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A study On
Status, distribution, threat and habitat pattern assessment of Asiatic wild water buffalo in Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve, Eastern Nepal
July, 2011
Ashok Ram, K.P Acharya
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Abstract Koshi Tappu wildlife reserve (KTWR) is a unique eastern flood plain Terai protected area ecosystem in Nepal. It is established as a protected area in 1976 and listed as first RAMSAR site in 1987. KTWR is famous for large remnant population wild water buffalo in Nepal and large variety of birds. Wild buffalo is the ancestor of the domestic water buffalo. Asiatic buffalo is chiefly a grazer, feeding in the morning and evenings and lying up in dense cover or submerging in wallows in midday. The study "Status, distribution, threat and habitat pattern assessment of Asiatic wild water buffalo in Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve" was carried out with aiming to assess population size, threat and habitat pattern. Direct census (Block count) and water holes census method was used to assess the population size by sweeping whole reserve area and water holes. For habitat pattern and threat study forest inventory was carried out and for threat assessment semi structured interview was carried with local stakeholders (herders, cattle owner, political bodies and conservation partners). The major population of wild buffalo is distributed in three isolated blocks Prakashpur, Haripur and Badgama (south duban island) and little population was in Bhagalpur blocks. The study shows population size was 237 wild buffalo in 2011 (Male 66, Female 117, first year calf 15, second year calf 39), Calf cow ratio is 0.33 and exponential growth rate is 0.097. The preferred habitat pattern used by Asiatic buffalo is sandy and open large Sacchrum grassland and riverine forest as well. Key words: Asiatic wild water buffalo, Habitat, population, growth rate.
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CHAPTER I 1.1 Introduction Wild buffalo is the ancestor of the domestic water buffalo. The wild Asian buffalo has been domesticated for thousands of years and bred around the world into various, mostly smaller breeds of less than 500 kg (1100lb). The domestic water buffalo is now found in most tropical and subtropical regions.
Archeological events show that domestic buffalo were being used in Zhejiang Province of China. just south of the mouth of Yangtze,6000-7000 years ago (although something that these may have belong to a separate species,Bubalus mephistopheles, which has been reported as a wild animal from Pleistocene and early historical sites Henan Provinces,China (Nowak 1999) The wild buffalo (Bubalus bubalis arnee) comes under the family Bovidae and order Artiodactyla. Asiatic wild buffalo is critically endangered species which is distributed only in small pockets of the world i.e.Srilanka, India and Nepal. In Nepal it is only found in Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve (KTWR). It is obvious that the Asiatic wild buffalo has been domestication for at least 4500 years (Clutton -Brock, 1989). Wild buffalo occurs at least from South to southeast Asia, but there is evidence of buffalo in the Indus Valley over 5000 years ago (Nowak, 1999). There is genetic evidence that the domestic river versus swamp breeds of buffalo were separately domesticated from two different wild stocks that have diverged any where from 15000 (Barker et.al.,1997) to over 1 million years ago (Amano et al.,1994) and may have been separate species, although genetic distance are debatable (Mulley,2001). Wild population in Sri Lanka , Borneo and Java are in doubt as it is not known whether they are wholly or partly domestic origin (Hedge,1995).Site location of putative wild stock are western Thailand, east and central India,Southern Bhutan and Southeastern Nepal. (Corbett & Hill, 1992) in isolated reserves. 1.1 Distribution of wild buffalo in the world :Bhutan, India, Nepal and Thialand, (IUCN 2004). Ashok Ram, K.P Acharya
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The wild Asian buffalo origionaly ranges from eastern Nepal and India, east to Vdietnam and south to Malaysia .By 1963, it had been substantially reduced numerically abnd elliminated from the greater part of its former range. At that time it was thought to be restrictedto three zones.Ass the Brahamputra valley in valley in Assam, India the lower reaches of Godawari River at the confluence of th borders of the state of Orissa, Madhyapradesh and Andhra pradesh in India and the Saptakoshi River ,Nepal, close to the border with India.As of 1990, remnant population were thought to occur in Assam and orissa in India, In Nepal and in two sanctuaries in Thailand. Currently, the total population of world populaation of wild Asian buffalo is almost certainly less than 4000 animals and may well be less than 200 animals. Indeed it is possible that no purebred widl Asian buffao remain. However these figures are little more than informed guesses, since any assessment of if wild buffalo numbers is hampered by the diffficulty of distinguishing betweenfree ranging domestic buffalo, and truly wild buffalo as well as hybrids between wild and other buffalo. In India wild buffalo are now largly restricted to Assam and Madhyapradesh. but most if not all, surviving populations are believed to include truly wild individuals, occurs in Bhutan's Royal manas Nationla park; this is the only sub population in Bhutan. Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve contains only sub population in Nepal. In Thialand 40-50 wild buffalo are recorded to occur in the Kuai Kha Khaeng wildlife Sanctuary; this is the only sub population remaining in Thailand.(IUCN 2004).
