Rescued buffalo calf rewilded Kaziranga National Park

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaMay 29, 2024

A four-year-old wild buffalo, which was rescued and taken care of by the forest officials, was released in the wild at Burachapori wildlife Sanctuary in Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve on Tuesday.

In a post on social media, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said: “In January 2020, a one-day-old wild buffalo calf was rescued by officials of @assamforestand and was taken care of for 4 years at CWRC, Kaziranga. Yesterday, it was released back to the wild marking another significant step in rescue and rehabilitation efforts for our wildlife.”

“The rehabilitation has been undertaken as per IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List of Ecosystems) and CZA (Central Zoo Authority) conservation translocation protocols and currently the animal is kept under 24×7 monitoring in the soft-release enclosure by the Burachapori Wildlife Sanctuary frontline and CWRC teams,” KNPTR field director Sonali Ghosh said in a statement.

The global population of Asiatic wild buffalo (Bubalus arnee) has been estimated at 3,400 individuals, of which 95% live in India and mostly in Assam. With over 2,600 estimated number, the world’s single largest population resides in Kaziranga National Park & Tiger Reserve. 

“The wildlife veterinarians and animal keepers at the CWRC (Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation) Kaziranga along with the forest officials have been able to achieve the novel feat of hand-rearing an orphaned wild buffalo calf that was admitted to the centre on January 20, 2020,” Ghosh said.