A female rhino of Kaziranga National Park was shot at and its horn and ear cut off by poachers in upper Assam's Golaghat district on Wednesday morning, while people blocked NH-37 in protest.
The poachers fired upon and seriously injured the pachyderm and then sawed away its horn and also cut off a part of its right ear in the Karbi Anglong hills across KNP, Divisional Forest Officer Dibjodhar Gogoi told PTI.
The rhino heavily bleeding from the area where its horn was taken away was struggling for life and veterinarians were attempting to save the animal, the forest officer said.
The rhino had on Tuesday night strayed out of the flood-hit forest and a search operation was launched till midnight to guide it back.
Gun shots were heard early on Wednesday morning and upon searching the east division of the Karbi Anglong hills the animal was found in an injured state, Gogoi said.
Protesting against the incident, locals along with the All Assam Students Union (AASU) and Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad (AJYCP) blocked the National Highway 37 passing by the side of KNP connecting upper and lower Assam.
The slogan shouting demonstrators also burnt the effigies of Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and Forest Minister Rockybul Hussain for allegedly failing to protect wildlife in Kaziranga.