Chhattisgarh's Forest Department plans to translocate wild buffaloes from Assam to revive its critically diminished population — the wild buffalo is Chhattisgarh's state animal. Once widespread in central India, fewer than a dozen pure wild buffaloes survive in Udanti-Sitanadi Tiger Reserve. Hybridisation with domestic buffaloes, habitat loss, and disease have decimated the population. The translocation plan aims to introduce genetically pure individuals from Assam's Kaziranga to restore a viable breeding population before local extinction occurs.

The wild buffalo (Bubalus arnee) is distinct from the domestic buffalo and is classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. India holds the majority of the global wild buffalo population, primarily in Assam's Kaziranga and Manas National Parks, with a small remnant population in Chhattisgarh's Udanti-Sitanadi Tiger Reserve.

The Chhattisgarh crisis illustrates multiple converging threats: genetic introgression (hybridisation with domestic livestock), poaching, disease transmission from cattle, and shrinking grassland habitat. Pure wild buffalo populations are increasingly rare because domestic buffalo genes infiltrate wild herds, reducing ecological fitness.

Translocation is a conservation tool governed by IUCN Guidelines for Reintroductions and Other Conservation Translocations (2013). Under Indian law, such inter-state wildlife translocation requires approval under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, and coordination between state forest departments and the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) or Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) as applicable.

Udanti-Sitanadi Tiger Reserve — the only habitat for wild buffalo in Chhattisgarh — falls under Project Tiger. The wild buffalo is also listed in Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, granting it the highest legal protection. This case connects to broader debates on species-specific recovery plans, genetic conservation, and the role of protected area networks in preventing local extinctions.