1.4 Ecology and Biology The wild Asian buffalo has length of 2.4-3 m(7.8-9.8') and weigh 800-1200 kg(1800-2600 lbs). it is highly dependent on the availability of water. It prefers low lying alluvial grasslands and their surroundings. It also utilize riparian forests and woodlands. Its maturity (puberty) is at 18 months and life span is about 25 in wild and 29 in domestic condition. Its gestation period is 300-340 days and it gives birth of single calf per birth and birth interval is usually two years. Its weaning occurs after 6-9 months.Its diet are grasses and leafy aquatic vegetation. Behavior: The wild Asian buffalo is chiefly a grazer,feeding in the morning and evenings and lying up in denses cover or submerging in wallows in midday. During midday heat,the wild Asian buffalo frequently wallows in water or muddy pools, sometimes almost completely submerged, with only Ashok Ram, K.P Acharya
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its nostrils showing. In Keeping it cool, wallowing helps to remove skin parasites, biting fllies and other pests.
1.3 Rational of the study: Among the current putative wild population, it is one in Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve, Nepal, has a good chance of maintaining pure wild stock. The another major populations are of Assam and Madhya Pradesh, India (Choudhary,1994) and remnant population in western Thailand, although there is debate about the genetic integrity of some of those stocks (Diwaker& Bhusan,1988; Hedge, 1995; Mulley, 2001). Dahmer (1978) described two mixed herds in KTWR in 1976, the north and south herds, Heinen ((1993a) found those herds in 1986/87 in highly overlapping home ranges with those mapped by Dahmer. Heinen and Singh (2001) relocated the herds again in 2000 with no change in the home ranges in spite of the fact that the main channel of the Koshi River had changed their course. Koshi tappu wildlife reserve has a small population of wild buffalo and it is facing interbreeding problem and hybridization local domestic buffalo. This year we had conducted feral cattle evacuation program by constructing Kanji house (enclosure for capturing and punishing domestic cattle) and carried out massive sweep operation inside the reserve and got succeeded to evacuate by 80 percent. After completion of feral cattle evacuation we had carried out wild water buffalo census program from 20-22 may 2011; for actual wild buffalo estimation with following objectives. 1.2 Objectives a)
General objective:
Status, distribution, threat and habitat pattern assessment of Asiatic wild water buffalo in Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve, Nepal.
b)
Specific objectives:
i)
To determine the status of wild buffalo in KTWR.
ii)
To determine the distribution and habitat pattern use by wild buffalo.
iii)
To assess the cattle population in KTWR.
