Kaziranga, Aug 27 (PTI) An adult male rhino was tonight gunned down by forest guards in "self-defence" at the Kaziranga National Park in upper Assam, a senior Forest Department official said.

An eight-member patrolling party of forest guards at Agratoli Range was attacked by the rhino at around 7 pm, Kaziranga Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Rohini Ballab Saikia said.

The guards first fired in the air to chase away the pachyderm, but when the rhino did not relent, "they were forced to fire at the animal in self-defence", killing it on the spot, Saikia said, adding that it is a rare instance.

Senior Park and Forest officials have rushed to the site, he said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)