The very first census to record the population of the Indian bison or gaurs in Odisha was conducted in Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary on November 12 and 13.

Around 70,000 tourists visit the sanctuary located in the Bargarh district of western Odisha every year.

Indian bison is a schedule -1 animal in the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 and is in the vulnerable category in the IUCN (The International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List. Around 85 per cent of the world’s Indian bison are spotted in India. In India their population ranges between 15,000 and 20,000, forest officials said.

Divisional forest officer (DFO), Hirakud Wildlife Division Anshu Pragyan Das told The Telegraph, “The sanctuary has a presence of 659 including 210 juveniles. The census (Population Estimation) of Indian bison or gaur was undertaken on November 12 and 13 in Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary for the assessment of the current population of Indian bison in the sanctuary. This is the first-ever census in Odisha as well as Debrigarh. We are hopeful of more tourists visiting the sanctuary to see the Indian bison.”

She said, “The 659 were approximately seen in 52 herds. Herd size in the sanctuary varies from 8 to 33.30 per cent of young bison. This indicates a fast-growing or thriving population in Debrigarh Sanctuary. The massively built and strong bulls weighing up to 1,500kg have also been recorded during the census.”

The DFO said, “The census was conducted on foot with systematic surveys along the forest roads, animal trails, water bodies, grasslands and meadows, saltlicks etc from 6am to 6pm in 53 census units with 114 team members.”