Guwahati: A rhino calf was born in Manas National Park, marking another milestone in the conservation of the Unesco World Heritage Site.The birth is significant because it extends the lineage of Ganga, a rhino rescued during floods in Assam. Ganga’s family has since become a symbol of wildlife rehabilitation and reintroduction efforts in Manas.Taking to X on Saturday, chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said: “Remember Ganga, the rhino rescued from the Brahmaputra floods? She’s now a granny. Her daughter, Ganga-A, has given birth to an adorable calf at Manas National Park. One rescued rhino has become three generations thriving in the wild. That’s what conservation looks like.”Ganga-A, a greater one-horned rhinoceros, was born and raised in Manas National Park. Officials believe she is Ganga’s first daughter. Ganga was rescued as a four-month-old calf in 2004.“The calf is currently healthy and under the care of the forest department. The calf was born approximately 10-15 days ago and is presently in the Bansbari range of the national park,” a forest official said.After her rescue, Ganga was taken to Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC), jointly run by International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), under the care of the forest department. She was hand-reared for nearly three years before being moved to a specially designed enclosure in Manas in 2008, along with two other female rhinos, Mainao and Jamuna.The move was part of an effort to restore the park’s rhino population, which had become locally extinct. After spending three years acclimatising to her new surroundings, Ganga was released into the wild in 2010.
