PATNA, Sept. 23 -- Solidifying Bihar's crowning achievement in wildlife conservation, Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park (Patna Zoo) has retained its status as home to the highest number of one-horned rhinoceroses across India for the tenth consecutive year, according to the annual assessment by the state's ministry of environment and climate change. The ministry evaluated Indian zoos using the Management Effectiveness Evaluation of Zoos (MEE-ZOO) framework. Housing 10 rhinos, the Patna facility edges past Assam State Zoo, which stands second with seven. Backing this milestone is an enviable conservation benchmark: an unprecedented 100 percent survival rate for calves born on the facility's grounds. Since initiating its breeding program in 1988, the park has welcomed 40 rhino calves into the world. Authorities credit this sustained dominance to the country's sole dedicated rhinoceros conservation breeding centre. Featuring specialised wetland-mimicking enclosures, rigorous veterinary protocols, and 24/7 monitoring, the park has turned captive care into a global masterclass. Anchoring this legacy is "Rani," the zoo's 37-year-old matriarch who remains active after birthing six calves. Operating under the Central Zoo Authority's framework, Patna-born rhinos have reinforced gene pools in facilities across Delhi, Kanpur, Hyderabad, Chennai, Ranchi, and the United States. In return, Patna has acquired high-profile additions including Royal Bengal tigers, giraffes, and Indian gaur. Marking World Rhino Day on Tuesday, Bihar environment, forest, and climate change minister Ram Chandra Prasad lauded the park's triumph while announcing sweeping welfare reforms for frontline caretakers. Acknowledging the perils of managing unpredictable megafauna, Prasad declared that zoo staff who routinely risk their lives taking care of the animals will no longer be treated as unskilled labour. "I have directed officials to elevate these workers to the skilled category so their compensation reflects the genuine risks and demands of their service," Prasad said. "Bihar and Patna hold the foremost position in conservation of one-horned rhinoceroses, and that stands on the shoulders of exemplary everyday care," he said. Underlining the ecological importance of rhinos, the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Bihar, Arvind Singh, remarked that rhinos shape the landscape through their diet and behaviour, enhance local biodiversity, and maintain the balance of grasslands and forests. For these reasons, the rhinoceros is aptly called the "engineer of the ecosystem," Singh said. Turning his attention beyond the enclosures, Prasad issued a stern directive to highway developers cutting transit corridors, including routes toward Gaya. Reaffirming the state's compensatory green policy, he noted that road-building No Objection Certificates (NOCs) mandate planting 10 saplings for every felled tree. Contractors failing to plant roadside vegetation immediately must deposit mandatory fees, allowing forest authorities to lead the drives directly. "Barren stretches along our highways will not remain bare," Prasad asserted, pledging rapid afforestation to combat localised climate threats across the state....