MP: After Cheetah, Madhya Pradesh Launches Wild Buffalo Reintroduction Project, Species Had Gone Locally Extinct 50 Years Ago
Chief minister Mohan Yadav unveiled the wild buffalo reintroduction project in the state by releasing four animals in the Supkhar forest range: Reports
BHOPAL: In a fresh conservation milestone, Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday launched a project to reintroduce endangered wild buffalo, which had gone extinct locally around 50 years ago.
The major conservation measure comes in the wake of reintroduction of cheetahs, which had gone extinct in India in 1952, in the Kuno National Park (KNP) in Madhya Pradesh’s Sheopur district.
Chief minister Mohan Yadav unveiled the wild buffalo reintroduction project in the state by releasing four animals in the Supkhar forest range under Balaghat district in the Kanha Tiger Reserve (KTR) on Tuesday morning.
Four wild buffalos including three female ones were translocated from Kaziranga National Park in Assam to the KTR for reintroduction. They were soft-released (enclosure) for their acclimatization to the new environment and will be released into the wild after completing the mandatory quarantine period in the enclosure.
Official sources said that in the first phase of the project, seven sub-adult buffalos were identified between March 19 and April 26 from the Central and eastern ranges of Kaziranga for translocation to Kanha.
On April 25, four wild buffalos completed their 2,000 km journey from Kaziranga to reach the KTR.
The translocation was carried out under the supervision of the senior officials and experienced veterinarians from both Kaziranga and Kanha, a senior forest officer said.
“The reintroduction of this locally extinct species will enhance the biodiversity and play a crucial role in managing grassland ecosystems in Kanha”, the chief minister said.
He said that the day marks a historic occasion for Madhya Pradesh, as wild buffalos are being reintroduced after nearly a century.
The last wild buffalo was recorded in Madhya Pradesh in 1979.
They were last seen in the Supkhar zone.
The cheetahs were reintroduced in the KNP in September 2022 with translocation of eight cheetahs to the KNP from Namibia.
Six months later, 12 more cheetahs were brought to the KNP from South Africa.
The third batch of nine cheetahs were brought to the KNP from Botswana around a month ago.
The KNP currently has a population of 54 cheetahs, while three cheetahs were shifted to Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh from Kuno a year ago.