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CHAPTER II 2.1 Materials and methods 2.1.1 Study site: Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve (KTWR) lies on the floodplains of the Sapta Koshi River in the south-eastern Terai. It was gazetted in July 1976 under the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1973, realizing the importance of the area for the conservation of the last remnant population of endangered wild water buffaloes and their habitat. The 176 sq. km. reserve is Nepal's smallest wildlife reserve. The Reserve and its surrounding wetlands were designated as a Ramsar Site, the wetlands of international importance in 1987. Government of Nepal has declared the buffer zone (173.5 sq. km) surrounding the reserve in 2004. There are 16 VDCs with 215 settlements and 108 wards, 14000 households and 93300 people in the Buffer Zone of KTWR with an even ratio of male and female. Overall literacy rate is only 44.6%. Agriculture is the dominant mode of production for 87.3% of households. However, only 20% households are food secure. Livestock density is very high (1.5 per household). The reserve lies in the alluvial flood plains of the Saptakoshi River bordering Saptari, Sunsari and Udayapur districts. The reserve is subject to extreme flooding each monsoon season (June to September). Over 80% of the area is dominated by tall riverine grasses such as Saccharam, Phragmites and beahes. Mixed forest of Bombax, Dalbergia and Accacia occurs along the banks of Koshi River. The reserve has sub-tropical climate and its topography ranges from 80 masl to 100 masl. Grassland is the dominant land use type in Koshi Tappu. Changes in the habitat types are abrupt due to the meandering and braiding of Koshi River. The floral and faunal diversity of the reserve is very rich as it consists of 514 species of plants, 21 species of invertebrates, 77 species of butterfly, 200 species of fish, 45 species of herpetofauna, 492 species of bird and 31 species of mammal. Wild buffalo used riverine grassland and riparian forest near by the Koshi River and Mariya River and some time they also enjoying inside the near by forest. Methods: Wild buffalo monitoring was conducted during 3 days on May 20-22, 2011. The monitoring was conducted during day time from (0600-1200 hrs) and late afternoon (1400-1800 hrs). Good quality of scientific instruments: binoculars, cameras and GPSs were used in the census by each group to Ashok Ram, K.P Acharya
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find out the distribution pattern of wild buffalo. They are mainly grazers, inhabiting open forests, dry thornscrub, floodplains, tall grass area near a swamp, stream, and river banks. Species occurrence is strongly linked to the presence of grasslands and waterholes. Water buffaloes spend long periods wallowing in the mud. After leaving a wallow the leading buffalo rubs its body along a tree. We had used two methods for the Census of wild buffalo. Wild buffalo is large mammal and spends 6-8 hours wallowing in the waterholes. Its major concentration is near Saptakoshi & Mariya Rivers, therefore we used following methods for estimating the wild buffalo population. i)
Waterholes method and
ii)
Block count method
i) Waterholes method As per the previous study wild buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) is found only in the floodplain of Koshi River that lies in KTWR. The ecological behavior of Wild buffalo shows wallowing nature in river or waterholes because it spends 6-8 hours time for wallowing in water holes. Since the counting season is midsummer (May 2011), major population of wildbuffalot is concentrated only in Saptakoshi, Mariya and Trijuga. Therefore we used waterholes method for locating the major herds of wild buffalo and to get estimates of wild buffalo population. The waterholes census method was carried out by raft, boat, foot and motor along the river bank. ii) Block count or Direct Count method We have got primary estimates of Arna population from waterholes census method and also found the large herds but the scattered population were not estimated and we used direct count method. We divided whole reserve into two parts east to Sapta Koshi and west to Sapta Koshi and then divided the eastern and western parts into two blocks each. The blocks are as follows. i) Eastern block (East to Sapta Koshi River) a) South to coffer dam (Haripur / Kusaha area) b) North to coffer dam (Madhuwan area and Prakashpur Side Island) ii) Western Block (West to Sapta Koshi River) a) North to Pathari post (Pathariside island, Bhagalpur and Kamalpur area) b) South to Pathari post (Badgama/ Jagatpur area). Ashok Ram, K.P Acharya
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After dividing the whole area into blocks we considered the Hawamahal to Pathari fireline (Coffer dam and Pathari Fireline) as Base line.
