14 DAY TRIAL // News from India says that two poachers guilty of murdering a rhino have recently been killed by forest officials in the state of Assam.
Information made available to the public says that the run-in between the illegal hunters and the forest officials took place early Wednesday morning.
At the time when they were tracked down and shot dead, the poachers were inside a wildlife sanctuary in said state in India.
Daily Mail tells us that, according to the forest officials who were involved in this confrontation, a total of eight poachers entered the wildlife sanctuary earlier this week.
Together, they located and murdered a rare Indian rhino. They then chopped off its horn in order to sell in on the black market, the same source details.
Unfortunately for the poachers, forest officials heard the gunshots fired when the rhino was killed. They immediately arrived at the scene of the crime, looking to catch the illegal hunters in the act.
The poachers attacked the officials, and fired at them. The latter responded by firing their guns as well, and ended up killing two of the eight illegal hunters. The remaining six poachers managed to flee the scene of the incident, and took the horn with them.
Unfortunately, by the time the forest officials engaged the hunters and chased them away, it was too late to save the Indian rhino.
The protected area where the clash between poachers and authorities took place is dubbed the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary, and it is located at a distance of about 28 miles (approximately 45 kilometers) east of the city of Guwahati.
It is estimated that, for the time being, this region is home to little over 90 Indian rhinos. The International Union for Conservation of Nature considers this species to be in danger of going extinct, and conservationists estimate that just 3,000 such animals are left in the wild.
Although habitat loss is also an issue, the chief threats to the long-term survival of Indian rhinos are poaching activities.
As reported on several occasions, these animals are often targeted by illegal hunters who wish to get their hands on their horns. Once removed from the animals' body, the horns are sold on the black market, and used either to make medicine that some say can cure several diseases, or to manufacture trinkets.
Conservationists hope that, by convincing people to stop buying products made from rhino horn, they will manage to curb poaching operations and eventually save the species from going extinct.