Trained elephants were used to guide the stranded full grown one-horned rhino to a safe area before wildlife personnel tranquilised the two-tonne animal and put on the truck with stocks of fodder to transport it to Guwahati state zoo by road.
District Deputy Commissioner S K Roy said plans were dropped this evening to airlift the rhino that strayed from Pabitora aanctuary on September 29.
The Indian Air Force(IAF) had already carried out mock drills for airlifting the animal by a chopper.
Officials said it was later thought it would be safer to bring the animal by road as the spot from where it was being transported is only around 45 km from Guwahati.
Inclement weather had prevented the translocation for the past few days and the animal, which was stranded in the sandbars of Brahamputra river at Sualkuchi in Kamrup (Rural) district on September 29. The animal had strayed from its natural habitat at Pabitora wildlife sanctuary.
It was spotted today 20 km away in Uporhali Baghmari beel (waterbody) at Palasbari by locals who reported it to the authorities, district deputy commssioner S K Roy told PTI.
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Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF) Suresh Chand said the animal was under stress as it had been washed away from its habitat by strong currents of Brahmaputra river.
"But now it has had food and its health is satisfactory," he said.
Chand said it would be for the first time in the history of wildlife conservation in the country that a rhino would be airlifted if this had gone ahead.
An IAF chopper was also requisitioned from Bagdogra while specially trained IAF and and forest personnel were engaged in the airlifting drill using a special crane and mesh, he said.
Forest guards, veterinary doctors from the Guwahati state zoo and security forces were on hand to help in the operations to translocate the rhino.