Guwahati:

A total of 31 animals have died so far due to drowning, while 82 others have been rescued from flood waters in the worst deluge in recent years inside the famed Kaziranga National Park, a park official said on Thursday.

The animal mortality includes 23 hog deer due to drowning in the Park and 15 during treatment.

The forest officials rescued 73 hog deer, two otters, two sambar deer, a scops owl, one rhino calf, an Indian hare and a jungle cat.

Currently, 20 animals are under treatment, while 31 others have been released after treatment, the official said.

A total of 11 animals had died due to drowning, while 65 others were rescued from the flood waters of the severely affected park till Wednesday.

Meanwhile, a Royal Bengal Tiger strayed into a neighbouring village in the Nagaon district from the flooded park and forest officials were trying to tranquilise the animal.

Police personnel were deployed to prevent any untoward incident, and control the people as panic gripped the village area.

Two persons were arrested for allegedly consuming venison, likely deer which had strayed from the Northern range of the Park in the Biswanath district.

Out of the total 233 camps in the Eastern Assam Wildlife Division, 95 were still inundated till Thursday evening as against the 141 during the day, the official said.

Forest department employees, including security personnel, stay in these camps inside the national park to conduct patrolling to protect the flora and fauna.

In the Eastern or Agoratoli range, 12 of the 34 camps have been inundated, while 31 of the 58 camps in the central range, 33 out of the 39 in the Western or Bagori range, eight out of the 25 in Burapahar and three out of the nine in Bokakhat were under flood waters.

Altogether seven camps have been vacated by the forest personnel so far – two in the central range, three in Bokakhat, and one each in Biswanath and Nagaon wildlife divisions.

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