A joint team of the Assam forest department and Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation has rescued eight baby rhinos from Kaziranga National Park in past few days even as Assam continues to reel under floods. All the calves were aged between one month and a year, PTI reported.

Rathin Barman, Deputy Director of Wildlife Trust of India that runs the CWRC, said, “They were found separated from their mothers after being washed away in the floods. Some of them are suffering from severe trauma.” He added that apart from the one-horned rhinoceros, the team has also rescued around 50 hog deer who live in the Kaziranga and nearby forests.

Unlike the baby rhinos, the adults escaped to the Karbi Anglong hills on the southern side of Kaziranga, which does not get submerged during floods. Almost 90% of Kaziranga National Park has been inundated after torrential rain submerged 21 districts of the state.

Meanwhile, the toll among humans rose to 20 on Thursday after five more deaths were reported from different parts of Assam. Chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Thursday visited Majuli island on Brahmaputra, one of the worst-hit areas in the state. He had earlier announced Rs 4 lakh compensation for families of those who have died in the floods.

As many as 22 districts have been hit by the floods. The worst- affected ones are Lakhimpur, Golaghat, Bongaigaon, Jorhat, Dhemaji, Barpeta, Goalpara, Dhubri, Darrang, Morigaon and Sonitpur. The latest district to be submerged is South Kamrup, reported the Times of India.

More than 1.3 lakh people have been moved to relief camps, while the Army, National and State Disaster Response Force personnel are assisting rescue and relief efforts. More than 16 lakh people have been affected by the floods in the state. Brahmaputra and its tributaries are still flowing above the danger level in Guwahati, Jorhat, Sonitpur, Guwahati, Goalpara and Dhubri.