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Home , Arunachal Pradesh, Jairampur, Nampong

NAMDAPHA TIGER RESERVE

Namdapha Tiger Reserve is located in the District of Arunachal , surrounded by on the South East. The reserve has a common boundary with Kamlang Wildlife Sanctuary () and Forest Division on the south-western side () of .

Area of the tiger reserve

Core/critical tiger habitat : 1807.82 sq km

Buffer/peripheral area : 245 sq km Total : 2052.82 sq km

Location

Latitude : 27°23'30" N to 27°39' 40" N Longitude : 96°15'02"E to 96°58'53" E

Habitat Attributes

Flora:

The vegetation & forests types of Namdapha Tiger Reserve is moist tropical forests. The principal categories of forests are Northern Tropical Evergreen Forest or Valley Tropical Wet Evergreen Forest, dominated by Dipterocarpus species. Besides there are North Indian Tropical Moist Deciduous Forests dominated by Terminalia and Duabanga species, Miscellaneous Forests, East Himalayan Moist Temperate Forests, Moist Alpine Scrub Forests, Assam Valley Alluvial Plains Semi-evergreen Forests and Eastern Hollock Forests. The extensive wet evergreen tropical forests found in the tract can be categorized broadly into the following forest types based on Champion and Seth'ts classification:

1 1. Assam Valley Tropical Wet Evergreen Forests (IB-C-1) 2. Upper Assam Valley Tropical Evergreen Forests (IB-C2a) 3. Upper Assam Valley Tropical Evergreen Forests (lB-C2b) 4. Assam Valley Tropical Semi Evergreen Forests (2B/C-1) 5. Sub-Himalayan light alluvial semi evergreen Forests (2B/C1/S1) 6. Secondary moist bamboo tracts (2/251) 7. Eastern Hollock Forests (3/1S2(b) 8. East Himalayan moist temperate Forests (12/C -3) 9. Moist Alpine scrub Forest (15/C-1)

The floral composition is rich, dense and diverse with several endemics. The tract has phyto- geographical relationship and affinities with the Indo-Malayan flora. The Botanical Survey of has recorded 73 species of lichens, 56 species of Bryophytes, 110 species of Pteridophytes, 5 species of Gymnosperms and 801 species of Angiosperms. In addition, other shrub and tree species have also been recorded by other research projects and observations made after 2000. Thus, the total number of angiosperm species is around 935 (monocots: 203, dicots: 732). Exclusive floral elements of temperate and alpine region (above 1800 m) have not been explored due to inaccessibility and lack of infrastructure. The floral / faunal status of the buffer is similar to that of the low-elevation forests in the core area.

Fauna

Namdapha Tiger Reserve is located at the junction of the Indian Sub-continent and Indo- Biogeographic Regions, which accounts for its faunal diversity. Moreover, this belt is the faunal gateway through which the Indo-Chinese elements of Oriental as well as Palaeoarctic fauna have spread. Most of such faunal dispersal has taken place through this gateway due to the natural barriers of the Thar Desert in the West, the great Oceans in the South and the high in the North. Due to this fact, in every group along the evolutionary pathway, large and diverse species complexes exist in Namdapha and its surrounding areas.

Out of the 66 species of Schedule-I (Part-l) of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, 29 species include: the four big cats, Elephants, Himalayan Black Bear, Himalayan Sun Bear, (only Ape in India), Slow Loris, large herbivores such as Goral, Serow, Sambar, Pig, and Malayan Giant Squirrel. Major reptiles include: the , Vipers, Kraits and Pythons. Out of 38 species of birds belonging to Schedule I (Part-II) of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, 13 species include: the Great pied Hornbill, White Winged Wood Duck and various Pheasants. The faunal group represented by 1713 species recorded so far belong to:

Earthworm : 10 Species Leaches : 5 Species

2 Insects : 430 species Butterflies and Moths : 355 Species Fishes : 76 Species Amphibians : 25 Species Reptiles : 50 Species Birds : 665 Species Mammals : 97 Species

Overall 75 genera of mammals out of the 136 genera in India are reported, which include: 13 species of herbivores, 32 species of Carnivores, 4 species of large Cats, 9 species of non-human Primates, 2 species of pholidotes, 11 species of Bats, 9 species of Squirrels, 3 Species of Porcupines, 9 species of Rats and 5 species of Mongoose. Among new species in Namdapha, the major ones are: Leaf Deer (Muntiaca putaoensis), Black Barking Deer (Muntiaca crinifrons), (Biswamoyapterus biswassi), Short wing (Brachyaptery criptica), 7 new Subspecies of Scimitar Babbler (Pometorhimus), 5 species of Fishes [including the only Indian Salamander (Tylotoriton verrucossus)], 4 species of land Mollusc, rare Turtle (Cycloms mouhati), 3 species of Snakes belonging to the genus-Natrix and 14 new species of Beetles.

Tiger Status

Namdapha Tiger Reserve is the easternmost Tiger Reserve of the country. In a recent study, a male tiger was photo captured in the south-western portion of the reserve. Other photo captures include: leopard, , Asian Elephants, gaur serow, , large Indian Civet, Himalayan palm civet, common palm civet, crab-eating Leopard Cat, , golden cat, leopard cat, ferret- badger, jackal, Malayan sun bear, wild pig, stump-tailed , capped langur, yellow-throated marten, sambar and barking deer. Several scats of tigers have been found, and the tiger / leopard distribution is seen throughout the core area. In the recent past, the tiger scat samples are subjected to genetic analysis, and based on the same, the presence of two male tigers has been seen in the western portion of the reserve.

Core

The core area amounts to 1800 sq.km. This is mountainous and forms the catchment of the river Noa-Dihing flowing down through the middle of the reserve. To the north, there are several snow covered peaks (> 3000 m) of the main Himalayan range, and the southern side is flanked by the lower hills. There are numerous natural lakes, pools, streams, rivers, riverine patches of grasslands, swamp sand and natural salt licks.

3 Buffer

The reserve forests adjacent to core / critical tiger habitat, namely , Miao and of Nampong Forest Division have been included in the buffer zone. The total buffer area of Namdapha Tiger Reserve (NTR) is 245 sq.km, which includes 68 sq.km of Miao, 141 sq.km. of Diyun reserved forests, alongwith 36 sq.km. of Unclassed State Forests of Nampong and Namsai Forest Divisions. The Unclassed State Forests are specifically along the riverine areas of Noa-. Approximately 105 sq.km. of the buffer is forested, and the rest 140 sq.km. is a multiple-use area with settlements and various forms of cultivation. There is a proposal for including the Gandhigram area in the buffer, encompassing part of the Unclassed State Forests of Vijaynagar circle amounting to 634 sq.km. in the eastern side. The southern side of the reserve makes an International border with Myanmar (Hukawng Wildlife Sanctuary). The northern side of the reserve has a common boundary with Kamlang Wildlife Sanctuary.

Corridor

The area of the reserve is delineated on the north, south and south-east by the international boundary between Myanmar and India. On the northern and western side, the reserve is surrounded by the contiguous habitat of Kamlang Wildlife Division and Namsai / Nampong Forest Divisions. Thus, the corridors surrounding Namdapha can be categorized as (1) Reserved Forests (2) Unclassed State Forest and the (3) International boundary. Due to contiguity of forest boundaries there are distinct corridor linkages for elephant, tiger and other mammals.

Managerial issues

The thrust areas for management include stepping up protection in general with a focus on international border, monitoring of tiger in an expedition mode, reinforcing the basic infrastructure and involvement of local people in day to day protection.

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