Kaziranga National Park by guest blogger Rob Liddell

I was fortunate to observe the academic portion of the IUCN’s Asian Rhino Specialist Group meeting at the invitation of Dr. Susie Ellis of the IRF.  The meeting was held in Kaziranga National Park, Assam, India in February, 2010.  I spent many hours in the park observing the abundant wildlife, to include literally hundreds of the 2048 Greater One Horned Rhinos who live in the 430 sq. km. park. The riverine plains of Kaziranga are framed by 14-foot-tall elephant grass, creating a rich habitat for many endangered animals, to include rhinos, Asian elephants, Asiatic water buffalo, swamp deer, and the elusive Bengal Tiger.  Many species of birds are perched or flying overhead, to include the endangered Greater Indian Hornbill.
The park’s rhino capacity is at its limit, and there are plans underway to translocate rhinos from the park to other managed parks in Assam. These translocations will hopefully allow the goals of Indian Rhino Vision 2020 to become reality: to have 3000 rhinos in at least seven managed habitats within India by the year 2020.
This image was captured by a Canon EOS 50D and a Canon telephoto lens at a 300 mm focal length, and shutter priority of 1/320, with f 8.0 and ISO 800.
Rob Liddell
Seattle, Washington, USA