5 Vulnerable Rhinos Die From Possible Anthrax In India

Five female one-horned rhinoceroses died over a suspected infectious disease in Jaldapara National Park in India. According to officials, the creatures were found dead over the course of several days last week, prompting staff to be on high alert and rangers to suspend safari rides in the nature reserve.

The blood smears recovered from the bodies have already been sent to a Kolkata laboratory to help determine the animals’ cause of death but activists say that the animals may have died from a communicable disease such as anthrax since Jaldapara forest has had earlier cases of the communicable disease.

Because of the sudden deaths, rangers have reportedly been riding on elephants in order to reach the rhinos and vaccinate them.

Anthrax

Anthrax is a serious communicable disease that can naturally be found in soil and typically affects wild and domestic animals when they inhale or ingest the dormant spores of the bacteria. Once inside the animal’s body, the bacteria become activated, thereby producing toxins and causing severe illness or even death.

Anthrax remains common in southwestern Asia, southern and eastern Europe, the Caribbean, Central, and South America and sub-Saharan Africa. Although considered rare in the United States, sporadic outbreaks can still occur both in wild and domestic animals in the country. This is why the animals and livestock in places where there has been anthrax in the past have to receive yearly vaccinations.

Humans may also get directly or indirectly infected with anthrax if they come in contact with infected animals or contaminated animal products. It is worth noting that anthrax is not contagious, which means that it does not spread like the flu.

Vulnerable One-Horned Rhinos

One-horned rhinos are listed as vulnerable under the IUCN Red List. This means that the species is likely to become endangered unless the circumstances that are threatening its reproduction and survival improve. Such threats include habitat loss, human-rhino conflict and, most of all, illegal wildlife trade.

Unfortunately, all the rhinos that died in India last week were all adult females, which are crucial for reproduction.

That said, the recovery of the greater one-horned rhino is considered to be among the greatest conservation success stories in Asia after the species was pushed nearly to extinction because they were hunted for sport or killed as agricultural pests.

Today, thanks to strict protection and management from Nepalese and Indian authorities, there are about 3,500 one-horned rhinos in the world, two-thirds of which reside in India.