For the animals of Kaziranga National Park, the floods arrive like clockwork. The summers precede the rains and the rains precede the floods – the annual boon and bane that is as much a necessity as nature’s execration that forces some to perish and some to rise above and survive. This year till now the floods have taken the life of more than 200 animals in the state’s most prestigious national park and the toll may only rise.
According to officials, the annual deluge lead to the death of 18 endangered one horned rhinos, two elephants, 112 hog deer, 12 sambar deer, seven swamp deer, two buffaloes, 18 wild boar and three porcupines. Needless to say, there are countless other smaller animals that are unaccounted for who might have perished in the floods.
Also Read: Animals battling Assam floods, in photos.
When the River Swells
Kaziranga National Park is situated on the floodplains of the mighty Brahmaputra River. Each year with the monsoon showers, the wet alluvial grassland ecosystem of the park is regenerated and the soil enriched with the silt deposition.
What it also brings is flood waters, tons of it, submerging most of the park. This year, the flood level of the Brahmaputra flowing through the north of the Kaziranga crossed the danger level at Dhansirimukh on July 13 and soon over 90 % of the protected area flooded, forcing numerous animals to look for higher grounds for safety.
Pictures of rhinos, deer, buffaloes and elephants running towards natural and artificial elevated lands are emerging constantly. The floods also forced a wild tiger to take refuge in a scrap shop in at Harmoti near Bagori.
Along with Kaziranga, the Manas National Park, Dibru-Saikhowa National Park, Nameri National Park, Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary, Laokhowa Wildlife Sanctuary and the Orang Tiger Reserve in Assam also have been submerged. There are no official counts as to the total animals affected in this entire area, but it would not be surprising if by the time the water recedes, there would be atleast 400-500 animal casualties.
Also Read: Poachers Cut Rhino Horns in Assam
Annual Cleansing Ritual
And yet, Brahmaputra’s yearly swelling up is something the ecosystem inherently knows. The locals say that the annual fires and floods are the cyclic regeneration mechanism of nature, allowing old to perish and new to grow.
According to nenow, the Brahmaputra River flows by Kaziranga National Park in a braided course for about 53 km and forms the northern boundary. There are also 3 other rivers –Diphlu, Mora Diphlu and Dhansiri that cut through the park. The grasslands, swamps and marshlands thus formed around the riverbeds are a gift of these rivers – forming an ideal habitat for the one horned rhinos, elephants, swamp deer, Asiatic buffalo, tiger and the variety of other animals living here.
The pride of the park is indeed the one horned rhino with the world heritage site hosting two-thirds of the rhino population in the world. Kaziranga also has the highest density of tigers among protected areas.
“Flood is intrinsically linked with Kaziranga. It cannot exist without the yearly event. Flood flushes out the aquatic weeds that would otherwise choke the water bodies and rejuvenates it every year. In fact, we were a bit worried when Kaziranga was going without flood last year,” said Akashdeep Baruah to nenow, who had just left KNP as its director to join as Principal Chief Conservator of Forest in Guwahati.
The challenge thus is not so much the flood, but the difficulties the animals face fleeing the land when it gets engulfed with water. Not to forget the difficulties the rescuers face in such situations.
The NH 37 runs parallel to the southern boundary of Kaziranga National Park (KNP) and during floods is frequently used by wildlife as a passage to crossover and reach the adjacent Karbi Anglong Hills. According to officials while the speed limit of incoming vehicles has been limited to 40kmph, wild hits cannot be avoided. This year 16 hog deer and a sambar have been hit by speeding cars while trying to cross the highway.
The other issue is the limited resources and personal. Year after year, the Assam government, forest officials and nonprofits like Wildlife Trust of India have prepared themselves to deal with the carnage when it arrives. Drowning calves, animals stuck on roofs of houses, even tigers inside shops have to be safely rescued not just from the floods but also the fearful crowd that might turn violent. Not to forget, the threat of poachers using this opportunity to poach the rhinos for their prized horns.
But the 99 odd forest camps inside the park are mostly inundated and wild casualties are difficult to monitor on boats all the time. The ground zero workers navigate difficult water ways to search, rescue and save as many as they can, but the excessive pressure under which they are working is understandable.
A timely action this year, was the banning of stone quarries by the Supreme Court in April along the Karbi Anglong hills which has allowed animals to use their traditional migration paths again to flee the floods.
“The hills are part of the Kaziranga-Karbi Anglong landscape. The noisy quarries had hindered the movement of animals to higher altitudes, offering 750 sq. km. of refuge and fodder. Animals moving toward the areas during this flood after a long gap underlines the efficacy of the ban that the Supreme Court ordered,” KNP Director P. Sivakumar said.
Also read: The Asiatic Buffalo Finds a New Home
Data provided by KNP officials said the water level had fallen by 162 cm. during the last 24 hours. But heavy rainfall in eastern Assam and Arunachal Pradesh could result in another wave of flooding for Kaziranga in the next few days.
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