Assam CM Invites Leonardo DiCaprio To Visit Kaziranga National Park After Actor Lauds Rhino Conservation Efforts

The Hollywood actor lauded the state government for its efforts to stop rhino poaching.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday extended an invitation to Leonardo DiCaprio to visit Kaziranga National Park after the Hollywood actor lauded the state government for its efforts to stop rhino poaching. 

In an Instagram post, DiCaprio wrote that the efforts of the Assam government that started in 2021 met success the next year when no rhinos were poached in Kaziranga National Park. 

CM Sarma thanked DiCaprio for his kind words and said that he is dedicated to persevering and safeguarding India's rich cultural heritage.  He also shared a screenshot of the Instagram post by DiCaprio praising the government's efforts.

The tweet read, "Preserving wildlife is integral to our cultural identity. We are dedicated to persevering and safeguarding our rich cultural heritage. Thank you for your kind words, @LeoDiCaprio, and I extend a warm invitation to you to visit @kaziranga_ and Assam."

The Academy-award-winning actor stated that after 190 pachyderms were killed between 2000 and 2021 for their horns, the Assam government came into action to put an end poaching of the greater one-horned rhinoceros in Kaziranga National Park.

In addition, DiCaprio noted that the national park is home to 2,200 rhinos, which is around one-third of the rhino population worldwide. Citing a World Wildlife Fund report, he added that the global population of the endangered rhino has increased dramatically since the turn of the 20th century, rising from 200 to roughly 3,700.

On January 1, the state government had announced that no poaching case of the endangered animal was reported in the state in 2022. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and many other global environmentalists praised it as well. The Assam government formed a special Anti-Poaching Task Force in July 2021 to combat poaching. Poaching was at its lowest in 21 years that year, with only one case reported.

In 2021, CM Sarma had stated that there are myths in some sections that lead to rhinoceros slaughter. In order to break that record, he burned 2,500 rhino horns in September of that year.

(With inputs from PTI)