Zero Indian rhinos poached for the first time in 45 years

The year has started off with a great conservation success.

IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare) and WTI (Wildlife Trust of India) have congratulated the Assam government and local communities on the achievement that no rhinos were poached in the Indian state in 2022.

This achievement marks the first time there have been zero poaching incidents in the region in 45 years. It follows strong public action on burning 2,500 rhino horns seized from poachers last year.

Assam, home to the world’s largest population of one-horned rhinos, has nearly 2,900 animals across the region today. The species was once widespread across the entire northern region of India, but was pushed to the brink of extinction due to poaching in the early ‘90s. According to Assam authorities, the last recorded date a rhino was poached was on 28 December 2021.

Thanks to conservation efforts, the species has now doubled in population across north-eastern India. This sets a global example on how we can change the narrative and improve the future for a species.

The greater one-horned rhino, otherwise known as the Indian rhino, is easily identifiable by its single horn – which is only present in adult rhinos. Their horn can measure up to approximately 10 inches and weighs around 7 lbs. The greater one-horned rhino uses its horn to defend its territory, protect its calves from other rhinos and predators, and for foraging – such as digging for water and breaking branches. As a megaherbivore, these rhinos play an important role within their ecosystem and are relied on by other herbivores.

IFAW and WTI have been honoured to work alongside the Assam government and communities on the long-term enforcement and reduction of rhino horn poaching, as well as the vital recovery of rhino habitats such as Kaziranga National Park and Manas National Park.

Manas National Park is home to diverse wildlife, including tigers, Asian elephants, one-horned rhinos, golden langurs, swamp deer and clouded leopards. Civil unrest in the 1980s and early 1990s left the landscape vulnerable to poaching, deforestation and fragmentation. Wildlife populations were severely impacted and nearly all of the park’s existing rhino population was wiped out.

As the region stabilised, IFAW began working with WTI and the Assam Forest Department to repopulate the park and re-establish it as one of the most exceptional wildlife parks in the world through our Greater Manas Recovery Project.

The partnership between IFAW and WTI has made huge progress in ensuring that rhinos and other wildlife have a safe and secure habitat. Key to the partnership is community engagement activities to reduce dependency on forest resources. This includes working closely with strong local institutions, promoting smart agriculture and livestock monitoring as an alternative for forest-dependent households.

We will continue to be here in Assam to support this work on the ground, doing what we do best, with the government and communities.

PHILLIP KUVAWOGA / IFAW Landscape Conservation Director

ON 22 MARCH 2017, THE FIRST INDUSTRY BRIEFING BETWEEN IFAW (INTERNATIONAL FUND FOR ANIMAL WELFARE) AND AUCTIONEERS AND ANTIQUE DEALERS FROM AUSTRALIA TOOK PLACE, WITH THE VIEW TO ENDING THE AUCTION AND ANTIQUES TRADE IN RHINOCEROS HORN AND IVORY. THAT SAME YEAR, LEONARD JOEL INTRODUCED A VOLUNTARY CESSATION POLICY AND WE ARE PROUD TO NO LONGER SELL THESE MATERIALS. IN THE "22ND REPORT", IFAW SHARE THE LATEST NEWS ON THEIR CONSERVATION PROJECTS AROUND THE WORLD.