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Kaziranga National Park To Get New Drones That Stay Up 5 Hours To Curb Rhino Poaching

The drones will keep vigil on areas that cannot be accessed by foot.
Rhinos at Assam's Kaziranga National Park in a file photo.
FIFA via Getty Images
Rhinos at Assam's Kaziranga National Park in a file photo.

The Kaziranga National Park in Assam had been using drones to keep a vigil on areas of the forest that are difficult to access by foot. Now it is set to get a bunch of drones that can stay in the air for five hours.

The Indian Express quoted Assam Environment and Forest Minister Parimal Suklabaidya as saying, "The products are expected to be received in around two months. These drones are expected to be able to fly for 4-5 hours and take high quality footage. The new drones will overcome the time and maximum height limitation that the earlier ones had."

The drones are meant to curb poaching of the one-horned rhinos that reside in the park. The report says the park already has three drones.

The report also quoted NK Vasu, principal chief conservator of forest and head of forest force in Assam, as saying that the Wildlife Institute of India would customise these drones for keeping a watch on the wildlife in the Kaziranga forest and to increase their longevity.

Poaching has been a big problem for the park which saw over 500 rhinos being killed in the last two decades, The Indian Express had reported a couple of months ago.

The report said that a census showed the park had also added 12 rhinos to its number since 2015.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.