Kaziranga National Park

Our position was extremely precarious. The seat, which was lashed to its (riding elephant's) back by a thick rope, had slipped, and hung dangerously on one side. We were dangling from it, with the rhino on its hind legs, its forefeet on the haunches of our elephant. If we let go of the rope we would have fallen down and the rhino would gore us to death. The forest guard somehow managed to swing the rifle from his shoulder and fired a shot in the air. Once…twice…! It had the desired effect. The rhino fled, but after chomping off a chunk of flesh, from the rump of the elephant!

Kamini Baruah of WILD GRASS RESORT , Kaziranga (The incident occurred during a Rhino Census at Kaziranga National Park) - As told to Rahul Sharma

Sandwiched between the mighty Brahmaputra and the Mikir Hills and only five hours drive from Guwahati, capital of Assam, lies the "land of a thousand rhinos", the 430km2 Kaziranga National Park. This Park is named after Kazir a legendary tribal princess who like "Sheena the Jungle Queen" could speak to and tame any wild creature. Like many other parks of India, Kaziranga was also a shikargah; the private hunting ground of the Ahom dynasty, which ruled Assam from the 14th to the 19th century AD.

Kaziranga National Park is a living repository of nature's bounty and several species of animals and birds reside within its limits. The beels (swamps) and other water-bodies, the grasslands and the low alluvial woodlands harbour more than 400 species of birds. Aquatic forms include geese, ducks, snipes, jaçanas, plovers, terns, pelicans, and sandpipers, while munias, weavers, warblers, grassbirds, babblers and chats represent grassland birds. Woodlands come alive with mynas, flycatchers, laughingthrushes, woodpeckers and minivets, as birds of prey like the eagles, falcons, buzzards, harriers and vultures hunt them from the skies above.

The Mammal register is as impressive with the Royal Bengal Tiger, Indian Elephant, the awesome Wild Buffalo, the imperial Gaur (largest ox in the world), the rare Hoolock Gibbon (the only ape found in India) and the Capped Langur, along with many other species, found here. However, the undisputed King of Kaziranga is the Great Indian One-horned Rhinoceros. This relative of horse battles for survival in the swamps and rain-soaked forests of Assam against poaching for its much-coveted horn, which is supposed to have medicinal properties. Thanks to an alert and dedicated forest staff of Kaziranga the rhino's future is in secure hands.