To generate awareness about the Mithun ( Bos Frontalis ), a semi-domesticated animal in the north-east facing extinction, and other social issues, a two-day festival will be organised here in collaboration with the Centre for Cultural Research and Documentation (CCRD) from May 28.
CCRD executive director Moji Riba told journalists that the ‘Bos Frontalis Festival 2010,' being organised by the Mascot Network Society, will seek to generate awareness about the Mithun, its cultural significance, conservation as well as its importance as a folk icon. The Mithun is generally found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Malaysia (peninsular), Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand and Vietnam. It is considered a status symbol in tribal societies since time immemorial.
The animal is facing the threat of extinction due to mass slaughter during local festivals and commercial consumption, prompting the civil society to call for its protection.
A Mithun expert, who has been propagating conservation of the animals in farms in Sagalee, says on an average, a Mithun yields 1.5 litre of milk, equivalent to three-litre milk of a cross-bred cow.
