Silchar: A Russian tourist sustained severe injuries after he was allegedly attacked by a wild rhino in Assam’s Kaziranga National Park (KNP), officials aware of the matter said on Friday. Forest officials said that a team rescued him from the Kohra Range of the national park on March 24.
According to officials, the tourist, identified as Nikita Koriaboksin, came to India on March 13 and reached Assam on March 16. However, his belongings, including his mobile phone, were stolen while travelling from Kolkata to Guwahati.
Forest officials said he was found near the Mora Diphlu River in an unconscious state on March 24 morning, from where he was rescued and taken to a government hospital in Kohra.
After initial treatment, he gained consciousness and later informed the media about the attack. Talking to the media on Friday, Koriaboksin said that he is a researcher on rhinos globally and has spent time with them in the past.
“After entering the forest, I found a calf and moved towards it without realising that the mother rhino was nearby. The mother attacked me, and I fell unconscious. I was rescued later,” he said.
KNP director Sonali Ghosh on Friday told HT the individual did not inform the authorities before entering the forest, and he also did not book any safari for the tour.
“Tourists from across the world visit the park, and we have a system to keep the balance between humans and wildlife. This person (Nikita Koriaboksin) broke this system, and we have handed him over to the police,” she said.
Golaghat district forest officials said they are not sure if the Russian tourist was attacked by the rhinos.
“We know the intensity of rhino attacks and what can happen to a human if a wild rhino charges. The injuries Koriaboksin showed were much less, we hope that the police will find the actual story,” said an official in the the know of the matter.
Golaghat superintendent of police (SP) Rajen Singh Koriaboksin is undergoing treatment, adding that no legal actions will be taken against him as no official complaint was lodged against him.