Kate's rhinos are saved! Six baby rhinos are plucked from the devastating floods at wildlife reserve where Duchess was enchanted on official tour

• e-mail

Six baby rhinos have been dramatically rescued from being washed away by floodwaters that swamped a national park in northeastern India.

Torrential monsoon rains have caused widespread flooding in Assam state and completely submerged Kaziranga National Park, home to two thirds of the world's one-horned rhino population.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited the 185-square-mile animal sanctuary in April and Kate was overjoyed at having the chance to feed a baby rhino and elephant calf.   

One of the six one-horned rhino calves that was rescued from being washed away by floodwaters at the Kaziranga National Park

Forest guards went out on their boats to save the rhinos that had been displaced by the torrential monsoon rains in northeastern India

Wildlife workers travelled through two villages by boat to save the rare animals from the Kaziranga National Park

Wildlife workers covered the face of a baby rhino with a cloth to prevent it getting alarmed before moving it to the conservation centre

The Duchess of Cambridge fed a baby rhino at the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation in Kaziranga, in April

A baby rhino gave Kate the runaround at the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation at Panbari reserve forest 

Prince William also tried his hand at feeding the calves, using a special bottle to give them milk or formula, during the Royal visit

Wildlife workers travelled by two villages by boat to save the six rhinos. A three-month-old male rhino calf a yearling female were rescued on July 26.

Four rhino calves were successfully saved from the floods two days later and all were admitted to the wildlife rescue centre for rehabilitation. 

Rathin Barman, a wildlife official in Kaziranga, said: 'Dehydrated and in distress, the babies have been wrapped in blankets. The staff has been bottle-feeding milk and vitamin supplements. The rhinos will be released into the wild after the flooding subsides and the calves recover. We are hoping they will be all fine soon.' 

The most dramatic rescue involved a male rhino calf, approximately six months old, trying desperately to find higher ground in the flood waters. 

Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi told the International Fund for Animal Welfare: 'All households here have their own boats since the area is flood prone. We somehow managed to drag the calf and tie it to a tree in front of a house.'

Two boats were then lashed together and the calf placed on one, with villagers acting as a counterweight on the other boat.

Dr Samshul Ali, a local vet who sustained a minor injury in the rescue operation, said: 'This was a first-of-its-kind rhino calf rescue in the present flood phase. We had to be very cautious with our handling of the animal, particularly during the boat journey.' 

Subhamoy Bhattacharjee, assistant manager at Awareness for Conservation, added: 'The courage and empathy of the flood-affected villagers deserves special mention here.

'The entire village came together, setting aside their own predicament, to save a baby animal.'

Indian forest officials and wildlife conservationists try to catch a baby rhino that strayed into an adjacent village after the floods

Forest officials said they have rescued six rhino calves from being washed away by floodwaters that have swamped the national park

During floods, hundreds of animals in the park move to the adjacent hills of Karbi Anglong for safety

There are currently 2,431 rhinos in Assam, 2,401 of which live in Kaziranga National Park - six baby rhinos were rescued by villagers

All of the rescued rhinos will stay at the conservation centre until the floodwaters recede and they will be released back into the wild.

At least one rhino drowned in the floods. Forest guards found its remains earlier this week in the park, which is located alongside the mighty Brahmaputra River which has breached its bank in several places. 

Earlier this week, a herd of elephants was photographed swimming through the flooded park and crossing a national highway for drier higher ground. 

Officials had also rescued seven hog deer from the floods, they said. 

Assam forest minister Pramila Rani Brahma told AFP that 'at least a dozen' animals have drowned or been hit by cars while crossing the highway or moving towards the adjoining Karbi Anglong Hills.

The rhino babies, aged between one month and one year, were pulled out using ropes from deeply flooded areas in the region

All of the rescued rhinos will stay at the conservation centre and will be released in the wild once the flood waters recede

An infant rhino calf stands near a human settlement following floods at the Kaziranga National Park, east of Gauhati, in north east India

A rhino lingered behind a motorbike when he tried to cross a national highway road near the national park 

The park in the state of Assam in the north east of India is a unique mix of grasslands, wetlands and forest and is more than 800,000 square kilometres in size and has designated a Unesco World Heritage Site.  

It is home to the world's largest population of rare, one-horned rhinos as well as other endangered species including swamp deer, tigers and the Hoolock gibbon.  

Floods triggered by heavy monsoon rains in Assam have killed three people and displaced more than a million over the past week, according to state government officials. 

Deer and buffaloes were seen on dry land after they escaped from the flooded national park in Assam, India