Cross-Border Movement Poses New Challenges for Reintroduced Rhino Population in Manas

Population Growth

Twenty years ago, western Assam's Manas National Park and Tiger Reserve had no one-horned rhinos left after civil unrest and poaching wiped out about 100 animals between the late 1980s and early 2000s. A reintroduction programme starting in 2006 helped bring the number up to an estimated 48 rhinos today, alongside three straight years of zero poaching. An initiative under the Indian Rhino Vision 2020 moved 22 rhinos from Kaziranga National Park and Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary to Manas between 2006 and 2021, while another 20 orphaned rhinos were released from the Centre for Wildlife and Rehabilitation Centre near Kaziranga.

Conservation Challenge

While the park now has a breeding and self-sustaining population, authorities and experts meeting on World Rhino Day on September 22, 2026, pointed out a new issue. Some of the rhinos are frequently crossing the international border into Bhutan. The 2,837 square kilometre Manas Tiger Reserve shares a border with the 1,057 square kilometre Royal Manas National Park in Bhutan. Because of this movement, rhino specialists have called for a policy shift to make Bhutan a conservation partner through a joint management mechanism.

Community Role

Conservation scientist Deba Kumar Dutta noted that local people want more rhinos because the animals draw tourists. Additional Chief Conservator of Forests and Bodoland Territorial Council forest department head Sonali Ghosh credited the recovery to people living on the fringes of the reserve. Forest officials agreed that India and Bhutan need to work together to protect rhinos, tigers, elephants, and the transboundary landscape.