Guwahati, Oct 1 : After the five-month monsoon break, the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve (KNPTR) in Assam reopened on Tuesday for tourists, focusing on enhancing visitor experience and safety.

Marking the beginning of the new tourism season, a colourful ceremony in connection with the reopening of KNPTR took place at the Western Range, Bagori, and was attended by distinguished guests, including local MPs and state ministers.

The event commenced with a traditional Puja, blessing the park and marking the start of the much awaited safari season.

On this occasion, Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. presented an animal rescue vehicle to support the national park's ongoing efforts in wildlife rescue and rehabilitation.

A unique wildlife themed 'Eco Shop' with over 50 products and souvenir items was also inaugurated at Bagori Range campus.

The sale proceeds from this unique, and one of its kind, 'Eco Shop', will support the forest staff's welfare society and the eco development committee around Kaziranga.

Additionally, a medicinal plants sale counter was launched at Memorial Park, Kohora, under the Golaghat Social Forestry Division, contributing to a more inclusive identity for forest ecotourism.

Park officials said that wildlife enthusiasts and tourists can now look forward to witnessing the park's iconic wildlife, including the endangered one-horned rhinoceros, tigers, elephants, and a variety of bird species.

New activities such as hiking, trekking, and bird trails will enhance the visitor experience, allowing deeper engagement with the park's natural wonders, the official added.

Adding to the significance of the day, a book titled "A Practitioners Guide to Photographic Monitoring of Asian Elephants for Science and Conservation", authored by Dr. Varun Goswami, Dr. Divya Vasudev and Parvathi K. Prasad was launched, providing valuable insights into the park's rich biodiversity and conservation journey.

Assam Ministers Chandra Mohan Patowary, Atul Bora, Keshab Mahanta, Lok Sabha member from Kaziranga Parliamentary Constituency Kamakhya Prasad Tasa, among others were present in the "reopening programme".

Like previous years, the recent flooding in Assam has claimed the lives of over 200 wild animals, including 10 rhinos at the KNPTR despite the authorities taking multi-pronged measures to save the lives of animals.

According to the KNPTR authorities, flood intensity this year was the highest in the last 10 years in terms of area inundation and depth of the flood water.

KNPTR Director Sonali Ghosh said that Kaziranga has witnessed all-time high floods this year with HFL (Highest Flood Level) recorded at 87.47 metres on July 1 at Nimatighat.

Forest and wildlife officials have also rescued over 150 wild animals.

The wildlife casualties this year include 167 hog deer, 10 rhinos, two swamp deer, and two sambars. Fourteen wild animals, including 10 hog deer, died during treatment.

With the onset of monsoon, the world famous park is closed every year in May at the onset of monsoon.

India's seventh (fourth in natural) UNESCO world heritage site, the KNPTR spread across several districts of Assam, including Golaghat, Nagaon, Sonitpur, Biswanath.

The world famous park is not just a home of more than 2,613 one-horned Indian rhinos, but also Royal Bengal tigers, Asian elephants, wild buffalos and many more animal species while it is also habitat to thousands of birds of over 125 species.

/IANS