File picture of rhinos at Pobitora

Guwahati, March 15: In the sun-baked plains of Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary, the vegetation is starting to wilt and the water bodies are drying up.

The parched earth — and inhabitants of the forest — are thirsting for a drop.

A prolonged dry spell is beginning to take a toll on the sanctuary which has the world’s heaviest density of rhino population. According to the last count in 2009, 84 rhinos were found in the 38.8 square km sanctuary.

“If there is no rain in the next few days we will be in serious trouble. It is a crisis situation,” divisional forest officer S.K. Seal Sharma said today.

He said all the major water bodies inside the sanctuary have dried up, forcing animals to stray out frequently in search of water.

Apart from the huge rhino population, Pobitora, located in Morigaon district, has Asiatic buffalo, wild bear, leopard and wild cats and a large number of migratory birds.

Unlike the three other rhino habitats in the state — Kaziranga, Orang and Manas —Pobitora animals depend on small beels for water, as no major river flows near it.

The sanctuary is surrounded by villages.

“It will be difficult for the animals if these large water bodies dry up entirely, but there are still three to four feet of water in a few large beels,” he said. Another forest official said once the animals, especially the rhinos, stray out of the park, they become easy prey for poachers. Consequently, vigil has been intensified in the park.

A study conducted by Aaranyak, an NGO working for the preservation and restoration of the environment, had identified three major tracks through which rhinos stray out of the wildlife sanctuary — Kholabhuyan-Sildubi-Bonmuri-Murakata-Duboritoli/Hatimu-ria-Gagoldubi-Patekibori, Tamolidova-Kanjuli-Bhekenipathar-Hiloikhunda-Kurua and Kumarpur-Borbeela-Digaru. These tracks have been marked using the global positioning system (GPS).

The official said if there was no rain in the next few days, water bodies will have to be filled artificially. “We hope that it will rain soon and the Herculean task of re-filling the water bodies will not have to be taken up,” he said.