Forest department authorities have commenced the vaccination of rhinos and captive elephants against anthrax, closely monitoring animal movements following the demise of five Asiatic one-horned rhinos in four days at Jaldapara National Park in Jalpaiguri district. Samples from the deceased animals have been dispatched to state and national veterinary laboratories, with results pending.

Ravi Kant Sinha, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, stated, “We have been advised to vaccinate against anthrax, and we have initiated the process. We are not taking any chances.” Rajib Banerjee, the state Forest Minister, informed, “Postmortem has been conducted, and samples have been sent to labs in Bareilly and Kolkata. We are awaiting reports. Steps have been taken to fence parts of the national park to prevent domesticated animals from entering. Villagers have been instructed not to bring their animals for grazing. Intensive patrolling is ongoing, with a focus on monitoring all animals.”

Drones are deployed, and forest guards on trained elephants patrol the jungle to identify sick or deceased animals. Ujjal Ghosh, Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife, North), mentioned, “Our staff is on high alert. We have initiated rhino vaccination against anthrax within a 1 km radius of where the carcasses were found. Captive trained elephants used for patrolling are also receiving vaccinations. Awareness campaigns among villagers near the national park are being conducted.”

The carcass of a female rhino was discovered on February 18 at Malangi, and three more female rhinos were found at Sisamara over the subsequent three days. Another rhino, unwell during this period, also succumbed. Vaccination efforts commenced on February 22. An officer from the state forest department emphasized the preventive measures, stating, “We suspect it is a communicable disease causing the deaths, and we are taking no chances to prevent its spread to other wild and domestic animals in surrounding villages.”

Jaldapara National Park, situated in the Eastern Himalayan foothills in Alipurduar subdivision in north Bengal, spans 141 sq km and features the one-horned rhino as its main attraction. With over 280 rhinos in West Bengal, nearly 250 of them are located in Jaldapara. In 1986, the state had only 20 rhinos.