Under Wild Buffalo Rehabilitation Programme, four wild buffaloes were successfully released in a specially constructed enclosure on May 9 under the second phase in Supkhar area of Kanha Tiger Reserve, Mandla. On the occasion, Samita Rajora, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) and L Krishnamurthy, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) were present. During the programme, Ravindra Mani Tripathi, Regional Director, Kanha Tiger Reserve, Prakash Verma, Deputy Director (Corps), Amitha KB Deputy Director Buffer, all Assistant Directors, Zonal Officers and local regional staff were present. Notably, wild buffaloes were extinct from the forest areas of Madhya Pradesh around 150 years ago. Inspired by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav, a special scheme has been prepared by the Madhya Pradesh Forest Department to restore the wild buffalo.

 

In the same vein, a project is being implemented to restore wild buffaloes from Kaziranga Tiger Reserve in Assam in Supkhar area of Kanha Tiger Reserve, where evidence of presence of wild buffaloes has been obtained in the past. In the first phase of this project, four wild buffaloes were released by the Chief Minister in the enclosure at Supkhar on April 28, 2026. Currently, four more wild buffaloes have been successfully brought under the second phase. Thus, till date, a total of 8 wild buffaloes, including 2 males and 6 females, have been rehabilitated. The target is to rehabilitate 50 wild buffaloes in the next 3 years. The distance of about 2220 km from Kaziranga Tiger Reserve to Kanha Reserve was covered by road. It may be mentioned that during this time, continuous monitoring and health check-ups were conducted by a team of two wildlife doctors in special wildlife transport vehicles.

 

An assistant director and a field officer led the entire team. The drivers and team members completed a continuous journey of about 72 hours and succeeded in safely transporting the wild buffaloes. This restoration programme will prove to be an important and historic initiative towards biodiversity conservation and rehabilitation of endangered wildlife species in Madhya Pradesh.