File picture of a rhino and her calf at Kaziranga National Park

Jan. 29: They will be the children of a new forest.

Two rare one-horned rhino calves, both around three years old, made conservation history today, when they were translocated from the overcrowded Kaziranga sanctuary to Manas National Park.

Early this morning, the two rhinos reached Manas as part of the unique conservation strategy. They not only got a new home, but new names as well. “They have been named Manasi and Roje in their new home. Both rhinos are fine,” Manas Tiger Park director Abhijit Rabha said over telephone from Bansbari this afternoon.

But what has made this initiative by the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) and other government agencies unique is the fact that Bodo rebels — both past and present — have been taken into confidence to protect the two Indian rhinos.

The duo travelled in style, in a couple of trucks which was part of a 13-vehicle motorcade. It covered the distance of 600-odd km in just over 12 hours.

Rabha added that the two rhinos are being kept in an electric fenced enclosure and will be fitted with radio collars tomorrow. “The well-being of the rhinos will decide the future course of our conservation efforts,” Rabha explained, adding that a hunt was on for a male rhino.

The status of Manas National Park was relegated from a World Heritage Site to a World Heritage Site in Danger after it was ravaged during the height of Bodo militancy in the eighties, both by rebels and poachers, owing to lack of effective policing.

Because of this, forest officials, conservationists and NGO workers spoke to militants for nearly a year and urged them to provide protection to the animals against poachers. Militants of the National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB) are active in this area under the Bodo Territorial Council (BTC), where the Manas park is located.

Experts agree that not just scientific expertise, people’s participation is a must for translocating wild animals in the sensitive northeastern region.

With conservation efforts, the rhino population has risen in Kaziranga, and conservationists believe that translocation would help prevent the species from being wiped out in case an epidemic strikes Kaziranga, the only place in the country where the Asian one-horned rhino is found. Manas, too, has a habitat congenial for rhinos.

“We spoke to groups of Bodo people because in case of a conflict, the rhino could be the first casualty,” said WTI executive director Vivek Menon. Many surrendered rebels have also joined the forest service. Wildlife enthusiasts hope they will now train their guns on poachers instead of the security forces.