Guwahati, Sep 8 (IANS ) After the five-month monsoon break, the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve (KNPTR) in Assam would reopen for tourists on October 1 focusing on enhanced visitor experience and safety, officials said on Sunday.
Announcing the park reopening schedule, an official announcement said that in view of present road conditions and due to inclement weather, the Park is partially opened only for Jeep Safari in three ranges - Kaziranga Range Kohora, Western Range, Bagori and Burapahar Range.
Like previous years, the recent floods in Assam have claimed the lives of over 200 wild animals, including 10 rhinos at the KNPTR despite the authorities taking multi-pronged measures to save the lives of animals.
According to the KNPTR authorities, flood intensity this year was the highest in the last 10 years in terms of area inundation and depth of the flood water.
KNPTR Director Sonali Ghosh said that Kaziranga has witnessed all-time high floods this year with HFL (Highest Flood Level) recorded at 87.47 metres on July 1 at Nimatighat.
Forest and wildlife officials have also rescued over 150 wild animals.
The wildlife casualty this year includes 167 hog deer, 10 rhinos, two swamp deer, and two sambars. Fourteen wild animals including 10 hog deer died during treatment.
With the onset of monsoon, the world famous park is closed every year in May at the onset of monsoon.
India's seventh (fourth in natural) UNESCO world heritage site, the KNP & TR spread across several districts of Assam, including Golaghat, Nagaon, Sonitpur, Biswanath.
The famed national park is not just a home of more than 2,613 one-horned Indian rhinos, but also Royal Bengal tigers, Asian elephants, wild buffalos and many more animal species while it is also habitat to thousands of birds of over 125 species.