BAHUBALI: The Indian Bison in conflicts
Bison represents raw power in symbolism. It also plays a significant role in Indian Folklores and mythology. Recently Indian Bison is in news for some different reasons- human-animal conflict.
Indian Bison (Bos gaurus) population is listed as Vulnerable under IUCN Red List of species with decreasing trend. Habitat Degradation, Poaching and Epidemic diseases, are responsible for the decline of its population globally.
In India, Bison is found in South-west, Central and North-eastern India. It is the state animal of Goa and Bihar.
Wild animals straying into human settlements ends badly for either humans or wildlife or both. Indian forests are home to Indian Bison since ancient times so what must be the cause for the Bison to step out of its home!!
We can understand the process of Bison stepping out of forests by comparing it with the human migrations. As humans move out of their homes in search of food, better living conditions or avoid conflicting situations like drying water resources, degraded land, war, famine which make the home not livable. Similarly, Bison is coming out of its homes in search of food(pastures), perennial water sources and alternative places to live.