Taking Pathari fireline as reference baseline transect we used secondary transect (transect means routs of surveyer) for total sweep of the blocks. We deputed surveyor into four blocks; by dividing surveyor team into four groups and total sweep operation was carried out for wild buffalo census. We also used elephant in tall grassland habitat where it was necessary. Taking a reference of baseline transect each group was sweeping the blocks in secondary transect in the same time, same day. In each blocks all the surveyor team members were kept in visible distance (50-100 meter) and using secondary transect wild buffalo was counted and those who didn't see the counted wild buffalo the message was transmitted to them. Identification criteria of wild buffalo i) Identification of Backcrossed herds and wild stocks of wild buffaloes Backcrossed herds are composed of females and calves that share most but not all phenotypic and behavioral characteristics of wild buffalo. Backcrossed are thought to be derived from domestic females that have interbred with wild males for at least 6 generations, they have been backcrossing with wild males for so many years but herd is frequently near and sometimes joins the north herd which is usually around the power line from the river to the center of Koshi Tappu . Bachelor males were usually found in proximity to mixed or backcrossed female herds. Bachelor spends most of their time living near and mating with domestic stock. Many of the domestic buffaloes are kept in a semi-wild state, owners allow them to cross-breed with wild stock because their male calves fetch higher market prices than purely domestic buffalo ii) Phenotypic and behavioral characteristics Phenotypic and behavioral characteristics are used to distinguish wild buffalos with that of feral backcrossed and domestic ones. The domestic and feral buffaloes are completely inter-fertile with wild buffalo, but known wild populations exist are not affected by domestic mixing though they may be under greater threat. None can be sure that animals counted as 'backcrossed' are not 'wild' in at least some cases, it may not matter for animals backcrossed for so many generations. It is evident that a f-6 backcross would be 98.44% 'wild' based on nuclear DNA 100[1.0-0.56]. These types of animal may be appropriate to include in a conservation breeding or translocation scheme as wild stocks. Ashok Ram, K.P Acharya
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iii) Phenotypic characteristics of wild buffalo Wild buffalo go through changes in pelage with age. The young calves (>6 months) are buff in color, and begin to darken in the 1st year. They retain lighter coloration into the 2nd year, but the coat continues to darken until the females achieve adult coloration by the 3rd year. Thus young, juvenile and adult females can be distinguished on the basis of coloration, and overall body and horn size. Adult coloration is very dark, with noticeable whitish markings in several places on the body. Wild buffalo have one or two chevron marks on the underside of the neck. They also have white hocks, white tail tips, and fine white markings around the eyes and along the sides of the nose and mouth. The white markings tend to become more apparent in adults, may fade with advanced age, and are not necessarily visible on new calves. In all cases, they are visible on late 1st year calves. The young males can be distinguished from adults into the 3rd and 4th years, they are noticeably smaller and the pelage retains the light coloration. Adult males at prime breeding age (>4 years) tend to be very black except for the whitish markings described. The horns of wild buffalo form wide, upwardly sweeping semicircles and lack appreciable curvature in the lateral vertical plane. Horns in very young calves extend horizontally from the skull, and lack any curl. Among adults, females tend to have longer horns than males, but males have much thicker horns (basis for sexing in case genitalia are not visible). Bulls are larger and have massive musculature. In contrast, the typical 'river' breeds of domestic buffalo are generally much darker throughout life and show few to none of the white markings as described above behavioral characteristics wild buffalo females remain in the herds in which they were born, while males leave their natal herds usually in or before their 3rd year. iii)
Population growth rate:
The population growth rate is calculated per capita per year by exponential growth rate formula. (Wildlife Biology) ri =
ln( Nj / Nk ) t
Where, ri = the growth rate calculated for that time interval Nj = the population size at the end of interval Nk = the population size at the beginning of the interval t = the number of years in the interval
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CHAPTER IIi RESULTS AND DISCUSSION A. Waterholes method Asiatic wild buffalo prefered the wetland for wallowing due to its ecological behavior entertains wallowing in river or waterholes. The major concentration of wild buffalo was found near eastern banks of Sapta Koshi in two large herds; one in Prakashpur island and another in Kusaha island and only small numbers were found in or near Mariya and Triyuga and finally this method helped for direct count. B. Direct count method The whole reserve area was divided into four blocks as described above in method section. We also divided our task force team into 4 groups and carried out total sweep operation with reference to baseline transect. We used secondary transect for sweeping as described in methodology. The surveyor surveyed their blocks in the secondary transects with reference to baseline transect. Each surveyor was visible to each other when a single wild buffalo or herd was seen, then it was counted with binocular (since it is difficult to count wild buffalo with close contact) by each and every individuals and separate the wild buffaloes from the backcross and feral cattle and all the counted number was tallied and then actual number was listed. Since our program for wild buffalo count was for three days (May 20-22) we had done the repeated count in the same block in three days, repeated basis in three blocks The detail block wise results are mentioned below.
