Mrudul Godbole
22-06-2013, 05:58 PM
Chhattisgarh's wild buffalo gets sanction for cloning
Jun 20, 2013, 08.20PM IST
RAIPUR: Country's first cloning on a wild animal gets green signal from state forest department with the payment of first installment of Rs 58 lakh to National Dairy Research Institute, (NDRI) Karnal, Haryana for cloning of its endangered state animal, wild buffalo.
"With just six ban bhaisa (wild buffaloes) and four calves left in Chhattisgarh's Udanti forest, it was a matter of deep concern. There is only one female buffalo left which won't be able to conceive for more than twice, moreover, the female, in last four years has given birth to four males. It is around 10-years-old now and a normal life of buffaloes is 15 years. The four male calves were the result of in-situ breeding programme being conducted since five years where the female mates with few males, kept in the enclosure resembling to forest. Therefore, we had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with NDRI few months ago for cloning of wild buffaloes, against which the payment has been done now," Rakesh Chaturvedi, field director, Udanti Sitanadi Tiger Reserve told TOI.
Jun 20, 2013, 08.20PM IST
RAIPUR: Country's first cloning on a wild animal gets green signal from state forest department with the payment of first installment of Rs 58 lakh to National Dairy Research Institute, (NDRI) Karnal, Haryana for cloning of its endangered state animal, wild buffalo.
"With just six ban bhaisa (wild buffaloes) and four calves left in Chhattisgarh's Udanti forest, it was a matter of deep concern. There is only one female buffalo left which won't be able to conceive for more than twice, moreover, the female, in last four years has given birth to four males. It is around 10-years-old now and a normal life of buffaloes is 15 years. The four male calves were the result of in-situ breeding programme being conducted since five years where the female mates with few males, kept in the enclosure resembling to forest. Therefore, we had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with NDRI few months ago for cloning of wild buffaloes, against which the payment has been done now," Rakesh Chaturvedi, field director, Udanti Sitanadi Tiger Reserve told TOI.