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Unesco Manoj Nair Inisde Cityf To my parents & the young nature lovers of Assam… © Publisher, 2006 Citation : Manoj V. Nair (2006) : Inside a city forest – The Natural History of Assam State Zoo Campus, Published by Assam State Zoo cum Botanical Garden, Guwahati, Assam. Front, back and inner cover & all photographs in the text : Author Plate credits : Abhijit Das (AD) Firoz Ahmed (FA) Manoj V. Nair (MN) Saibal Sengupta (SS) Design, layout and printing : Anjan Mahanta, Fine Edge, Ganeshguri, Guwahati. Contents Acknowledgements Preface From a naturalist’s journal : introducing the city forest ... 1 Atop the Hengerabari hill : area, topography, vegetation and habitats ... 6 Menagerie to Meaningful Conservation : a brief history of ASZBG ... 8 A profile of The Noah’s Ark : synopsis of the campus biodiversity ... 11 Of Mirtenga, Makri Sal and others : indigenous flora of the campus ... 12 Pesky Rhesus, Pretty Muntjac : free-ranging mammals ... 24 What’s that warbler ? : a birder’s guide to the campus ... 30 The call of the Tucktoo : introducing the campus reptiles ... 49 Out in the pouring rain : in search of frogs, toads et al. ... 58 Bugs, beetles & butterflies : a glimpse of the arthropod diversity ... 65 The city forest beckons : some tips for the amateur naturalist ... 81 Of islands and extinctions : a bit of conservation biology ... 94 References ... 97 From the publisher’s desk… From its humble beginning way back in 1957, Assam State Zoo cum Botanical Garden has indeed come a long way. Today, it is one of the premier large zoos in the country in addition to being the largest in N.E. India. The zoo also has to its credit a series of success stories in breeding rare and endangered animals, with special emphasis on the species endemic to this biogeographical zone. It is also one of the most favoured tourist destination in the region, playing host to over five lakh visitors annually. Spread over an area of 175 h.a of scenic landscape, the campus also serves as a crucial green lung to the ever-growing city of Guwahati. All this is known to many, but few are aware of the fact that the campus also contains within it , a patch of natural forest over 100 h.a in area, which serves as a fabulous repository of free ranging wild animals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and insects. Perhaps no other zoo can boast of such extraordinary diversity both inside and outside the enclosures ! Just the right combination for making the visitors aware of the role of zoos as ex-situ conservation centres, complementary to in-situ conservation. With a view to document this diversity comprehensively, and create awareness among the visitors regarding this, Manoj Nair, IFS, Assistant Conservator Of Forests, who was conducting natural history studies in the campus took up this project. The author, who is a wildlife biologist by training, started off armed with his binoculars, camera and a field note-book. Almost every day yielded something interesting, all of which were meticulously documented. As information started accumulating, he realized the richness of this patch and its potential for spreading conservation awareness. And what could be more suitable to drive home the all-important message of the complementarity of ex- situ and in-situ approaches to conservation to the visitors, than this forest patch, which for all practical purposes is like an open interpretation centre ? Could there be a better place to nurture awareness on conservation among the young students of Guwahati ? It is precisely this aspect that gives relevance to this small book. It is also important given the present day focus on the emerging theme of urban biodiversity conservation. We hope to follow up on this work by laying out guided nature trails inside the campus and inviting school and college students to carry out ecological study projects in the campus. Thus, documentation of the biodiversity and publication of this book is the first step in the process of garnering active support for conservation of not just the campus but also many such patches of wilderness in the city and elsewhere in the state of Assam. It is expected that this book has made a humble beginning towards this end. Welcome to the city forest ! 