1. Block wise results i) Western Block (West to Sapta Koshi River) a) Block A: South to Pathari post (Badgama/ Jagatpur area) Block A covers the west part of Saptakoshi and south part of baseline transect. This area comprises of open grassland, with a small forest of khair/ sisso (Dalbergia/Accacia). Mariya and Triyuga Rivers pass through the block and our focus was also given to other waterholes. We found altogether 8 wild buffaloes in different small herds. Out of that 4 male, 3 female,1 first year calf in this block.
b) Block B: North to Pathari post (Pathariside island, Bhagalpur and Kamalpur area)
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Block B lies in the west of Saptakoshi and north of Baseline transect. This area mainly comprised of open grassland and small patches of khair sisso forest and some pater land (Typha spps). There is good habitat maintained for wildlife. This area also comprises Mariya (old koshi) and Triyuga river and found this low grazing pressure. We counted single male only in this block. We had found 3 pairs of Bengal florican in this block and 20 spotted deer, 15 hog deer in this block. ii) Eastern block (East to Sapta Koshi River) a) Block C: South to coffer dam (Haripur / Kusaha area) Block C area comprises of large herd of wild buffao with two dominant male and its off springs , some sub adult male group of 15 to1 7 and some isolated single males, this area lies in the south east part of Saptakoshi river and the baseline transet. The habitat of this block is now restored which was previously open and degraded. This block harbors grasslands( ie Sacchram sp, an Impetata species.) and a small riverine forest of sisso, khair (Dalbergia/Accacia forest) and river sand bank. We found the largest number of wild buffalo in comparison to other blocks. We counted 86 wild buffaloes in a single herd and total number was 137. Out of that 44 male, 62 female,22 first year calf, and 9 second year calf in this block. We observed single herd of 86 buffaloes at the location of N 26037'635" & E 87000'409" south-west of coffer dam.
b) Block D: North to coffer dam ( Prakashpur Side Island) Block D also lies the eastern part of Saptakoshi River. One tributary and few contructed pilot channels lies in this block. The habitat of this block is riverine i.e khair sisso forest, tall grassland of Sachhram spps. Pater (Cattel) etc. we recorded the second largest herd of 86 wild buffalo, as the location of 26040'202" E 87002'355"some small herds of sub adult male and some isolated single males were also observed. We counted altogether 92 wild buffaloes in different herds. Out of that 17 male, 52 female, 16 first year calf, and 6 second year calf in this block. The details of all blocks are given in following table.
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Table 1: Population status of Wild buffalo
Adult
Adult
2nd Year
1st Year
Male
Female
Calves
Calves
66
117
15
39
Total
Back crossed
237
18
Table 2: Block wise population status of Wild buffalo. Block A
1st year 2nd year Female calf calf Total Remarks 4 3 1 0 8 South to Pathari (Pathari island) North to Pathari( Bhagalpur 1 0 0 0 1 island) South to Cofferdam (Haripur 44 62 22 9 137 island) North to cofferdam (Prakashpur 17 52 16 6 92 island) 66 117 15 39 237
Male
B C D Total
C. Exponential growth rate of wild buffalo: The exponential growth rate of wild buffalo is calculated by the exponential growth rate formula as described in the methods and we got the following results. See text for calculation . Time interval
ri
1976 to 2009 (R tot)
0.037
1976 to 1987 (r1)
0.033
1987to 1988 (r2)
0.022
1988 to 2000 (r3)
0.037
2004 to 2009 (r4)
0.064
2009 to 2010
-0.0184
(r4)
2010 to 2011 (r5)
0.097
The above results it is clear that the exponential growth rate is higher this year and population of Wild buffalo is satisfactory.
