Uttar Dinajpur (West Bengal): Authorities in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal have seized a huge cache of horns, suspected to belong to the endangered wild buffalo, raising fears of trade as a potential threat to the species of which less than 4000 individuals remain in the wild.

A total of 627 horns concealed underneath 16.8 tonnes of coal was recovered from a truck in Chopra, Uttar Dinajpur district, on January 23. Three persons including the truck driver have been arrested.

“We have sent horn samples to the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) for confirmation. Circumstantial evidence points to the worse. If the horns belonged to domestic buffaloes, they need not have been hidden,” said Utpal Kumar Nag, Assistant Divisional Forest Officer, Wildlife Division – 1, West Bengal Forest Department.

“We are trying to identify the destination where the horns were headed. The arrested persons have not been talking. They lack valid documents — even driver’s licence,” Nag added.

The truck was reportedly dispatched from Assam – the northeastern Indian state which is considered the last stronghold for the wild buffalo. Historically found across northeast India, north India bordering Nepal, east and central India, the wild buffalo is currently found in the northeast, and the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh.

“There is no known use of wild buffalo horns. If the seized horns are confirmed to belong to wild buffaloes, this would perhaps be the first case of the kind,” said Ashok Kumar, Vice-chairman, Wildlife Trust of India (WTI). “Wild buffaloes already face severe threats due to habitat destruction, disease transmission and competition from domestic livestock among others. If trade is established as a threat, then this is serious and will have to be studied further.”

The wild buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) is listed under Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, that mandates a punishment of three to seven years imprisonment for poaching and trade. It is also classified as ‘endangered’ in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.