Wild buffaloes return to Kanha in Madhya Pradesh after nearly a century

Madhya Pradesh has moved eight animals from Assam’s Kaziranga National Park into a larger acclimatisation enclosure at Kanha.

Eight wild buffaloes brought from Assam’s Kaziranga National Park have been moved into a 17-hectare enclosure at the Supkhar range of Kanha Tiger Reserve, marking a key step in Madhya Pradesh’s efforts to reintroduce the species after nearly 100 years.

Eight wild buffaloes from Assam’s Kaziranga National Park have moved into a 17-hectare enclosure at Kanha Tiger Reserve, beginning the next phase of Madhya Pradesh’s effort to restore the species after nearly a century.

Chief Minister Mohan Yadav released the animals into the larger enclosure on Sunday, October 11, after they completed their quarantine period in a specially built one-hectare enclosure. The move is intended to help the animals adapt to the local climate and environment before their eventual release into their natural habitat.

The eight buffaloes, comprising six females and two males, were brought to Kanha in two phases. On April 28, three females and one male were placed in the smaller enclosure. Another three females and one male arrived on May 9 and were kept in the same enclosure for quarantine.

Yadav said the relocation marked the beginning of the second phase of the reintroduction programme at Supkhar. The animals travelled approximately 2,200 km from Kaziranga to Madhya Pradesh, with assistance from Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

The state forest department has set a target of establishing a population of 50 wild buffaloes in the area over the next three years. Supkhar was selected based on evidence of the species’ historical presence in the region.

The programme aims to strengthen biodiversity conservation and restore the species to its former habitat in Madhya Pradesh. After the monsoon season, the animals are expected to move towards the next stage of adaptation to their natural surroundings.

Yadav said the state was also working to strengthen ecosystems by reintroducing wildlife that had disappeared from the region. He cited the October 7 initiative to develop a third habitat for cheetahs at Nauradehi, named after Rani Durgavati.

The Chief Minister also linked wildlife conservation with regional development, saying new opportunities were emerging in the area following the end of Naxalism in Madhya Pradesh. The buffalo reintroduction project is expected to contribute to long-term conservation efforts by rebuilding the population of a species that disappeared from the state’s forests around a century ago.