Introduction:
Memorial made of ashes collected from rhino horns were unveiled recently at the Kaziranga National Park in Assam.
Highlights:
- The memorial having three rhino sculptures was named “Abode of the Unicorns”.
- It has one male rhino, a female rhino and a calf.
- It also has three statutes of forest guards, created using different materials.
- The male rhino is 10.5 feet long and 6 feet tall, the female is 11 feet long and 5.6 feet tall and the calf is 3.5 feet long and 1.5 feet tall.
- The rhino statues were created using ashes collected from around 2,500 rhino horns that burnt to flames by the Assam Government.
- On the occasion of World Rhino Day (September 22) last year, rhino horns were burnt cinders remotely using drones at the Kaziranga National Park.
- They were collected or seized over the past 40 years.
- The statues were made using around 128 kg of ash obtained from these burnt horns.
- They were created by sculptors Biju Das.
- The statues of the forest guards were sculpted by Biren Singha.
- It took four months to create these statues.
- The memorial was unveiled by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
- The estimated cost of this project is Rs.10 to 12 lakh.
About Kaziranga National Park
Kaziranga National Park in Assam hosts the world’s largest population of one-horned rhinos. It is situated at the edge of the Eastern Himalayan biodiversity hotspots – Golaghat and Nagaon districts. It was declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the year 1985. According to the latest State of Rhino Report, the national park hosts 2,613 rhinos – the highest in India.
State of Rhino Report
According to the State of Rhino Report 2022, released by the International Rhino Foundation, one-horned rhinos’ population in India, Nepal and Bhutan has increased while the population of rhinos in Africa and Indonesia either fell or saw only a slight rise. The estimated population of one-horned rhinos is 4,014. The population is surging mainly because of efforts of governments of India and Nepal towards expanding the natural habitats and anti-poaching activities.