PUSH FOR WILD BUFFALOES

In a country where the cow is the venerated bovine, Maharashtra seems to be sparing a thought for its buffaloes. At least the wild water (Bubalus arnee) variety.

- Dhaval S. Kulkarni

India may have 91 per cent of the world's wild water buffalo population of around 3,400, but it is listed as 'Endangered' on the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List and under Schedule 1 of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, giving it a conservation status at par with animals like tigers and elephants. A majority of Indian wild buffaloes are concentrated in the Northeast, particularly in Assam. A creature of wet grasslands, swamps and densely vegetated river valleys, a small population-an estimated 60-survives in central India, dispersed in the Kolamarka-Kopela forests of Maharashtra, and in the Indravati and Udanti-Sitanadi tiger reserves in Chhattisgarh. With wild water buffaloes considered crucial to maintain the food chain and ecological balance of their natural habitat, the Maharashtra State Board for Wildlife (MSBWL) has given its nod for its capt