Hand-raised by the wildlife experts for more than six years at a rescue centre in Assam's Kaziranga National Park, the rhino calves were displaced from their natural habitat due to floods in the sanctuary.

"The trio are taking well to the surroundings. This is the first-ever attempt to reintroduce the rhinos in Manas which lost its 100 or so endangered species to poachers by the year 2000," said MC Malakar, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) and Chief Wildlife Warden, Assam.

Under its Vision 2020, the Assam Forest Department in collaboration with various NGOs such as Wildlife Trust of India-International Fund for Animal Welfare (WTI-IFAW) and World Wildlife Fund has begun translocation of the leathered quadrupled from Kaziranga in 2006.

The three female rhinos were rescued as orphans six years ago after there were displaced by floods in Kaziranga National Park.

"They were hand-raised by the WTI-IFAW run Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC), based near Kaziranga, before their translocation," said Rathin Barman, coordinator of WTI.

Before they were released to fend on their own, the rhinos were kept in a spacious 33 acre enclosed area, locally known as boma, near Manas sanctuary to protect them from predators while they underwent gradual acclimatisation to the new environment. PTI