In unsuspecting Indian villages, the international rhino horn trade takes a toll

This is the first article in a two-part series on poaching in Jaldapara National Park. Part Two, which looks at prevention and enforcement efforts, will be published May 24. JALDAPARA NATIONAL PARK, India — Tucked among the tall trees of Jaldapara National Park, in the Himalayan foothills of India’s West Bengal state, Kodalbasti village is home to about 265 families. The corrugated rooftops of their homes dot the green landscape, slender betel palm trees swaying above. Despite the peaceful scenery, a current of suspicion runs through the village. Outsiders who pass through are met with wary stares, surreptitiously followed, and even questioned about the purpose of their visits. This small community is one of 12 villages within the boundaries of the 216.5-square-kilometer (83.6-square-mile) park. Another 48 lie on its periphery, bringing the area’s human population to more than 100,000. These people, who belong to forest-dwelling tribal communities including the Rava, Bodo and Adivasi, share Jaldapara’s Sal forests, grassy floodplains and bamboo breaks with around 200 greater one-horned rhinos (Rhinoceros unicornis). Two such arrests occurred in Kodalbasti village after the Feb. 5 poaching of a rhino in the park’s Kodalbasti Range, about 3 kilometers (1.9 miles) to the east. This brush with the law explains the villagers’ wary attitude toward outside visitors, says Goben Rava, a village resident and member of the local Joint Forest Management Committee (JFMC), which works with the forest department to protect and manage the park. “Who knows? Under the garb of inquiring about forests and rhinos,…

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