureau they are playing a major role in national intelligence agency they are also supporting us kaziranga means it’s basically it’s a big teamwork the national and the state level and the teamwork is paying off big time from a modest 434 square kilometer plot in 1974 kaziranga national park has more than doubled in size now there’s ample space for many more wild animals and rare species in totality we are having more than 50 thousand plus air viewers when this became a national park that our tourism related infrastructure has come up lot of peoples they’ve come and settled here kaziranga tourism businesses somewhere around thousand crore business and to sustain the tourism boom the state government has created this busy national highway it cuts through key elephant corridors posing a grave threat to the wildlife the assam forest department is planning to install sensors to monitor the speeding traffic and alleviate tragedies we are also looking to add around 300 square kilometer maybe in coming years there is a scope for some more addition of animals in this landscape kaze ranga epitomizes a shining conservation model that can be emulated across india the valuable lesson here is collaboration empowering key stakeholders including the villagers with a sense of ownership is critical for the preservation of india’s mesmerizing wildlife and the natural treasures reporting from the forests of kaziranga assam i am sangeeta iyer [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] you
