SHORT COMMUNICATIONS The status of the Sumatran rhinoceros in north-eastern India

The historical distribution of the Sumatran the Katakhal and Innerline Reserved Forests rhinoceros Dicerorhinus sumatrensis stretched of Hailakandi and Cachar districts of southern from the foothills of the eastern Himalaya in Assam (A. M. Choudhury, pers. comm.). Bhutan and north-eastern India, through The areas closest to India's boundary where Myanmar and Indo-China to Borneo and the species still occurs are the Lassai tract and Sumatra. However, because of poaching and Tamanthi Wildlife Sanctuary of northern habitat loss the species is now struggling for Myanmar (Tilson and Traylor-Holzer, 1993). A survival in a few pockets of Myanmar, survey in Tamanthi in 1994 revealed the pres- Thailand, the Malay peninsula, Sumatra and ence of a few individuals (Rabinowitz et al., Borneo (Khan, 1989). 1995) and also recorded at least four reports of In the Indian subcontinent in the 19th cen- sightings in the Saramati area close to the tury, the Sumatran rhinoceros occurred in India-Myanmar border between 1971 and parts of Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Tripura, 1993 (Figure 1). Mizoram, northern Bengal, Bhutan, Comilla In January 1996,1 traversed the Ukhrul dis- and the Chittagong Hill Tracts (the latter two trict of Manipur bordering Myanmar, both by areas are now in Bangladesh; Lydekker, 1900; road and on foot along tracks on both sides of Finn, 1929; Milroy, 1934; Harper, 1945). The the roads, to assess the possibility of the occur- last two records for the subcontinent were in rence of any Sumatran rhino. In June 1996 I 1967, when a Sumatran rhinoceros was killed visited Nagaland, where part of Saramati is lo- near Cox's Bazar in the Chittagong area cated, also to determine whether rhinos were (Cubitt and Mountfort, 1985) and a rhinoceros present as well as to look for other species of was seen by local people in the Punikhal area wildlife. I used an illustration of the Indian of Sonai Reserved Forest of Cachar district, one-horned rhinoceros Rhinoceros unicornis southern Assam. The latter was probably also when interviewing local people about sight- a Sumatran rhinoceros because until 1890 this ings but they explained to me that the animal species was once encountered infrequently in that occasionally occurs in their area is

I __L' Rhino presence recorded 94° / 95* : Hukawng O 1960-70 Valley e 1971-80 y'T c'w // 0 1981-90 \ © 1991- Survey route NAGALAND - -26' N _/ :' ' /tassai Ml-'kohinia r^aramati^| 7 Tract % 3 11"'"'"'""1! -4 " / /'' ^ /famanthi' "3" -r -. "^ --''' y 1 Wildlife j \ J < / ^ i ^~* y^ Sanctuary^ fa:/ U ^ \// MYANMAR 0 ®r (BURMA) Figure 1. Map showing survey routes and recorded localities of the Sumatran rhinoceros in India V° / / MANIPUR ( I ^ India ^K^ and nearby areas of Myanmar. The locations in Myanmar are "V 0 50 I / 4 / f km after Rabinowitz et al. (1995). / f \ © 1997 FFI, Oryx, 31 (2), 151-152 i 151

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different, being hairy and having two small wildlife sanctuary but covers only 6.4 sq km horns. In Manipur, the Sumatran rhino is oc- and is too small to protect sufficient habitat for casionally reported from the Anko range of viable populations of large mammals. Ukhrul district. Villagers of Konkan (about 88 km by road south-east of Ukhrul town) en- countered stray individuals as recently as the Acknowledgements early 1990s (Aleng, pers. comm.). In the 1970s For their help during the field trip, I would like to a rhino was shot by the Tangkhul Naga tribe thank the following people: in Manipur, Dr R. K. (known as the Somra tribe in Myanmar) of Ranjan Singh and other members of MASS (a local Khamsong village, north-east of Ukhrul town. non-governmental organization), Aleng (the SDC [Magistrate] at Ukhrul); in Nagaland, Natwar The Tangkhuls call the animal selho. Thakkar of Nagaland Gandhi Ashram, M. I. Bora In Nagaland there are two specific records, (Deputy Commissioner of Zunheboto), Y. Lotha, K. both from the Tuensang district. In 1967-68 a Sohe and K. Thomas (all of the People's Group, a rhino was reported from Saramati on the local non-governmental organization), S. Hukiye lower slopes of this 3826-m peak (S. Hukiye, (Head Gaonburha of Sakhalu, who was also a noted hunter). Special thanks are due to Dr S. Muivah and pers. comm.). In 1994, the Yimchunger Nagas Ibohanbi Singh (both of MASS, Manipur), Akato of the Fakim area south of Saramati reported Sema (EAC, Zunheboto), and Hakim (driver) for ac- seeing a 'dwarf rhino (K. Thomas, pers. companying me to some of the remote areas of comm.). Some Nagas who occasionally visit Manipur and Nagaland. the Hukawng Valley in northern Myanmar re- ported the occurrence of Sumatran rhino in that area also. References Both the Anko range and the Saramati areas Cubitt, G. and Mountfort, G. 1985. Wild India. are virtually inaccessible and are still covered Collins, India. with mature tropical and subtropical forests. Finn, F. 1929. Sterndale's Mammalia of India. Thacker, Their inaccessibility and the presence of anti- Spink and Co., Calcutta and Simla. Harper, F. 1945. Extinct and Vanishing Mammals of the government rebels has saved them from the Old World.. Special publication. Am. com. Intern. onslaught of illegal timber operators. Local Wildlife prot., 12; New York. Nagas are not averse to conservation Khan, M. 1989. Asian Rhinos: An Action Plan for their measures as long as their normal economic ac- Conservation. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland. tivities are not hampered. Fortunately these Lydekker, R. 1900. The Great and Small Game of India, activities are very limited and are confined to Burma and Tibet. Rowland Ward, London. occasional trips by hunting parties and some Milroy, A.J.W. 1934. The preservation of wildlife in India. No. 3. Assam. /. Bombay nat Hist. Soc. 37 movement along traditional tracks across the (Suppl.), 97-104. international border. (Nagas do not set out Rabinowitz, A., Schaller, G. and Uga, U. 1995. A sur- specifically to hunt rhinos, mainly because of vey to assess the status of Sumatran rhinoceros the difficult terrain and extreme rarity of the and other large mammal species in Tamanthi animal, but some Nagas, especially from the Wildlife Sanctuary, Myanmar. Oryx, 29,123-128. western areas bordering Assam, are involved Tilson, R. and Traylor-Holzer, K. 1993. Sumatran in poaching of Indian one-horned rhinos in Rhino PHVA Briefing Book. IUCN/SSC Kaziranga and other areas.) Conservation Breeding Specialist Group, Minnesota. About 400 sq km in the Anko range of Manipur and about 500 sq km in the Anwaruddin Choudhury Saramati-Fakim area of Nagaland are strongly The Rhino Foundation for Nature in NE India recommended as national parks or wildlife c/o The Assam Co. Ltd, Bamunimaidam sanctuaries to save the wandering rhinos and Guwahati 781 021 their habitat. Fakim is already a notified Assam, India

152 ) 1997 FFI, Oryx, 31 (2), 151-152

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