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Environmentalists raise concern over threat to wild buffaloes | Wildlife activists and environmental groups have expressed concern over the increased threat to the wild buffalo, which is listed as an endangered species. Recently, West Bengal
forest officials seized a huge cache of endangered wild buffalo horns. A total
of 627 horns was found concealed underneath 16.8 tonns of coal from a truck in
Chopra, Uttar Dinajpur district. Three persons, including the truck driver, were
arrested. Trade of skin and other body parts also remained a potential threat
to the survival of wild buffalo, which are estimated to be less than 4000 in the
wild. "We have sent the horn samples to the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) for
confirmation. Circumstantial evidence points to the worse. If the horns belonged
to domestic buffaloes, they need not have been hidden," said Utpal Kumar Nag,
Assistant Divisional Forest Officer. "We are trying to identify the destination
where the horns were headed. The arrested persons have not been talking. They
lack valid documents -- even driver's licence," he added. The truck was reportedly
dispatched from Assam which is considered the last stronghold for the wild buffalo.
Historically found across north India bordering Nepal , east and central India
, the wild buffalo is currently found in the northeastern states and in Chhattisgarh.
"There is no known use of wild buffalo horns. If the seized horns are confirmed
to belong to wild buffaloes, this would perhaps be the first case of the kind,"
said Ashok Kumar, Vice-chairman, Wildlife Trust of India (WTI). "Wild buffaloes
already face severe threats due to habitat destruction, disease transmission and
competition from domestic livestock among others. If trade is established as a
threat, then this is serious and will have to be studied further," he added. The
wild buffalo is listed under Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act,
that mandates a punishment of three to seven years imprisonment for poaching and
trade. It is also classified as "endangered" in the International Union for Conservation
of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. |
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