19^th December, 2022, Raipur

The Conservation Action Report (CAR) on Central India Wild Buffalo Recovery Project was launched at the Chhattisgarh State Wildlife Board meeting by the Honourable Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, Shri Bhupesh Baghel, along with Forest Minister, Shri Mohammad Akbar.

CAR on conservation of Central Indian wild buffaloes released by Shri Bhupesh Baghel, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh State

While India harbours more than 80 per cent of the globally endangered wild buffaloes (Bubalis arnee), a small sub-population remains isolated in Chhattisgarh. Adapted to hard grounds, as opposed to their cousins in the wetlands of Assam, their numbers have been dwindling, with less than 50 accounted for in a baseline survey in 2005. Over the next 17 years, WTI, in collaboration with the Chhattisgarh Forest Department has been working on protecting the existing population alongside taking measures to restock it. This CAR details the various aspect of the project that has been running for almost two decades and the conservation goals arrived at.

According to Mr. Vivek Menon, Founder and Executive Director, Wildlife Trust of India, “WTI entered the state in 2005, when just sevenx animals were left in Udanti Wildlife Sanctuary, with one of them being a female. This meant that the distinct population of Central India was in severe risk of being extirpated. This report chronicles 15 years of conservation work with this endangered buffalo. However, the work is yet far from over. Global attention as well as central and state government funding is required for conserving the state animal of Chhattisgarh”.

“The maximum population at Udanti during the project period went on to 11 individuals. The state, through its technical collaboration with WTI, was also successful in translocating two individuals from Manas National Park in Assam to Barnawapara Wildlife Sanctuary, for conservation breeding, in 2020”, says Dr. Rajendra Mishra, Deputy Director and Project Head of Central India Wild Buffalo Recovery Project, WTI.

Chief Secretary Shri Amitabh Jain; Additional Chief Secretary Shri Subrat Sahu; Principal Secretary (Forest) Shri Manoj Kumar Pingua;  PCCF & HoFF Shri Sanjay Shukla; PCCF (WL) Shri P.V. Narsinga Rao, Wildlife board members and several senior forest officials were present at the occasion. PCCF (WL) briefed about the CAR and thanked Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) for providing technical support to the forest department since the last 17 years.

The report also highlights that the buffaloes in Udanti share haplotypes with wild individuals from Assam and even Maharashtra and, therefore could be used to augment the wild buffalo population in Udanti. However, “dwindling forest habitats, like the one Udanti –Sitanadi Tiger Reserve poses a grave threat to the transfer of wild gene pool and isolating this small wild buffalo population.

Through a three-year long pride campaign, WTI was able to work on removal of barriers to conservation awareness, by reaching out to about 4000 students, 3000+ villagers and 12 public service departments. The CAR highlights how a change in attitude and awareness was established using a variety of tools to reach out to all section of the society in the state.

The Central India Wild Buffalo Recovery Project is supported by Chhattisgarh Forest Department and Oracle.

Download the report