Guwahati: Camera traps originally deployed to monitor tigers in Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve have yielded an unexpected conservation success story, leading to the first scientific assessment of the elusive Greater Hog Badger in the UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The study, released on June 12 by Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve, estimates that the protected area supports at least 55 Greater Hog Badgers, indicating a healthy and potentially viable population of the globally vulnerable species across the landscape.
The assessment was conducted by Kaziranga’s Tiger Cell in collaboration with the Wildlife Conservation Trust and researcher Tiasa Adhya of The Fishing Cat Project, using camera-trap images collected during previous All India Tiger Estimation exercises. What began as incidental “bycatch” data from tiger monitoring evolved into the first dedicated scientific report on the species in Kaziranga.
Researchers analysed more than 140 camera-trap captures from 857 locations across the reserve and found the Greater Hog Badger to be widely distributed throughout Kaziranga’s grasslands, wetlands and woodland habitats. The species showed a strong association with tall grassland-woodland mosaics and wetland-rich areas.
The Greater Hog Badger (Arctonyx collaris), locally known as Mati Gahori, is the world’s largest badger species and is protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List due to declining populations driven by habitat loss and hunting across much of its range.
The report notes that the species has suffered severe declines across Southeast Asia and that India, particularly Assam and the Northeast, may now hold some of its most important remaining strongholds. The findings from Kaziranga therefore carry significance well beyond the park itself, highlighting the region’s growing importance for the conservation of a species facing increasing pressures elsewhere in its range.
The study also identified hotspots for the species along the Diffolu River near Kerasin and Daphlang and near Sohola on Kaziranga’s eastern boundary.
Reacting to the findings, Assam Forest Minister Jayanta Malla Baruah described the report as “exciting news” for Kaziranga, noting that the healthy presence of the elusive nocturnal mammal reflects the strength and ecological integrity of the park’s ecosystems.
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While Kaziranga is globally celebrated for its one-horned rhinoceros and tiger populations, the new report underscores its role as a refuge for lesser-known wildlife species whose ecological importance often goes unnoticed. Researchers say the Greater Hog Badger contributes to soil aeration, nutrient cycling and seed dispersal, making it an important engineer of forest and grassland ecosystems.
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