Guwahati, Oct. 17: Bullets crisscrossed the Agaratoli range of Kaziranga National Park in the wee hours today as rangers launched a massive operation to apprehend a gang of poachers who have sneaked into the park.

“We are going all out to apprehend the gang of poachers. We have also engaged elephants in the operation,” the divisional forest officer of Kaziranga, D. Gogoi, said.

The rangers stumbled upon a rhino carcass today near Naloni anti-poaching camp in the Agaratoli range, about 2km from the site of the gun battle.

The horn of the female rhino was, however, found intact.

According to Gogoi, it had died a natural death.

Acting on a tip off about a group of poachers entering the park last night, forest guards launched an operation using elephants at the Agaratoli range in the wee hours today.

Around 4am, the rangers spotted two poachers near the Arikati anti-poaching camp. When challenged, they opened fire at the forest guards.

“Our guards fired at them but the poachers managed to escape as the area was blanketed by a thick fog,” Gogoi said.

An axe and a pair of slippers were found at the site. Poachers generally use an axe to gouge out a rhino’s horn.

Gogoi said the two poachers were still holed up inside the forest and a search was on to apprehend them.

“We have alerted the police and the forest department in the neighbouring areas,” the official said.

Armed forest guards, mounted atop 10 elephants, have been scanning the national park since morning to locate the poachers as forest guards continued foot patrol.

Another forest official said poaching activities are likely to increase in Kaziranga and other rhino habitats in Assam with the onset of winter as poachers take advantage of the thick fog cover.

“It is very difficult to locate them inside the forest under the thick cover of fog and the poachers take advantage of this situation,” the official said.

He said in winter, the rangers had to depend entirely on intelligence inputs on the activities of poachers.

The national park, a World Heritage Site, has witnessed a series of gun battles between poachers and rangers in recent times.

On September 8, forest guards exchanged bullets with poachers at Bhokte chapori, near the national park.

The previous week, a gun battle took place at the Burapahar range of the park.

Poachers have killed 10 rhinos in Kaziranga this year.

This year, the park also witnessed the death of eight Royal Bengal tigers.

Two of the tigers are suspected to have been poisoned by the poachers.