Why is it in the news?

• The Supreme Court has intervened to halt the Assam government’s attempt to de-notify Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary.

 About Pobitora WLS

• Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary is situated in the capital city of Guwahati, Assam.
• It is often referred to as ‘Mini Kaziranga’ due to its similar landscape, floral, and faunal characteristics to Kaziranga National Park.
• The sanctuary is renowned for its dense population of the Great Indian one-horned rhinoceros.
• Pobitora was initially declared a reserved forest in 1971 and later designated as a wildlife sanctuary in 1987.

About Great Indian one-horned rhinoceros

• The Great Indian one-horned rhinoceros is primarily found in the tall grasslands and forests in the foothills of the Himalayas.
• Its distribution extends across Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan, and the Indian states of Assam.
• Notable habitats for this species include Kaziranga National Park, Manas National Park, Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary (boasting the highest density of Indian rhinos in the world), Orang National Park, and Laokhowa Reserve Forest in Assam, as well as the Royal Chitwan National Park in Nepal.

Conservation status:

• IUCN Status: Vulnerable
• CITES: Appendix I, which indicates species threatened with extinction, allowing trade in specimens only under exceptional circumstances.