JUST SEVEN WILD BUFFALOES LEFT....

By Sanjeeb Baruah, Raipur, Sep 18: Chhattisgarh's state animal, thewild buffalo, is on its last legs. Only seven of the animals areregistered in the official records, and authorities are now thinkingof implementing drastic conservation measures.

The Udanti and Indravati wildlife sanctuaries in the state are theonly places in central India where genetically 'pure' wild buffaloes(bos bubalis) are to be found.Though some wild buffaloes are also found in Assam, Arunachal Pradeshand Meghalaya, it is not known how 'pure' they are genetically.

Wild buffaloes have become rare across India due to crossbreeding withdomestic buffaloes.Incidentally, despite the wild buffalo being the state animal, there are no previous records about its population figures. The first censuswas carried out this year.

Another sanctuary in Chhattisgarh known to have been home to the animals was Pamed, but there are no wild buffaloes left there."The matter is very serious. We have to start something soon," saidR.N. Mishra, principal chief conservator of forests.The Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) is to submit a report to thegovernment on the conservation measures being taken up."WTI has lined up a number of activities. These will be sent to thegovernment for approval. The forest department will initiate the work once it is approved," Rahul Kaul of WTI told IANS.Of the seven wild buffaloes in Udanti, only one is female."We need to take urgent steps to protect them since they are in verysmall numbers and may quickly become extinct," warned Prabal Sarkar ofWTI.He pointed out that population studies were never conducted at theforests in Indravati due to fear of attacks by Maoists. So it is notknown if there are any wild buffaloes there, but officials say thepossibility is highly unlikely."We brought the female buffalo and her calf to an enclosure inside theUdanti forests since we are planning to involve her in a captivebreeding programme after the calf stops drinking milk," said Mishra,the project supervisor."Each (conservation) activity will have a different timeline; somewill be completed early, while some over a longer period," Kaul added."Cattle grazing, encroachments, loss of natural water sources andfrequent forest fires have affected the habitat, leading to theirdecline," Mishra said.

"Hunting for meat by the locals has alsolowered their population."A state wildlife advisory board meeting was held last week and a plan to conserve wild buffaloes was discussed. The state forest minister,officials and conservation organisations attended the meet.Measures high on the agenda are: conduct a genetic study of wildbuffaloes, restrict domestic buffaloes in the sanctuaries, getadditional manpower to undertake conservation, and study the conditionof the animal's habitat.

Praveen Manikpuri