Close on the heels of a rhino being killed by poachers in Kaziranga National Park (KNP) on Saturday, the carcass of a rhino calf was found in the park today.
This has taken the death toll of rhinos in the World Heritage Site to 14 since January this year.
The carcass was recovered by the personnel of Special Forest Protection Force and India Reserve Battalion during routine patrolling, park authorities said.
Forest department sources said the five-month-old calf died after being attacked by a tiger at Agarabil near Jamuguri camp under Kohora Range of the park.
The local people, however, claimed that the animal perished in a fire set by the KNP authorities to destroy the undergrowth in the park.
Prior to the monsoons, the dry wild grass is set ablaze every year for fresh grass to grow during the rainy season in the habitat of the one-horned rhinoceros.
On Saturday, a male rhino fell victim to poachers and its carcass was found with its horns, nails and patches of its skin removed at a spot between Kharoli and Borhola camp of Burapahar Range.
On March 1, a rhino was killed with an AK-47 rifle and its horns removed near Arikati forest camp.
