Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio took to Instagram lately to applaud the Assam government’s efforts to stop rhino poaching. The ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’ star penned a note highlighting the government’s accomplishment in ending the poaching of the endangered one-horned rhinoceros in Kaziranga National Park.
He wrote, "In 2021, the government of the Indian state of Assam set out to end the poaching of the Endangered Greater One-Horned Rhinoceros in Kaziranga National Park following the killing of around 190 animals for their horns between 2000 and 2021. In 2022, they met their goal and no rhinos were poached in the area for the first time since 1977.”
"Kaziranga National Park is home to 2,200 Greater One-horned Rhinos, which is about two-thirds of the world's population. This triumph in India also comes with more good news, as @wwf also reports that the world population of the rare rhino soared to around 3,700 from about 200 at the turn of the 20th century," he added.
Assam’s Kaziranga National Park is the biggest habitat for one-horned rhinos globally and draws visitors from across the globe. An ardent environmentalist, Leonardo has worked to protect endangered species through his Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation (LDF).
The LDF donated USD 1 million to an innovative Nepalese conservation project to preserve the country’s wild tiger population. It has also funded projects to protect the Black Rhino in Tanzania, the lowland gorilla in Central Africa, and the snow leopard in Central Asia.