Wild animals die in Assam floods

Animals in Kaziranga National Park [Photo:Reuters]

The devastating monsoon floods in the north-eastern Indian state of Assam have killed at least 559 animals, officials said.

More than 400 hog deer and 14 of the endangered one-horned rhinos have been found dead in the Kaziranga national park, they said.

Assam's Environment Minister Rokybul Hussain called it a "catastrophe".

Kaziranga is home to nearly two-thirds of the world's remaining one-horned rhinos.

The floods have also killed 121 people and displaced 2.2 million more.

The displaced have been put up in government shelters or have taken refuge with friends and relatives.

Officials say this is the worst flood in the state since 1998.

-BBC