Asian Wild Water-Buffalo (Bubalus arnee)

[Rishi]

UP looking to reintroduce water-buffaloes to Dudhwa from Assam

*This image is copyright of its original author

After successfully translocating rhinos from Assam to Dudhwa Tiger Reserve 35 years ago,, forest officials are now propose to repopulate the jungles with Asiatic buffaloes, also called wild water buffalo. A proposal to the effect has been sent to the state government but the project is yet to receive an approval.

Dudhwa forests used to have population of water buffaloes in the past but they became extinct with time because of reasons still not known. Its habitat supports breeding of this species, which is listed as endangered in the IUCN Red list of wildlife species.

This idea to reintroduce the wild buffalo in Dudhwa was the brainchild of then field director Ramesh Pandey. It was sent for approval in 2018. Now the proposal has been sent again, after a project to translocate 5 female wild buffaloes from Assam to Chhattisgarh was approved by the respective state government to boost its population.

*This image is copyright of its original author

With plenty of swamy grassland, Dudhwa Tiger Reserve covers an area of 1,285 sq.km stretching across the Lakhimpur Kheri & Bahraich districts. Compriseing the Dudhwa National Park, Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary, Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary it includes three large forest fragments amidst the matrix dominated by agriculture. It shares the north-eastern boundary with Nepal, which is defined to a large extent by the Mohana River.The area is a vast alluvial floodplain traversed by numerous rivers and streams flowing in south-easterly direction.

WWF-India Mudit Gupta said about the possibility of reintroduction of wild buffaloes in Dudhwa, “Habitat here is quite similar to Kaziranga in Assam. Many species like swamp deer & hog deer exist in both places. Earlier, rhinos were successfully reintroduced here. There is a great possibility that the habitat will support wild buffalo. However, detailed habitat assessment exercise is needed to be done once the project is approved. Because wild buffalo is a mega herbivore like elephants and rhinos, it will help in effective grassland management in a natural way. Grassland management helps in the existence of small herbivores and prevents incidents like forest fire.”

Sources:
https://nenow.in/north-east-news/dudhwa-...assam.html
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/artic...483793.cms Reply