Pobitora wildlife sanctuary

About Pobitora wildlife sanctuary

• Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary, situated in the flood plains of River Brahmaputra in the district of Morigaon, Assam.
• The sanctuary is famous for its one-horned rhinos.
• POBITORA WILDLIFE SANCTUARY harbors the highest density of Rhino in the world and second highest concentration of Rhino in Assam after Kaziranga National Park.
• The sanctuary also runs a successful Rhino breeding program called the "Indian Rhino vision 2020" within its premises.
  • The program is an ambitious effort to attain a wild population of at least 3,000 greater one-horned rhinos spread over seven protected areas in the state by 2020. 
• The five rhino range nations (India, Bhutan, Nepal, Indonesia, and Malaysia) have signed a declaration ‘The New Delhi Declaration on Asian Rhinos 2019’ for the conservation and protection of the species.
• Under this program, the Assam Forest Department has partnered with Bodoland Territorial Council, Government of India, the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF), and the US Fish and Wildlife Service to address the threats facing Indian rhinos. 
• Besides rhinos, this sanctuary is also home to other animals like the leopard, wild boar, barking deer, and wild buffalo among others.
• There are also more than 2,000 migratory birds and various reptiles and is an important nesting site in the region.

About One Horned Rhino

• The greater one-horned rhino (or “Indian rhino”) is the largest of the rhino species.
• The species is solitary, except when adult males or rhinos nearing adulthood gather at wallows or to graze.
• It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.
• Globally, Rhinoceros unicornis has been listed in CITES Appendix I since 1975.
• The Indian rhinoceros is one of the motifs on the Pashupati seal and many terracotta figurines that were excavated at archaeological sites of the Indus Valley civilization.