Jaldapara, Gorumara forest divisions start rhino census
Times of India | 6 March 2025
12 Jalpaiguri: Jaldapara and Gorumara forest divisions kicked off a census on Wednesday, for a count of the one-horned rhinoceros in the two national parks. The exercise will take place over two days (March 5 and 6), with a repeat survey for accuracy.
As many as 70 kunki elephants have been deployed for field observations in Jaldapara National Park, which has been divided into 65 enumeration blocks, with 65 observation lines and 110 fixed points, including 21 watchtower locations. Thirteen NGOs from the state are also participating in this exercise. A total of 193 teams of 400 persons started the counting on Wednesday.
Gorumara National Park has been divided into 59 enumeration blocks with four persons for each block, taking the number of census workers to 236. The wildlife division there has deployed eight kunki elephants.
The census aims to track rhino population trends, sex ratio and age classification. It will also help in habitat monitoring, poaching threat asse-ssment and conservation pl-anning. Past records show an increase in rhino numbers, growing from 14 in 1985 to 292 in 2022 in Jaldapara. In 2022, Gorumara had 55 rhinos.
"We can't deny the rhino's role in tourism and conservation of the forest. Jaldapara's rhino population attracts over one lakh visitors annually. Rhino safaris support the local economy, benefiting 53 villages and nearby towns," said Jaldapara DFO Parveen Kaswan.
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