GUWAHATI, Feb 20 � Maju, a sub-adult rhino, was shifted to the Manas National Park from the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC), Kaziranga, today. The rhino will be released in the wild following a period of in-situ acclimatization in the UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Maju, a male, was less than a month old when he was found alone on September 10, 2009, at Baghmari area under the western range of Kaziranga National Park, another World Heritage Site. It could not be ascertained how he got separated from his mother.
�He was rescued and admitted at CWRC for rehabilitation. Following our proven rhino rehabilitation protocol, he was hand-reared. He is about four years old now, and will join another two sub-adult rhinos at the pre-released site at Manas which were shifted from CWRC in January this year,� a CWRC spokesperson said.
CWRC is a wildlife rehabilitation facility jointly run by the Assam Forest Department and International Fund for Animal Welfare - Wildlife Trust of India (IFAW-WTI). CWRC has been serving animals in distress in and around Kaziranga since 2002 and successfully rehabilitated rhinos since 2006.
Other than rhinos, CWRC has been involved in rescue and rehabilitation of about 3,500 animals since 2002 and more than 50 per cent of the rescued animals were successfully released in their natural habitat.
During the 400-km journey to Manas, the rhino was escorted by Dr Rathin Barman, Deputy Director and Dr Anjan Talukdar, veterinarian of IFAW-WTI. They were accompanied by CWRC animal keepers Lakhiram Das and Ramen Das, who had been taking care of the rhino at the centre.
