Monday, June 20, 2011

Rigorous protection needed for wild buffaloes

Sighting of 8 wild buffaloes thrills wildlife experts

Vijay Pinjarkar, TNN Jun 19, 2011, 09.10pm IST

At a time when wild buffaloes are going extinct, the sighting of eight buffaloes in the Kamalapur forest range under the Sironcha division in Gadchiroli district has reignited the demand to declare the area as a buffalo sanctuary.

Wild buffaloes, the third biggest mammals on land after elephants and rhinos, are facing extinction and are a step away from the point of no return. Rigorous steps are needed to protect them. The species is also listed under the Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972.

The eight buffaloes were sighted on Friday in two groups by veteran wildlife expert from Gadchiroli Mahendrasingh Chouhan. The animals were found in compartment number 17 and 12 in Kolamarka and Kamalapur forests respectively. The good news is that the group contained two calfs, indicating there was breeding of wild buffaloes.

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