On January 20, 2026, two male rhinos, Chandra aged five and Kamal aged four, were released back into Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve. Both rhinos had been rescued as orphans during floods in August 2020 and August 2021. They lost their mothers before forest officials found them. Held at the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC), they were hand-raised with care to avoid human attachment. A CWRC spokesperson said, "The primary role of CWRC involves rescuing flood-distressed and orphaned animals, caring for them in a manner that they do not develop any attachment to humans, and rehabilitating fit individuals back into the wild through protocols like pre-release enclosures." Kaziranga, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, covers a core area of 430 sq. km. After careful planning and approval from Assam’s Chief Wildlife Warden, the rhinos were moved to a pre-release site. Here, they will get used to wild conditions before full release. The release operation was led by Bhaskar Choudhury from CWRC and veterinary officer Sourabh Buragohain. Other officials included Kaziranga’s field director Sonali Ghosh, divisional forest officer Arun Vignesh, and wildlife experts Rathin Barman, Kaushik Barua, and Anupam Sarmah. Established in 2002, the CWRC is a joint effort by Assam Forest Department, Wildlife Trust of India, and the International Fund for Animal Welfare. It has rescued 7,397 animals from 357 species, releasing about 65% back to nature. This includes 25 hand-raised rhinos, most released to Manas National Park, and two earlier to Kaziranga. As of now, one rhino calf remains under CWRC care.