Into the Wild

They are husky. They are forceful. They are tough. They are the Rhinos. When they charge, humans discharge; otherwise we are dead meat. But hey, we are clever; just take a gun and shoot them.

Yesterday there was a report that a Rhino was shot for its horn in Kaziranga National Park in Assam. I thought, ‘’Poor animals, they pay the prize for living in unison with nature.’’ With a lot of issues being debated among the public, I was wondering, if this lone illegal act was going to draw any attention at all.

Today the sequencing report came with a headline, ‘CBI probe ordered into Rhino attacks; Centre takes serious view of the situation’. And I thought, ‘’Okay, the government is better than what I had anticipated’’. May be I should have grasped the plural form of attack. When I read the full report, my babyish happiness was poached away. Two other Rhinos had been shot the very next day, leaving one dead and the other in a critical state.

The National Park which is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has already lost quite a few animals due to the recent floods in Assam and this triple attack in two days irked the social activists into taking up a protest rally. The government has also ordered to deploy more frontline guards. Any debate on the government’s lack of immediate action could be futile, as history says humans are good in reacting, and not so efficient in pro acting.

It is true that laws on animal cruelty have been made strict over the years. In spite of the awareness created by numerous campaigns about saving wildlife, poaching is not on the decline. I don’t want to make this a normal news report by pointing out the statistics. The fact is, endangered animals are dwindling in number and they are dwindling fast.

It is evident from the current scenario that, the awareness spread is yet to reach the poachers and other wildlife smugglers. May be they are ignorant. May be they don’t understand the effect an extinction of species, has on the ecological balance. May be they think that chicken alone is sufficient and it can be grown in poultry farms. But what about the buyers of these poached animal products?

Poaching of a particular animal part indicates that there is a high demand for that particular part in the black market. Only the wealthy can afford to buy these and they must have been educated. There is every chance that those people understand what an ecological balance is. Are they willing to erode the ecological assets in order to have a prepossessing item in their showcase? If so, then doom is inevitable. Whatever the law might be, people will find a way to break it.

The government has said that the probe will be completed in a week and the perpetrators will be brought to justice. Unerringly, one can say that it’s going to be more than a week. In this case, the length of the tunnel matters less. But, is there light at the end of the tunnel?

Swasthika Sang