Since around the 1960s, the only habitat for the wild water buffalo in Nepal has been the Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve in the east of the country. In 2017, the Nepali government tried to change this by translocating 15 buffaloes to an enclosure within Chitwan National Park, in south-central Nepal. But, in less than five years, all 15 translocated individuals \u2013 as well as the six calves born within the enclosure \u2013 have died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Need for a second population of wild water buffalo<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Once found more widely across South Asia, the wild water buffalo went extinct in Chitwan around the 1960s. By 1975, the last population in Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve had dwindled to just 63 animals, driven by<\/a> habitat loss due to human encroachment, park-people conflict, flooding, inbreeding, and crossbreeding with domestic buffaloes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The population has since seen an impressive rebound, with 498 counted in 2021<\/a>. Babu Ram Lamichhane, chief of Nepali non-profit the National Trust for Nature Conservation in Chitwan, says the recovery was facilitated by extensive patrolling, sweep operations, and controls on encroachment carried out by the reserve authorities. The improvement in numbers is a positive step, but experts say that finding a second home for wild water buffaloes in Nepal is essential to improve their long-term chances of survival.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTheir numbers are on a knife edge and they can go either way,\u201d says Maheshwar Dhakal, the director general of Nepal\u2019s Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The need for a second habitat was highlighted in 2008, when the Koshi River<\/a> \u2013 which runs through Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve \u2013 abruptly changed its course and breached its embankments, inundating densely populated swathes of land in south-eastern Nepal. An estimated 50,000 people were displaced and biodiversity in the wildlife reserve was severely impacted<\/a>. The reserve continues to be affected by seasonal flooding.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n The waters of the Koshi have long since subsided, but the risk of a recurrence has not. Located on a corridor for Nepal\u2019s largest river, the likelihood of flooding during monsoons in Koshi Tappu is high. For conservationists, transferring some wild water buffaloes to a second location meant insurance against a future disaster, which could also include an outbreak of disease in the reserve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ram Chandra Kandel, the chief warden of Chitwan National Park when the 2017 translocation project took place, did his PhD research on threats to the bovines of Koshi Tappu caused by the assimilation of domestic buffaloes, including the risk of disease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kandel was hopeful when, in 2016, researchers first proposed translocating a healthy population of wild water buffaloes from Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve to Chitwan National Park, some 255 miles west in the lowland belts of the Terai.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After a series of assessments, research reports and feasibility studies conducted by biologists, ecologists and policymakers, managed by the DNPWC, a collaborative decision was made to move some of the reserve\u2019s buffaloes \u2013 the world\u2019s first ever translocation of wild water buffalo. Kandel says the feasibility study made clear that Chitwan National Park had the potential to host a second population of wild water buffalo in Nepal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rama Mishra, a wildlife ecologist and an executive member of the conservation non-profit the Wildlife Conservation Association, agreed with Kandel, especially given Chitwan was once a native habitat of the species.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOnly after an analysis of the habitat and consideration of the long-term prospects, various ecologists involved in the project concluded that Chitwan National Park met the environmental conditions that wild water buffaloes need to survive, including weather, rich swamps, scrubby grasslands, and availability of aquatic plants and grasses,\u201d says Mishra.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2017, the translocation project was carried out by the DNPWC with the technical and financial support of the USAID-funded Hariyo Ban Program<\/a> and the Zoological Society of London. The total estimated cost of implementing the five-year action plan was NPR 168 million<\/a> (almost USD 1.3 million). Of the 15 animals introduced to Chitwan, 12 were from Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve and three were from the Central Zoo in Kathmandu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Initially there was a great deal of hope. In 2019, Kandel tells The Third Pole, six calves were born to the relocated herd, taking their number to 21.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Abhinaya Pathak, a conservation officer at Chitwan National Park who was in charge of monitoring the enclosure from 2016 to 2019, says the population of wild water buffaloes was continually in flux. After the enclosure was impacted by seasonal flooding, tigers managed to get inside on several occasions and killed five water buffaloes. Others died due to disease and injuries caused by the floods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Following the loss of the last buffaloes in August 2022, questions are being asked about the possible negligence of park officials<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Research<\/a> into the outcomes of translocation projects has shown that the number of individuals involved is very important, concluding that \u201ca crucial determinant of success is sufficient resourcing to enable the release of at least 20\u201350 individuals\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Lamichhane, the standard size of a wild water buffalo herd is around 35 to 40, and the DNPWC had planned to grow the population in the Chitwan enclosure to around 40 before releasing them into the park proper. But while the initial birth of calves led to hopes that this number might be reached, losses to disease and tiger attacks meant that the buffaloes were never released into the wild.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe buffaloes were kept in the enclosure for a prolonged period. That wasn\u2019t a sustainable move,\u201d says Mishra from the Wildlife Conservation Association. \u201cIf a larger herd was translocated and released in the wild immediately, there could have been more chances of survival.\u201d While Koshi Tappu has no apex predators, Chitawan has a growing tiger population. According to Mishra, a larger herd would have been better able to defend themselves against tigers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dhakal says that translocation is a complex process. \u201cThe local community is also involved. They may or may not be willing to accept a larger herd as there lies a risk that relocated species could overpopulate a new area and cause local livestock to become extinct. There are other technical factors as well. We have to look at how to transport the herd safely from one place to another. All these aspects play a role.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shant Raj Jnawali, biodiversity conservation coordinator at the Hariyo Ban Program, says another reason behind the project\u2019s failure was that when the water buffalo were impacted by disease or flooding, there was a delay in conducting an investigation and providing veterinary care. Jnawali says that park officials should have taken more time to monitor and review the project as it was underway, to make improvements as required.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For years, conservationists have grappled with the problem that charismatic species<\/a> consistently attract the most attention, and therefore the most money. Less well-known species, like the wild water buffalo, have often been neglected as efforts are directed elsewhere, even if they present easy conservation wins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pathak says insufficient funding was the biggest limitation to the buffalo translocation project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe realised, later, that the project was more cost-heavy than expected,\u201d Pathak tells The Third Pole. A lot of manpower was required, and regular veterinary services. The 30-hectare enclosure that had electrical fencing was damaged time and again by seasonal flooding. It had heavy reparation costs. Initially, all the resources were managed. But later, we fell short of making the project financially sustainable. We couldn\u2019t bear the monitoring costs anymore which caused was a huge management gap. Later, again, due to Covid-19, funds were compromised.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn the way we have successfully conserved the tiger population<\/a>, Nepal hasn\u2019t been able to give the same attention to wild water buffaloes,\u201d says Dhakal. \u201cThat attention needs to be redirected and redistributed. There is no point in rescuing one species when we are losing whole habitats. It is time for a proper assessment of scientific investments.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\nTheir numbers are on a knife edge and they can go either way<\/blockquote>Maheshwar Dhakal, Nepal\u2019s Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation<\/cite><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Preparing to move water buffaloes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Staggering demise of the translocated buffaloes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Wild](\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/20230120_Wild-water-buffalo_Jurgen-Christine-Sohns_Alamy_F4XWAJ.jpg\")
<\/div>There is no point in rescuing one species when we are losing whole habitats<\/blockquote>Maheshwar Dhakal<\/cite><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
The challenge of protecting overlooked species<\/h2>\n\n\n\n