Not just Leonardo DiCaprio, English batsman Kevin Pietersen once batted for Indian rhinos

Actor Leonardo DiCaprio praised the Assam government’s efforts to end the poaching of the endangered Indian rhinoceros in the state on Thursday, February 9. Taking to Instagram, the environmentalist pointed out how following the killing of around 190 animals for their horns between 2000 and 2021, the government under Himanta Biswa Sarma had set out to the goal of ending the poaching of one-horned rhinos in Kaziranga National Park.

"In 2021, they met their goal and no rhinos were poached in the area for the first time since 1977," he said in the post, noting that Kaziranga is home to 2,200 Greater one-horned rhinos which is about two-thirds of the world population.  He said that the triumph in India comes with more good news as the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) reports that the "world population of the rare rhino soared to around 3,700 from about 200 at the turn of the 20th century".

DiCaprio not the only one...

Notably, DiCaprio is not the only global face to have come forward and hail efforts towards protecting the Indian rhinos. On January 20, 2022, former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen praised the successful efforts to end the poaching of the endangered rhinos. On the picture-sharing platform, he hailed PM Modi and 'all the men and women who sacrifice their lives in protecting the animals in India too', and said he has met lots of them, who he respects 'immensely'. 

Pertinently, the population of one-horned rhinos at Kaziranga National Park has increased by 200 in the past four years. In a survey conducted in the month of March 2022, the number of animals in the park was pegged at 2,613, a sharp rise from the last survey conducted in 2018.