From 27 Rhinos Killed a Year to Zero: How an IFS Officer Took on Poaching Gangs in Kaziranga

In 2013 and 2014, Assam lost 27 rhinos to poaching each year.

Kaziranga National Park, which holds the world’s largest population of greater one-horned rhinoceroses, was at the heart of the battle. Organised poaching networks, difficult terrain and annual floods made protecting the animals an enormous challenge.

Less than a decade later, the numbers told a very different story.

In 2022, Assam recorded zero rhino poaching for the first time since 1977, making it the state’s first poaching-free year in 45 years.

The milestone emerged from years of work by forest officials, guards, police personnel and local communities. Among the officers helping strengthen and sustain this protection system is 1989-batch IFS officer Sandeep Kumar, who currently serves as Assam’s Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) and Head of Forest Force (HoFF).

From reacting to poachers to stopping them early

Between 2000 and 2021, at least 191 rhinos were poached across Assam. After peaking at 27 deaths each in 2013 and 2014, the number gradually fell to three in 2019, two in 2020 and two in 2021.

A key change came from treating poaching as an organised crime that required coordinated intelligence and enforcement.

In 2021, Assam constituted a Special Anti-Poaching Task Force, bringing forest and police personnel together to investigate poaching networks and improve the flow of information between agencies.

Over the years, Kaziranga’s protection system also expanded beyond foot patrols.

Drones, CCTV cameras, thermal imaging and electronic surveillance began supporting forest teams across vulnerable stretches of the park. Wireless communication improved coordination between camps, while intelligence networks helped officials monitor suspected poachers and identify threats before they reached the animals.

As Assam’s Chief Wildlife Warden from 2023 and later PCCF & HoFF, Kumar became part of the leadership responsible for strengthening this larger protection network.

Frontline forest staff received better equipment and training, while closer coordination between the Forest Department, police and other agencies helped authorities respond more quickly to suspected poaching attempts.

Protecting a hard-won gain

The 2022 milestone did not mean the threat had disappeared.

One rhino was poached in Assam in 2023, followed by two in 2024. Authorities intensified enforcement through measures including Operation Falcon, which targeted organised poaching gangs and helped foil multiple attempts.

In 2025, Assam once again recorded zero rhino poaching.

At Kaziranga, Field Director Dr Sonali Ghosh and hundreds of frontline personnel continue this work. Women forest guards, including members of the Van Durgas, patrol vulnerable areas and help gather intelligence from communities around the park.

Local residents and youth also form an important part of the protection network, sharing information about suspicious movement around villages bordering the reserve.

The gains extend beyond poaching numbers.

According to the 2022 census, Kaziranga’s rhino population stood at 2,613, up from 2,048 in 2009.

A little over a decade ago, Assam was losing as many as 27 rhinos to poachers in a single year. It has since recorded two zero-poaching years, in 2022 and 2025.

For Sandeep Kumar and the many officers, guards, police personnel and communities carrying this work forward, the transformation reflects what sustained conservation can achieve when intelligence, technology, enforcement and local participation work together.

Sources:

‘How Assam Achieved Zero Rhino Poaching in Kaziranga After Nearly 45 Years’: By Bhakti Kothari, Published on 11 June 2026

‘Sonali Ghosh: The keeper of Kaziranga’: by Pankti Mehta Kadakia, Published on 25 June 2026

‘Assam’s K9 sniffer dogs emerges as key force in Rhino protection efforts’: by The Assam Tribune, Published on 30 June 2026

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