Wild buffalo’s number up in Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve

Kathmandu / June 6: The number of wild buffalo, a wild animal enlisted in the list of protected animals, has increased in Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve (KTWR).

A total of 432 wild buffaloes were recorded in the Reserve, an increment of 100 plus number than the last census in 2070 BS, according to the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DoNPWC).

The Department categorizes the number of wild buffaloes into 81 calves below one year, 35 calves aged 2 years, 14 half-adult wild buffaloes and 182 adult male and 120 adult female.

The census was carried out in the Reserve, the only house for these wild beasts in the country, by the KTWR, National Nature Conservation Trust, Buffer Zone Consumer Committee, Buffer Zone Community User Forest Group and Bhagawati Prasad Battalion during March and April, shared Narayan Rupakheti, Information officer of the DoNPWC.

There were 63 wild buffalos recorded in the country when the first census was taken in 2032 BS.

The animal with the scientific name Bubalus arnee is listed as an endangered species in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)’s Red List of Threatened Species.

Second to the Kaziranga National Park in Indian state of Assam, Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve houses biggest number of wild buffaloes in the world.

Other countries like Bhutan and Cambodia among others are also home to this wild beast which is believed to stand at the estimated 3,400 number in total.RSS