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D
Calf /cow ratio:
The critically endangered wild water buffalo is last remnant population of Nepal and it is found only in KTWR. The wild buffalo census has been initiated from 1976 and till now five censuses and two monitoring were carried out. The detail population structure of wild buffalo over time is described in the following table.
Table 3: The population structure of wild buffalo in Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve from 1976 to 2009. Data (1976 to 2004) are from: 1) Dahmer (1978) for 1976; 2) Heinen (1993b) for 1987 and 1988; 3) Heinen and Singh (2001) for 2000 and; 4), (Heinen and Kandel, 2004), N.Mishra, A.Ram 2009), this current census 2011. Year
Adults
Calves
Total
Calves/cows
Male
Female
2nd year
1st year
1976
12
18
22
11
63
0.61
1987
32
29
14
16
91
0.55
1988
37
33
8
15
93
0.45
2000
56
53
17
19
145
0.36
2004
54
63
24
18
159
0.29
2009
55
119
22
23
219
0.19
2010
57
108
24
26
215
0.22
2011
66
117
15
39
237
0.33
From the above table 3 it is clear that calf/cows ratio has gone down consistently from 1976 -2009 and it is gradually increased in 2010 and 2011 census.
Similarly in case of sex ratio; the adult sex ratio was female biased in 1976 and again in 2004. The sex ratio in this census is also female biased which is about 1:73, which is satisfactory in case of large mammals but it was male biased in three intervening years for which there are data therefore it is clear that the number of male decreasing.
The population growth rate (r) over the whole time interval shows that growth has been robust wild buffalo of KTWR. It is 36 years of time interval of first wild buffalo census from 1976 and Ashok Ram, K.P Acharya
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till now six wild buffalo census were carried out it was found the robust population growth in 2004 and recent census 2011.
Figure 5: Census trend over time.
F. Status of Feral and domesticated animals in KTWR. We had carried out wild buffalo census soon after the feral cattle evacuation and only less number of domestic cattle and feral buffalo is little but feral cattle is also in less number. The details of domestic as well as feral cattle are given in the following table.
Table 4: Estimated number of feral and domestic livestock. Name of
Feral animal
Domesticated animal
block
Remarks
(daily visitor) Buffaloes(back crossed)
Cows
Buffaloes
Cows
Bock A
0
355
215
305
South to Pathari
Bock B
5
105
195
1025
North to Pathari
Bock C
8
0
0
300
South to cofferdam
Bock D
5
0
0
0
North to cofferdam
Total
18
455
410
1630
The above table shows feral cattle population is less and daily visitor domestic cattle are higher. Feral cattle population is minimum because the wildlife census is carried out soon after the feral cattle evacuation campaign but daily visitor population is higher because local people release their cattle inside the reserve for grazing and this is because of only one security post in western sector (Saptari) and area is large.
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CHAPTER IV 4.1 Experiences and Constraints 4.1 Threats and Reasons for decline. The most serious threat to wild Asian Buffalo are inbreeding with feral and domestic buffalo, habitat less/degradation and hunting. Diseases and parasites (transmitted by domestic livestock) and competition for food and water between wild buffalo and domestic astock are serious threat. (IUCN 2004) Constraints 1. Lack of highly sophisticated binoculars in sufficient number 2. Lack of communication instruments.
4.2 Conclusions and Recommendations
Conclusions Koshi Tappu wildlife Reserve is effected by both insurgency and Koshi flood. Both calamities effected the Koshi tappu wildlife habitat. After ending of insurgency slowly security posts as well the range/ guard posts were restored and reserve tries to restore the wildlife habitat and it is gradually restored. Similarly Koshi flood had changed its main stream towards the local settlements by breaking the Eastern Koshi Dam last year (18 Aug 2008) and brought the biggest natural calamities for people livelihood and welfare, thousands of people of Nepal and India was affected and lost their lives on that Koshi flood. Not only the public welfare and public property but also the reserves habitat and biodiversity were destroyed. Now Koshi River is diverted into the main river course. After diverting Koshi river into main stream Reserv's habitat is also restored. Reserve authority has carried out massive patrolling, sweep operation by night stay and controlled encroachment. As a result Reserve has got succeeded to evacuate feral cattle by 60 %, controlled poaching, reserve habitat restored and wildlife population is also maintained. The wild buffalo (Bubalus bubalis arnee) census 2011 recorded 237. Direct count method was applied for total count of the wild buffalo's population. This census also help to know habitat use pattern by wild buffalo and status of existing feral and domestic buffaloes.
