Wild Buffaloes Return to Madhya Pradesh After About a Century: Reintroduction in Kanha Tiger Reserve
Eight wild water buffaloes (six females and two males) brought from Kaziranga National Park, Assam were released into a 17-hectare enclosure in the Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, on 11 October 2026.
Wild buffaloes disappeared from the forests of present-day Madhya Pradesh about 100 years ago. This is the first step to bring the species back to the state.
The animals travelled about 2,200 km and arrived in two batches, on 28 April and 9 May 2026. They first stayed in a small one-hectare enclosure in the Supkhar range of Kanha to get used to the local climate, and were moved to the bigger enclosure after quarantine (a period of isolation and health checks to make sure they carry no disease).
The forest department chose Supkhar because there is evidence that wild buffaloes once lived there.
After the monsoon, the buffaloes are to be set free into their natural habitat. The state aims to bring in 50 wild buffaloes over three years.
The step is part of a wider wildlife plan in the state, which also includes developing a third cheetah habitat at the Veerangana Durgavati (Nauradehi) Tiger Reserve.
Wild Water Buffalo (Bubalus arnee)
The wild water buffalo is a huge, wild member of the cattle family that lives in wet grasslands, swamps and river floodplains of South and Southeast Asia. Its scientific name is Bubalus arnee. It is the wild cousin, and most likely the ancestor, of the domestic buffalo that gives milk in Indian villages. It is Endangered, and India is home to the large majority of the world's surviving wild buffaloes.
Madhya Pradesh lost its wild buffaloes about a century ago. By bringing eight animals from Kaziranga, which holds the world's largest wild buffalo population, and following a soft-release plan (quarantine, small enclosure, larger enclosure, then free release), the state is trying to rebuild a second central Indian population of this Endangered species.
Kanha Tiger Reserve
Kanha Tiger Reserve is one of India's best-known tiger reserves. It lies in the Maikal hills of the Satpura range in Madhya Pradesh, spread over the Mandla and Balaghat districts. It is famous for its open grassy meadows and sal forests, and above all for saving the hard-ground barasingha (swamp deer) from extinction. Its national park, Kanha National Park, is the largest national park in Madhya Pradesh.
The wild buffaloes from Kaziranga have been released into an enclosure in Kanha's Supkhar range, where evidence suggests the species once lived. Kanha's open meadows, water sources and experience with the barasingha bomas make it the chosen site to rebuild a wild buffalo population in Madhya Pradesh.
- 8 wild buffaloes (6 females, 2 males) moved from Kaziranga National Park (Assam) to Kanha Tiger Reserve (Madhya Pradesh)
- Released into a 17-hectare enclosure on 11 October 2026; earlier kept in a 1-hectare enclosure in Supkhar range
- Arrived in two batches: 28 April and 9 May 2026; journey of about 2,200 km
- Wild buffaloes had disappeared from Madhya Pradesh about 100 years ago
- Target: 50 wild buffaloes in three years; free release planned after the monsoon
- Wild water buffalo: Bubalus arnee, IUCN Endangered, WPA Schedule I, CITES Appendix III, state animal of Chhattisgarh
- Kanha: national park since 1955, tiger reserve since 1973; core about 940 sq km