Torsa floods: ‘9 one-horned rhinos rescued so far’, forest dept continues search for last one

Alipurduar: In a remarkable wildlife rescue operation, the Forest department successfully rescued two one-horned rhinos from Patlakhawa in Cooch Behar on Monday and released them safely into Jaldapara National Park. The efforts continued on Tuesday, with another adult rhino being tranquilised and returned to the forest, bringing the total number of rhinos rescued after the recent floods to nine.

The rhinos were swept away from Jaldapara by the strong currents of the Torsa River during the floods on October 5, which displaced a total of 10 animals. So far, nine rhinos have been successfully traced and returned to their natural habitat. One rhino remains unaccounted for, with forest officials maintaining tight surveillance in the Rasmati forest area of Patlakhawa.

Tuesday’s rescue operation was launched early in the morning by a joint team from the Cooch Behar and Jaldapara Forest Divisions. The team, consisting of over 50 personnel and assisted by four trained Kunki elephants—Shambhu, Diana, Betal and Karna—worked tirelessly through dense vegetation to locate the stranded rhinos.

After nearly seven hours of careful tracking, one rhino was finally tranquilised near Putimari. As daylight waned, the operation was temporarily paused, with officials resuming efforts the following day. The tranquilised rhino was safely lifted using fiber straps on a payloader and transported by tractor deep into Jaldapara, where it was released in good health.

DFO Praveen Kaswan praised the team’s efforts, stating: “This complex and sensitive operation was made possible by the expertise of the Jaldapara Wildlife Division. Our personnel worked tirelessly to locate, tranquilise and return the rhinos to their natural habitat. All 3 rescued rhinos are now active and under continuous monitoring.”