Last rhinos translocated in Assam under Vision 2020 to increase population

Target of attaining a population of 3,000 rhinos almost achieved but the animal could be reintroduced in only one of the four protected areas planned

The ambitious Indian Rhino Vision 2020 (IRV2020) came to a close on Tuesday morning with the release of two rhinos — an adult male and a female — in Assam’s Manas National Park transported from Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary about 185 km to the east. 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. “The eighth round of rhino translocation under IRV2020 ended at 7 a.m. today [April 13] with the release of the two rhinos in the central part of the Bansbari range of Manas, which has received a total of 22 rhinos from other protected areas under the translocation programme,” Amal Ch Sarmah, field director of Manas Tiger Reserve, said.