18.01.2006 Narayan Mahanta Guwahati Divisional Forest Officer, Assam State Zoo cum Botanical Garden I Inside a City Forest Acknowledgements From the very moment I mooted the idea of this booklet, Sri. N. Mahanta, DFO, Assam State Zoo Division, gave me a free hand and remained supportive throughout the course of this project. I couldn’t have got a more cheerful friend & helpful colleague than Mrs. Sonali Ghosh. Mrigen Barua - friend, range officer and rescuer of stranded wildlife, generously shared his experience and collection of archival material. Nagen Das, the botanist at ASZBG, was always ready to share his considerable expertise in field botany. Dr. Smith and Dr. Gogoi, the zoo vets were always available for discussions. Madhurya Sharma and the rest of the office staff were all extremely helpful. My heartfelt thanks to each one of them. I must say at this juncture that I couldn’t have hoped for a more flexible working atmosphere than what I got in the Assam Forest Department. All the seniors were extremely supportive and fully encouraged my interest in wildlife research, especially Shri.Bhupen Talukdar and Shankar Hazarika.My specific gratitude to the PCCF, Sri. S. Doley for deputing me to the State Zoo and Shri. M. C. Malakar, the Chief Wildlife Warden, Shri Suryanarayan, CF(WL) and Shri TK Das, CF(HQ) for their encouragement. Friends and fellow naturalists, Firoz Ahmed, Bibhuti Lahkar, Bidyut Jyoti Das and Bibhab Talukdar were ever ready to help; I wish Aaranyak keeps up the good work - all the very best to them. I’m indebted to Abhijit Das for all his help and wonderful company in the field; I have learnt a lot from him. My sincere thanks to Dr. Saibal Sengupta and his students, especially Jayanta Gogoi who helped me with herpetofauna & insects and my friend Dr. Manju Siliwal, who identified the spiders. Dr. Anwaruddin Choudhury was a ready source of information on the past animal records from the zoo campus and is indeed a source of inspiration to a whole generation of young nature lovers in N.E.India. Some of the species, especially of lower groups, were identified by experts in various e-groups; I’m thankful to all of them. My gratitude to those mentioned in the facing page who willingly contributed their valuable photographs. This book could not have happened without the patience and creativity of Anjan Mahanta of Fine Edge & .Rajjyoti Barua of Fairgraphics in Guwahati; my heartfelt thanks to both of them. At Guwahati, Nandita Hazarika and Dr. Goutam Narayan of the Pygmy Hog Conservation Centre, were boundless in their hospitality and gave me a home away from home. Dr. Anil Kumar’s family, became like my own - thank you Ani, Kalyani and Govindankutty. I have duly acknowledged all significant sources of information in the main body of the text or check-lists, but the complete list of every person from whom verbal or written information was collected is too long to be mentioned here. Nevertheless, my sincere thanks goes to each one of them. My faculty members, friends and colleagues, first at the Wildlife Institute Of India, and later at the Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy encouraged and supported my interest in natural history. I do miss those wonderful days and hope we can all meet up again, to go hiking to some lovely forest. I’m also indebted to my naturalist friends and mentors of school and college days in Trivandrum – C. Jayakumar, C. Susanth, Dr. Dileep, Shibu, Gopan, Chandran. Drs. Santhi & Sathischandran Nair have always remained an inspiration, in natural history and in life. My parents and sister have always understood my wild ways and have tolerated my long abscences from home right since schooldays, especially during holidays and vacations, while I’d be away attending some nature camp or off trekking with friends. I consider myself blessed to have a wife who shows remarkable sensitivity and understanding; she is also a budding bird-watcher! How can I ever thank you enough - Amma, Achchan (both at Kumarapuram and Aranmula), Manju, Gopu, Kochu and of course you, Aswathi ? It is also my fond hope that my two little nephews, twin naturalists-in-the-making (if I have my way) will enjoy this book when they grow up and read it. Finally, to mother Nature whose exquisite tapestry of life never fails to enthrall me (a tiny but fascinating bit of which is enshrined in the ASZBG campus), I bow down in deep reverence and hope it remains unspoilt, for all times to come... Inside a City Forest II FROM A NATURALIST’S JOURNAL introducing the city forest Adiantum caudatum In the city of Guwahati thrives a forest. It is a modern day a certain level of protection from biotic pressure was sufficient to Noah’s ark, this tiny patch of wilderness barely 2 km2 in area, the rejuvenate small patches of urban wildernesses to a point where campus of the Assam State Zoo cum Botanical Garden (ASZBG). they could sustain significant levels of biodiversity; and two, sensitive Whereas the scriptural vessel had choppy waves assailing it, the zoo town planning (with a strong base on ecology and natural history, ark has a burgeoning sea of humanity surging all around; both are which left aside such islands free from development), had the equally beleaguered. And much like the biblical boat, the campus potential to transform our urban spaces into wonderful habitats for too is filled to the brim with all kinds of wildlife, but luckily in this a range of lesser life-forms.
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