Alipurduar, June 29 -- The Jaldapara Wildlife Division has emerged as a national model in wildlife conservation, recording zero rhino poaching incidents for more than four years while achieving a 100 per cent conviction rate in wildlife crime cases during the 2025-26 financial year.

The achievement follows an equally impressive 2024-25, when the division secured convictions in 17 cases, including eight wildlife crime cases-a feat widely regarded as a record for any wildlife division in the country.

According to data released by the Forest Department on Sunday, no one-horned rhinoceros was poached in Jaldapara National Park between 2022 and June 28, 2026, marking the longest poaching-free period in the park's history. During 2025-26, the division secured convictions against 22 accused in 13 wildlife crime cases. Of these, 10 cases were prosecuted under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, and three under the Indian Forest Act.

Spread across 216.51 sq km, Jaldapara National Park is home to more than 300 one-horned rhinoceroses. Their population had dwindled to just 14 in 1984 due to rampant poaching. However, sustained conservation efforts, including Joint Forest Management, have helped the species recover steadily over the past four decades.

Forest officials described the twin achievements as a landmark in rhino conservation and wildlife law enforcement. They attributed the success to a robust protection and intelligence network that has curbed the trafficking of rhino horns, elephant tusks, leopard skins, pangolin scales and skulls, live pangolins, tokay geckos, as well as deer meat and antlers.

Jaldapara Divisional Forest Officer Parveen Kaswan credited the achievement to the dedication and coordinated efforts of forest personnel. Among the most significant convictions was that of a wildlife trafficker sentenced by a Jalpaiguri court on October 29, 2025, to seven years' rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs.1 lakh for smuggling rhino horns under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

Welcoming the achievement, West Bengal Forest Minister Manoj Kumar Oraon said, "This is undoubtedly a remarkable achievement. We must sustain this success.

There is no room for complacency. When it comes to the protection of forests and wildlife, we have adopted a zero-tolerance policy."

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.