POBITORA WILDLIFE SANCTUARY

14-03-2024

Why in news ?

One Of The World's Highest Concentrations Of One-Horned Rhinos
The Supreme Court on March 13 stayed the Assam government's move to withdraw the nearly 26-year-old notification constituting the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary.
The Assam Cabinet on March 10 had withdrawn the notification issued by the state forest department in 1998.
The decision comes a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve on March 9.
The Cabinet decision said the notification was issued unilaterally by the forest department without consulting the revenue department or even the chief minister.
The government argued that the sanctuary was declared without settling the rights of the people living in the villages of the area.
The government constituted a committee to look into the rights and claims of the forest dwellers in the area.

Date/Year	Constitution
1971	Declaration of Pobitora Reserve Forest
1969	Declaration of Raja Mayang Hill Reserve Forest
1998	Declaration as Sanctuary

The sanctuary is home to one of the world's highest concentrations of one-horned rhinos.
The sanctuary has a population of 107 rhinos, the highest density of the species in the world, according to a census carried out in 2022.
Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary is known for having the highest density of Greater One-horned Rhinoceros in the country.
Located in the suburbs of the capital Guwahati, it is considered a success story in terms of conservation and protection of rhinoceros lands.
River: on the southern bank of Brahmaputra River
The sanctuary includes the Rajamyong Reserve Forest and the Pobitora Reserve Forest. The hills of Rajamyong are home to many species including leopard, capped langur, porcupine, pangolin etc.
The grasslands of Pobitora are home to one-horned rhinoceros, wild water buffalo, monitor lizard, wild boar etc. Moreover, more than 375 species of birds.
Pobitora also has the distinction of being the source population of the Indian Rhinoceros Vision, 2020 (IRV), with 8 rhinos translocated from Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary and brought to Manas National Park.
Covering an area of 38.81 sq km, the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary was notified by the Assam forest department in March 1998

Discovery of Molecule That May Treat Rare Mitochondrial Diseases (2025)

World's First 'Black Hole Bomb' Created in a Lab (2025)

From Democracy to Emocracy: Understanding the Shift