Kathmandu, May 30:

A recent census has confirmed the presence of 37 Indian bisons, the biggest species of endangered wild animal belonging to cattle family, in the Parsa Wildlife Reserve (PWR).

An officer at the WWF-Nepal said the Parsa Wildlife Reserve conducted the census on

May 24-27 with the help of the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, WWF-Nepal, Nepal Army and the Buffer Zone Management Committee.

Altogether 12 persons and nine elephants were deployed for a week to count the animal in the reserve.

“Gaurs, as they are called in Nepali, are on the verge of extinction due to poaching. Organisations concerned should work together to protect this endangered animal from being poached,” said Ghana Shyam Gurung, a wildlife conservation officer at the WWF-Nepal.

Gaur is listed as a protected animal in Nepal, as vulnerable in International Union for Nature Conservation (IUCN) Red Data Book and is listed in Appendix I of CITES. It is estimated that only around 1,000 gaurs exist in the wild and its number is declining due to hunting, habitat destruction and exposure to domestic diseases.