If game hunters nearly decimated the rhino in the early 20th century, before Kaziranga was declared a reserved forest, poachers remain the greatest threat to the rhino.

The poachers adopt several means to kill the rhino for its horn, which supposedly possesses aphrodisiac properties. A rhino horn fetches approximately $50,000 a kilogram. The average weight of the Indian rhino horn is 750 grams.

A rhino horn is actually not a horn. It is a mass of several thousand agglutinated hair. A reasonably strong blow can dismantle it. Kaziranga's latest anti-poaching strategy comprises three stages: Pre-entry, post-entry and post-exit.

While the first stage involves gathering intelligence about poachers, the post-entry phase involves tracking poachers if they enter the park. Post-exit involves chasing and tracking poachers outside the park and co-ordination with the police and local informers is important.