Jharkhand Forest dept initiates study to revive dwindling Bison population at PTR

Ranchi: The Jharkhand Forest department has initiated a study to revive the dwindling population of Bison, popularly known as Gaur, at Palamu Tiger Reserve (PTR), an official said.

The bovine, a food source for big cats, has already gone extinct from across Jharkhand, excluding the PTR where merely 50-70 bison are surviving, he claimed.

According to wildlife experts, poaching, infection and habitat disturbance by local cattle have been the major reasons for the vanishing of bison from Jharkhand.

"Once Bisons were abundant in Jharkhand's Saranda, Dalma, Hazaribagh, Gumla and some other forests. But, they went extinct from across the state. PTR, mainly Betla range, is the last destination where it is surviving but numbers are on the decline," said former state wildlife board member DS Srivastava.

He alleged domestic cattle was posing a major threat to the animal in PTR.

"Over 1.5 lakh domestic cattle from around the villages in PTR have occupied most of the space of Bison. They are eating food of the Bison and are also spreading several infections such as mouth and foot diseases. The forest department needs to check the cattle grazing," he said.

PTR director Kumar Ashutosh said they are carrying out a study to ascertain the parameters that impact the animal.

"Various aspects are being studied right from their behaviour to survival requirements so that their population could be increased," Ashutosh told PTI.

Giving more details, PTR deputy field director Prajesh Jena said, "We are also studying species of grass they prefer, how to improve their habitats and grow their population. After the study, we will prepare a comprehensive plan for their revival." He said that the bison population in PTR was around 150 in the 1970s.

"The population is currently between 50 and 70. Its revival is also important from a tiger point of view. They are a good source of food for tigers, other than the Sambar and Cheetal," he said.

The tiger count in Jharkhand's Palamau Tiger Reserve (PTR) rose to one in the latest tiger estimation report, released in 2023, from nil recorded in 2018.

The reserve official, however, claimed that currently, the population of tigers in the reserve is around five.

"We have evidence of five tigers in camera trapping captured recently in the reserve," Jena said.

In a bid to protect bison and other animals from zoonotic diseases, the PTR authority in association with district administration has also initiated a massive vaccination drive under which around 1.5 lakh domestic cattle will be vaccinated.

Around 190 villages spread around the reserve area. The villagers let out their cattle inside the reserve area, which spread various diseases, mainly mouth and foot disease, through water bodies, Jena said.

"So, we have decided to vaccinate them to protect bison and other animals in the reserve area," he said.

The PTR authority has already started the grassland improvement work and strengthening anti-poaching centres for the protection of bison and other animals in the reserve.

"We have 32 anti-poaching centres in the PTR where 24x7 security guards are providing a protective environment to wild animals and it is also helping grow their population. We are observing Bison count is now rising due to such centres," he said.

He said that they were also working to relocate the villages from the core area of the reserve.

Jena added that if they were successful in repopulating the bison and sambar, tiger population could also rise by 15-17 per cent.

There are around 34 villages within the PTR limits. The forest department has identified eight villages that need to be relocated outside the PTR in phases, a forest official said.

Of the 1,129.93 sqkm area of PTR, 414.08 sqkm is marked as a core area (critical tiger habitat) and the remaining 715.85 sqkm as a buffer zone.

Of the total area, 226.32 sqkm is designated as Betla National Park. In the buffer zone, 53 sqkm is open for tourists.