Endangered Species Reintroduction

The value of wildlife rehabilitation is sometimes questioned but in the case of rhinoceros in India, rehab animals are an important contributor to species conservation

It has been very exciting for me to watch the progress of the one-horned rhinoceros rehabilitation and reintroduction program in India. Two years ago I got to see the two younger females at CWRC. They were still taking milk but had learned to drink from a bucket. Watching them run across the paddock (or boma as it is called there) when the feed bucket appeared was quite comical.

But their potential role is far from funny. It is very important to the Indian rhinoceros and to the part rehabilitation can play in the recovery of endangered species. Translocation has been a controversial subject, as questions about whether the loss of translocated animals from the healthy population is acceptable. But with rehabilitated animals, there is no question. These animals have already technically been lost to the wild population. So they are the most logical choice for translocation and restocking of areas that have been poached out.

If these rhinos do well, other rehabilitated rhinos can be added to the population in Manas National Park, which would recover much more slowly otherwise. Once Manas is restocked, other national parks can be considered for similar reintroductions.

As a former wildlife rehabilitator, it is truly thrilling to see rehabilitation taken to the next step, being part of the recovery of an endangered species. I hope to be able to give you more news like this in the future.