Status of Bhadawari breed of buffalo in its breeding tract and its conservation

The report pertain to a survey of 217 village in Etawah, Jalaun Jhansi and Lalitpur districts in Uttar Pradesh and Bhind and Morena district in Madhya Pradesh. Etwah is considered to be the heart of the breeding tract, where 138 villages were surveyed. Results point a sheep decline in the number of Bhadawari buffaloes over the years. Ambah and Porsa tehsil of Morena district were earlier know for the best quality Bhadawari animals but presently it is difficult to find pure Bhadawari animals in the area. After surveying 9 villages in Morena district only 5 Bhadawari type animals could be located. A similar situation prevailed in Bhind district. The Etwah district that lies in the centre of the breeding tract has only 8-9 Bhadawari buffaloes per village left. Storage of breeding bulls, comparatively poor milk yield infiltration of Murrah buffaloes and crossbreeding policy adopted by state government to upgrade the local buffaloes by Murrah were the main reasons for decline in the number. Changes in the physical characteristics of Bhadawari animals were also recorded. About 70% of bhadawari buffaloes found in the area were of medium size, 65% showed copper colored skin and rest about 35% of the buffaloes were having blackish colour and comparatively larger body size. Deviation in the horn pattern was also observed and about 50% of the Bhadawari buffaloes had two white lines (chevron) at lower side of the neck, 30% of them had one white line and the rest 20% did not have the chercron through they had all their characteristics of Bhadawari type. Result indicated that their population is decline at an alarming rate and only a few thousand animals are now remaining in the field. It is high time to conserve and propagate this breed for posterity. Sustained efforts over a few decades will restore the Bhadawari buffaloes in the fields.