Rooted in the hills: Toda buffaloes are well adapted to Nilgiris. They pass on coarse pastures and tolerate cold rain and the hail of southwest monsoon and heavy frosts of the northwest monsoon. Research station of sheep breeding in Sanddynallah bought 30 buffalo from Todas. | Photo Credit: M. Satyamoorty
Over the past three decades, the Toda Buffalo population, the original species of water buffalo associated with the culture of Toda tribes, has reduced by more than 90%. In the new initiative, the breeding research station in Sanddynallah in Nilgiris launched a captive breeding program, which helps the population to renew in the hills, even though it seeks to understand its genetic makeup.
According to officials, the buffalo population ranged from 15,000 to 20,000 in Nilgiris several decades ago. But N. Prema, head of the OOT station at the Sandynallah Research Research Station, points out that 2023 buffalo enumerations across all Hamlets Toda revealed that less than 1,000 animals remained. “Of the 1,000, there was a large number crossed with another cattle,” he says.
Gradual disappearance
The culture and tradition of Toda was inseparably associated with their buffaloes for millennia. Combination of factors – destruction of grasslands of nilgiris, which served as traditional buffalo pastures, high levels of gravity mortality, increased cases of wilderness predation and gradual changes in the livelihood and culture of the todas themselves – led to the gradual disappearance of the buffalo from the landscape.
Anthropologist Paul Hockings, who wrote about buffalo in the encyclopedia of Nilgiri Hills, says: “Not more than one fifth of domestic bovine in the district is Buvolí (Bubalus Bubalis): Census of livestock from 1982 recorded 57,199 cattle heads.”
“Today, … Many of the Nilgiris buffaloes are desi, ie not inscribed, without breed improved animals that are tending throughout India, suggesting that the dilution of genetic makeup Toda Buffaloes was at the age of 80.
“The finely adapted Nilgiri mountains, prospering on their rough pastures and tolerating, without hiding, cold rain and hail southwest monsoon and heavy frosts with northwest monsoon, is the most impressive animal. “He remarks.
“When the population has decreased by so much in a few decades, it is now likely that the remaining population could be lost without immediate plans to maintain,” says Mrs. Prema. As the first step, the research station of sheep breeding has purchased 30 buffaloes from Todas and is trying to breed more buffaloes. “While Buffaloes Toda is semi -solid and produces only an average of 3.5 liters to 4 liters of milk a day, their milk has a high fat content. The breed itself is highly resistant to conditions such as mastitis.
Funded Rashtriya Gokul Mission
He says that with the participation of the tribal community to breeding Toda Buffalo, the initiatives funded by the mission of Rashtriya Gokul in the animal development agency Tamil Nadu is developing efforts to increase the population of Buffalo. Studies are carried out to understand the resistance of the breed to mastitis. The buffalo milk is studied to detect its nutritional value.
Another boundary scheduled next year
As a further step towards raising awareness between the importance of preserving buffaloes, research stations of sheep breeding and university Tamil Nadu Nadu veterinary and animal sciences (Tanuvas) lead between communities and remuneration of the best Buffalo breeders. “In February this year, we also had an exhibition in Udhagamandalam. It represented products with added value made from buffalo milk, including panton, butter, ghee and flavored buttermilk,” says Mrs. Prema.
Officials claim that in 2026 they planned another list of buffaloes.
Published – April 15 2025 22:36