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Recommendations: The species has experienced a several decline due to habitat encroachment, genetic introgression, poaching, competition and disease transmission from livestock and feral buffaloes. So a number of interventions are needed to safeguard the wild buffalo population. Some recommendations are put forwarded. 1. Security posts should be established in the western part of the reserve and protection unit should be restored immediately which was evacuated during Maoist insurgency. 2. Continual and regular monitoring should be carried out in yearly basis of wild buffalo population. 3. Wild buffalo census should carried out once at two years period 4. Prepare a mechanism to control grazing and restrict wild buffalo for cross-breeding with domestic buffalo. 5. Make a provision for translocation of wild buffalo to another similar habitat. 6. Subsidy & grants for improved cattle farming for adopting stall feeding 7. Research is needed for genetic study of wild buffalo (Arna).
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REFERENCE Amano,W.Miyakoshi,Y.,Takada, T.,Kikkawa,Y.,&Suzuki,H. (1994) Genetic varience of ribosomal DNA and mitochondrial DNA between swamp and river buffalo.Animal Genetics,25 (Suppl.1),29-36. Barker,J.S.F,Moore,S.S.,Hetzel,D.J.S.,Evans D.,Tan,S.G.,& Byrne,K.(1997) Genetic diversity if Asian water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) : microsatellite variation and comparison with protein-coding loci. Animal Genetics.28;103-115. Berwick, S. H. & V. B. Saharia (1995): The development of international principal and practice of wildlife research and management, Asian and American Approach. Oxford University Press, Bombay Calcutta Madras. Choudhury,A.(1994) The decline of water buffalo in north east India.Oryx,28,70-73. Clutton-Brock,J(1989) A natural history of domestic mammals. University of Texas Press,Austin,USA. Cockrill,W.R.(1974) Rome,Italy.
The husbandry and Health of Domestic Buffalo.FAO Publication
Corbet,G.B & Hill,J.E(1992) The mammals of Himalayan Region. Natural History Museum Publlication , Oxford University press .Oxford ,UK Dahmer,T.D(1978) Status and Distribution of the Wild Asian buufalo (Bubalus bubalis ) in Nepal.Unpubl.MS thesis,University of Montana,Missoula MT,usa. Diwaker,H.K,& Bhusan, B.(1988) Status of the Wild Asiatic buffalo(Bubalus bubulis) in Raipur and Bastar districts of Madhyaprades. Technical report of Bombay Natural History Society,SANCF Report No. 3/1988,Bombay India. Flanamd,J.R.B.,Vankan,D.,Ghaire,G.P.,Doung,H& Barker ,J.S.F.(2003) Genetic identification fo wild Asian water buffalo in Nepal .Animal Conservation ,6,265-270. Hedges,S.(1995) Asian Wild water buffalo : Draft Repport and Conservation Action Plan ( parts I & II) .Unpubl.Report, IUCN, Switzerland. Heinen,J.T., & Singh ,G.R.(2001) A census and some management implications for wild buffalo in Nepal, Biological conservation ,10,931-935. Muly,P.D.(2001) Genetic and Morphological Studies to differentiate between Wild and Domestic Asian Water buffalo ( Bubalus bubalis) and their Hybrids in Kaziranga National Park,Assam,India.Unpubl.PhD Dissertation, University if Wisconsin.Madison.WI,USA.
