GUWAHATI: Five poachers, including a sharpshooter from Manipur, who were about to kill a rhino at Orang National Park, were arrested by forest officials and police on Sunday evening.Mangaldoi wildlife divisional forest officer Sunnydeo Choudhury said the poachers had planned to sneak into Orang, located on the northern bank of the Brahmaputra around 150 km from here, at 11 pm on Sunday. "The poachers took shelter in the house of one Mafijuddin in Bechimari village in the buffer zone of the park. "We are interrogating the poachers to get more details," Choudhury added.A .303 rifle along with 22 live cartridges, a silencer pipe, a machete and food were seized from the poachers.Orang, also known as mini Kaziranga, lost its first rhino to poachers this year on June 30. Spread over 79.28 sq km, it has 100-odd rhinos. Orang is also a tiger habitat and was declared a tiger reserve in February this year.

Source: Times of India September 06, 2016 02:59 UTC