Dibru Saikhowa National Park (Assam): More than half a decade since being rescued as young calves separated from their herds, two hand-raised wild buffaloes were released in Dibru Saikhowa National Park, Assam, by the Forest Department and International Fund for Animal Welfare – Wildlife Trust of India (IFAW-WTI), last week. The buffaloes are being remotely monitored with the help of radio-transmitters fitted on to them before their release.

“There are about 300 wild buffaloes in Dibru Saikhowa. The released buffaloes are being monitored and so far we have seen no aberrant behaviour. However, we have to look at the bigger picture in the long run. The released buffaloes face threats of confrontation from resident wild buffaloes, but such intraspecific conflicts are natural. I think they will be able to reintegrate into the wild,” said Aniruddha Dey, Divisional Forest Officer, Dibru Saikhowa.

Prior to the release, the two buffaloes were undergoing prolonged in situ acclimatisation in a spacious boma established within Dibru Saikhowa. They were hand-raised at the IFAW-WTI run Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) near Kaziranga National Park and were relocated to the boma in December 2006.

“The buffaloes were confined in this 3 ha boma to allow them to grow to adulthood at the site of their release and thus facilitate a soft-release, as they were hand-raised by humans. This method was also used for reintroduction of hand-raised rhinos in Manas National Park,” said Dr NVK Ashraf, Director, Wild Rescue Programme, WTI.

Dr Ian Robinson, Emergency Relief, Program Director, IFAW said, “It is so difficult to find remote places where animals can be released safely, free from conflict and poaching. The facility here is tremendous – isolated by the river, it’s a great place to release the animals. It does have its problems – with the flooding and the need to radiotrack on foot means a lot of hard work for everyone concerned. The quality of work on the ground, despite the remoteness is tremendous – more than a hundred people helped carry the cages with the buffaloes 2 kms across rough ground to the release boma; the wires and solar paneling material for this 3 hectare boma were ferried by boat and then bodily carried across the same distance… The coordination and collaboration with the Assam Forest Department and IFAW-WTI has been amazing. This is not common around the world, there is a great willingness to see animals go back to the wild – and that is the greatest satisfaction – wildlife belongs to the wild!”

The calves, both males, were rescued in August 2002 and November 2003 respectively in Kaziranga National Park. The first calf – barely a week old during rescue – was displaced from its herd due to the floods. The second calf was found alone in the forest.

In CWRC, the calves were kept in the mega-herbivore nursery, and were hand-raised by the veterinarians and animal keepers.

During the time that the calves spent in the boma for acclimatisation, they were looked after by the veterinarian and animal keepers of the Mobile Veterinary Service (MVS) Upper Assam. The animals were radio-collared on October 4 in preparation for their release.

“It helped that there were two individuals. The chances of successful rehabilitation of hand-raised wild animals is higher when there are more than a single individual,” said Dr Abhijit Bhawal, veterinarian, MVS Upper Assam.

“The two buffaloes have been ranging independent of each other. They have ventured at least 2 km away from the boma but they sometimes return and spend time within the boma. The younger buffalo had once remained with and followed ‘kuti’ (hamlet) buffaloes, but stopped short of entering human settlement. The most significant behaviour of these buffaloes is that they do not approach humans.”

With less than 4000 individuals estimated to be remaining in the wild across its distribution range, the wild buffalo (Bubalus arnee) is categorised as an ‘endangered’ species by the IUCN Red List. In India, wild buffaloes are found in Assam, and the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh and possibly in Madhya Pradesh. The species is listed in Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

Wild buffaloes predominantly inhabit alluvial grasslands, riparian forests and woodlands. A single population each survives in the Kosi Tapu Wildlife Reserve in Nepal and Royal Manas National Park in Bhutan. The wild buffalo is also reported from Cambodia, Myanmar and Thailand.

In India, threats to the wild buffalo includes interbreeding with domestic or feral buffaloes, as well as competition and disease transmission from the latter which are found foraging even in protected areas. In Assam, the calves are also displaced by natural calamities such as floods, or due to conflicts with humans.

“Dilution of genetic purity of the wild buffaloes through interbreeding with domestic buffaloes is possible. However, the chances of a domestic male breeding with a wild female is remote, considering the ferocity of the wild buffaloes. So the gene flow would be more from the wild to the households rather than the other way around. This has been substantiated by recent genetic studies,” said Dr Ashraf.