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Nowak,R.M(1999) Walker's mammals of the World (sixth edition).John Hopkins University press,Baltimore,MD,USA. Heinen, J. T. And R. Kandel (2006): Multiple Threats to a Small Population: A census and Conservation Action Plan for Wild Buffalo (Bubalus arneee) in Nepal. FFI, Oryx 40(3). Pp 1-8. Kandel, R. C. (2004): Arna/Wild Buffalo Count - 2004. A Report. Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve, Nepal. Mishra N., D.N. Sah and Ashok Ram (2009), Arna / Wild Buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) census in Koshi Tappu Willife Reserve,Nepal. Rodger, W. A. (1991): Techniques for wildlife census in India, A field manual. New Forest, Dehra Dun - 248 006, India. Tulloch D. G. (1979): The water buffalo, Bubalus bubalis, in Australia: reproductive and parent offspring behaviour. Aust. Wild. Res. 6: 265-287. Sah, J. P. 1997. Koshi Tappu Wetlands: Nepal's RAMSAR SITE. IUCN Nepal. Pp. 254. WMI/IUCN Nepal. 1994. Biodiversity of Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve and its Adjacent Area. Applied Databases for Integrated Biodiversity Conservation in Nepal. Woodlands Mountain Institute/ICUN Nepal. IUCN. 1998. An Interpretation and Education System for Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve and its Bufferzones. IUCN Nepal. Pp.47. Dahmer, T.D. 1978. Status and Distribution of the Wild Asian Buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) in Nepal. MS Thesis. University of Montana, Missoula, Montana. Heinen, J.T. and G.R. Singh. 2000 . A Recensus. Population Viability Assessment and Translocation Recommendations for Wild Buffalo (Babulus bubalis) in Nepal. Unpublished paper. BPP. 1995a. Biodiversity Assessment of Terai Wetlands. Biodiversity Profiles Project Pub. No.1. HMG, DNPWC, Kathmandu, Nepal. Baral, H.S. 2000. Birds of Koshi. Bird Conservation Nepal, No. 3, DNPWC, Kathmandu, Nepal. Pp. 20. Heinen, J.T. 1993. Population viability and management recommendation for wild water buffalo, Bubalus bubalis, in Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve, Nepal. Biological Conservation: 1-6.
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Annex I: Participants list Arna Monitoring -KTWR Date: 20-22 May, 2011 (6-8, Jestha 2068) Participants Name List: Logistic staff (Pathri Base Camp) 1. Nand K. Singh 2. Nageshwor Thakur 3. Tika Basnet 4. Yoga Nand Pathak 5. Thakur Limbu 6. Binda Sardar Group A (South of Pathri Post) Group B (North of Pathri Post) 1. Ashok Sah - Team Leader 1. Pramod Yadav - Team Leader 2. Raj Kumar Singh 2. Domi Safi 3. Madan Poudel 3. Gulabi Mukhiya 4. Ram Balak Sharma 4. Lalit Chy. 5. Devi Chaulagain 5. Kurban Mansuri 6. Security Staff- 2 6. Birendra Yadav 7. Arjun Karki 7. Security Staffs- 2 B. Logistic Arrangement: 1. Jagat Giri 2. Kamal Bhugel 3. Jitendra Chaudhary 4. Budhan Chaudhary 5. Rajesh Chaudhary 6. Elephant Staffs 7. Bunu Rana 8. Goma Basnet 9. Shyam Chaudhary 10. Suresh Chaudhary 11. Sunil Chaudhary Logistic Staff (Kusaha Base Camp, Group C & D) Group C (South to Coffer Dam) 1. Ashok Kumar Ram - Team Leader 2. Gopi Yadav 3. Daya Sankar Jha 4. Rabi Shankar Pandit 5. Pankaj Mahato 6. Major, Bishnu Basnet/Capten, Gokul Bhandari 7. Ranjit Sah 8. Security Staffs- 2 9. Raju Dahal 10. Ek P. Koirala
Group D (North to Coffer Dam)- Prakashpur site 1. Rabin Ghimire - Team Leader 2. Puspa Pokhrel 3. Rabindra Singh 4. Anis Timsina 5. Bhakta B. Katuwal 6. Viveka Nand Jha 7. Krishna Trital 8.Budhan Chaudhary 9. Jagta B. Giri 10. Durga Bista
Total no of participants: Logistic staffs: 17, Core participants: 32 Ashok Ram, K.P Acharya
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