Guwahati, May 23: Poachers struck for the first time in Pabitora Wildlife Sanctuary this year, electrocuting a female rhino and a calf this morning.
Divisional forest officer of Nagaon wildlife division Chandan Bora said the poachers had tied a naked wire to a bamboo pole and connected it to an overhead high tension line near the Tamulidova waterbody. ?The moment the animals came in contact with the wire, they were electrocuted,? Bora said.
Fifteen people have been rounded up for questioning, Bora said.
Experts said the poachers prefer electrocution, as it is a silent operation. They took away the horn of the female rhino, he added. The price of one kg of rhino horn is nearly Rs 12 lakh in the international market.
There were no incidents of poaching in the park in 2000 or 2001. According to the 1999 census, Pabitora has 75 rhinos, the highest density of the one-horned species in the world.