Left Behind By Britishers, Descendants Of These War Horses Continue To Live In Assam

Horses that belong to the British are still surviving in India - these are their valiant war horses.

After the end of World War II, the Britishers left behind their war horses. Today, third and fourth generations of this breed of hoofed mammals still survive in the Dibru-Saikhowa National Park of Assam.

FB/ photography-ujjal-borah

Britishers left behind these horses in the 1940s, during World War II, in Assam, as it was a base for the Allied forces. The British soldiers were stationed around Tinsukia district to fight back the Japanese Army of the Axis Powers. These soldiers brought with them feral horses as their cavalry horses.

After World War II ended in 1945, the British army released these horses into the wild instead of returning with them.

These are the 'feral horses' - defined as free-roaming equines of domesticated stock. The present-day feral horses in Assam are thus descendants of these warhorses left behind by the British army.

The 1950s earthquake scare

The Earthquake that occurred in Assam in the 1950s resulted in major changes. The Brahmaputra and its tributaries shifted course, thereby cutting off the area where the horses were stranded from the mainland.

These bright-coloured horses did survive and today are a major attraction for those visiting the Dibru-Saikhowa National Park.

Dibru-Saikhowa National Park

This National Park and Biosphere Reserve is about 12 km north of Tinsukia in Assam and covers the Dibrugarh district. Situated 118m above sea level, it is a safe haven for many endangered species, such as clouded leopards, rhesus macaque, Chinese pangolin, and feral horses.

Dibru-Saikhowa/ Wikipedia

The park is bounded by the Brahmaputra and Lohit Rivers in the north and the Dibru River in the south.

Attacked by ex-army personnel

Believed to be of 'pure' blood with no cross-breeding, these feral horses are considered exotic. In 2020, some ex-Army personnel were exposed to being involved in the smuggling and illegal trade of feral horses from Dibru-Saikhowa National Park. Four people, including two retired army personnel ¡ª Khagen Baishya and Arun Pal Singh- were arrested.

Oil well blowout affected horses' habitat

On 27th May 2020, the Baghjan oil well had a major blowout which led to a massive release of gas, crude and condensate into the environment. It occurred merely 900 metres from the core area of the Dibru Saikhowa National Park, hampered the feral horses' habitat.

Baghjan Oil Well blowout/ ET

A report on the impact of the Baghjan blowout in Assam mentioned the massive loss to animal and plant species due to the blatant violation of norms close to a biodiversity hotspot.

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