The book ‘ BACK FROM THE BRINK ‘ written by Wildlife Trust of India on the conservation of wild buffaloes
Raipur, 19 December 2022
Chief Minister Mr. Bhupesh Baghel and Forest Minister Mr. Mohammad Akbar today presented a special book ‘Back from the Brink’ written by Wildlife Trust of India on the conservation of state animal wild buffaloes of Chhattisgarh; BACK FROM THE BRINK is released.
Chief Secretary Mr. Amitabh Jain, Additional Chief Secretary Mr. Subrat Sahu, Principal Secretary Forest Mr. Manoj Kumar Pingua, PCCF and Chief of Forest Force Mr. Sanjay Shukla, PCCF (Wildlife) on the occasion of release in the meeting of Chhattisgarh State Wildlife Board held at Chief Minister’s residence. Shri P.V. Narasimha Rao and members of the State Wildlife Board, along with several senior forest officials of the state were also present. On this occasion, Chief Wildlife Warden Mr. Narasimha Rao gave information about this special book written on wild buffaloes and thanked Wildlife Trust of India for the technical cooperation from the Forest Department for the last 17 years.
Significantly, India is home to more than 80 percent of the globally endangered wild buffalo (Buvalis arni). In Chhattisgarh, the number of forest buffaloes in hard ground has reduced to less than 50. The number of forest buffalo in the wetlands of Assam is around 4000. For the last 17 years, WTI is working with the Chhattisgarh Forest Department on conservation and promotion of forest buffaloes. This book gives a detailed description of the goal of conservation along with the description of various aspects of the project which has been going on for the last two decades.
According to Mr. Vivek Menon, Founder and Executive Director of Wildlife Trust of India, when WTI started functioning in the state in 2005, there were only six wild buffaloes left in the Udanti sanctuary including one female. This meant that the isolated populations of central India were at serious risk of extinction. This report chronicles 15 years of conservation work with the endangered forest buffalo. However, the work is not over yet. Conservation of the state animal of Chhattisgarh requires global attention as well as the cooperation of the central and state governments.
According to Dr. Rajendra Mishra, Deputy Director and Central Zone Head, Wildlife Trust of India, there were a maximum of 11 forest buffaloes in Udanti Sanctuary during the project period. The Forest Department also succeeded in shifting two forest buffaloes (male and female) from Manas National Park in Assam to Baranwapara Wildlife Sanctuary in the year 2020 with the technical support of WTI. Dr. Mishra thanked ORACLE for the cooperation .
The book states that the forest buffaloes of Udanti share haplotypes with the wild buffaloes of the state of Assam and even Maharashtra and hence can be used to increase the population of wild buffaloes in Udanti. However, the dwindling forest and grassland cover in the Udanti-Sitanadi Tiger Reserve could pose a serious threat to the survival of wild buffaloes. Through three consecutive years of public awareness campaign, WTI propagated the conservation and promotion of forest buffaloes to about 4000 students, 3000 villagers and 12 public service departments. Whose impact has reached all sections of the society.
