The carcass of an adult female one-horned rhinoceros was recovered from the Ramsai forest area on the fringes of the Gorumara National Park in Jalpaiguri on Tuesday evening.

The death, possibly from infighting, sparked renewed concern across the Dooars region over wildlife conservation, as it came close on the heels of another rhino death caused by flooding.

Forest personnel from the Gorumara wildlife division spotted the carcass during a routine patrol aimed at monitoring wildlife movement and preventing poaching.

On recovering the carcass, the staff immediately informed higher authorities and secured the site before initiating a probe.

Dwijapratim Sen, the divisional forest officer of Gorumara wildlife division, said that the initial observations of injury marks on the carcass suggest its death resulted from fighting with a male rhino. “However, the exact cause of death will be confirmed only after we receive the post-mortem report,” he said.