The Return of the Gaur:

An increase in the number of stripes roaming the Indian wild has given the wildlife lovers a reason to cheer about. Several milestone initiatives have contributed to his conservation success story. We showcase in this section some of the best practices adopted by Tiger Reserves in India. The first one in the series is about the Gaur translocation project undertaken in Kanha Tiger Reserve.

- Rakesh Shukla

It was a winter morning in the Kanha tiger reserve, and I was scanning a gaur herd through field glasses from atop an elephant. I sat mesmerized as I focused on a huge bull and scanned the herd of gaurs. This was not the first time I was watching them. In my several years of service in Kanha, I have seen them countless times and every time I have been equally awestruck by their massive shiny bodies; for me an it is epitome of strength and vigour. This was a special herd indeed! In a few days’ time this group of animals would be the founder population for Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, one of the most ambitious reintroduction program in India.

A TRYST WITH THE PAST

Madhya Pradesh has over the years enjoyed an enviable status of harboring an effective network of wildlife protected areas, and conserving a wide range of wildlife and their habitats, including some endangered species. While there are many finer objectives of the management of these wildlife protected areas, the basis of conservation philosophy lies in biodiversity conservation. And conservation practices herein aim at the maintenance of species diversity and prevention of species extinction where species are preserved as part of functioning ecosystems.