Why in the News?
The Assam Forest Department is conducting DNA profiling of 2,500 rhino horns using the Rhino DNA Index System (RhODIS) to aid wildlife forensics and curb illegal trade.
What is Rhino DNA Index System (RhODIS)?
- Overview: It is a wildlife forensic tool designed to combat rhino poaching through DNA profiling.
- Development: It was originally developed by South Africa and later adapted for use in India.
- Working: The system helps build a genetic database of individual rhinos by collecting DNA from horns, tissues, dung, or blood samples.
- Utility: Each rhino has a unique DNA profile, making it possible to match confiscated horns with individual animals or poaching locations.
- Implementing Agency: In India, the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) is responsible for RhODIS genetic analysis under the RhODIS India program.
- Applications of RhODIS: The system plays a vital role in linking seized rhino horns to poaching incidents, providing admissible forensic evidence in court cases, tracking illegal wildlife trade routes and criminal networks, and monitoring genetic diversity and population health over time.
About One-Horned Rhinoceros:
- Overview: The Greater One-Horned Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) is a herbivorous megafauna species native to the Indian subcontinent.
- Distinctive Features: It is also called the Indian rhinoceros and is characterized by its single black horn and thick, armor-like skin.
- Conservation Status: It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, in Appendix I of CITES, and under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 (India).
- Major Habitats in India: Its primary habitats include Kaziranga, Pobitora, Manas, and Orang National Parks in Assam; Jaldapara and Gorumara National Parks in West Bengal; and the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve in Uttar Pradesh.
- Population Growth: Its has increased from around 1,500 in the 1980s to over 4,000 in 2024, with Assam alone holding 80% of the global population. Kaziranga National Park houses the largest population, with 2,613 rhinos as per 2022 data.
- Primary Threats: Major threats include poaching for horns driven by illegal wildlife trade and false beliefs about medicinal value, as well as habitat degradation due to floods, encroachment, and climate change.
- Indian Rhino Vision 2020 (Project Rhino): It was launched in 2005, aimed to spread the rhino population across seven protected areas.
| [UPSC 2019] Consider the following statements:
1. Asiatic lion is naturally found In India only. 2. Double-humped camel is naturally found in India only. 3. One-horned rhinoceros is naturally found in India only. Which of the statements given above is / are correct? Options: (a) 1 only* (b) 2 only (c) 1 and 3 only (d) 1, 2 and 3 |
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