Hard-Ground Barasingha Population in Satpura Tiger Reserve Crosses 300

10 October 2026National

The hard-ground Barasingha population in Satpura Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, has crossed 300, reaching about 303 animals by 10 October 2026. The state Forest Department began reintroducing the swamp deer there in 2015, translocating roughly 135 animals from Kanha National Park between 2015 and 2026 — Kanha being the subspecies' last surviving stronghold, where it is also the state animal. The recovered herd now occupies three population units in the Churna range, anchored on the Bori enclosure and the Bori and Malini grasslands. It is Madhya Pradesh's second translocation success this month, alongside the cheetah move to Veerangana Durgavati.

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Barasingha, or swamp deer (Rucervus duvaucelii), is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List and in Schedule I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 | The hard-ground subspecies branderi survives naturally only in Kanha | Satpura Tiger Reserve lies in Narmadapuram district and forms part of the Satpura-Pachmarhi landscape

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