From: yogesh@iucaa.ernet.in
REPORT Of THE WINTER SYMBIOSIS 93 ORGANISED BY THE WILDLIFE CLUB IIT BOMBAY AT
THE NAMDAPHA TIGER RESERVE ARUNACHAL PRADESH, INDIA 18-26 DECEMBER 1993
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We gratefully acknowledge the help and
cooperation received from Project Tiger authorities at Namdapha Tiger Reserve
particularly the Field Director, Mr.. Yogesh Kumar, the research staff
Dr. S.S. Chandiramani and Mr. Bhatt who made our stay at Namdapha a most
pleasurable and memorable experience. We also take this opportunity to thank
Dr. N.K. Khosla (Chairman Cultural) and Dr. G.K. Sharma ( Dean Student Affairs
)for support and assistance for our trip. We also record our thanks to
Prof. A.S. Mahajan, whose presence on the trip was a continuous transfusion
of ideas, knowledge, enthusiasm and perspective for all of us.
CHAPTER 1: BASIC INFORMATION ON NAMDAPHA TIGER RESERVE AND SOME OBSERVATIONS
1.1 Geography of Namdapha Tiger Reserve
Namdapha Tiger Reserve lies in the Changlang District of
Arunachal Pradesh, the eastern most state of the Indian Union. The
present area of the park is 1985 sq. km. including 1808 sq. km. of core
area and 177.4 sq. km. of buffer area. The park is bounded to the North by the
Dapha Bum Ridge, a long range of mountains stretching East-West and having Daph
a Bum peak (4598 m) as its highest point. Daphabum is also the highest point
in the Reserve. To the south lie the Patkai Ranges on the Indo-Myanmar
border. To the east are unbroken forests of the Vijoynagar circle up to the
Myanmar border. The village of Deban lies on the western boundary.The entire
area of the reserve is mountainous and forms the catchment area of the
Noa-dehing (also known as the Diyun) a tributary of the Brahmaputra. The
Diyun flows from East to West in the reserve. In addition there are some natural
lakes, (locally called beels) in the high hills of Namdapha.!
Besides these there are a few small pools, such as Moti Jheel, Rani
heel, and Raja Jheel. These pools and lakes attract migratory waterfowl.[1]
The Diyun Valley of Namdapha opens out to the upper
Brahmaputra Valley. The North-eastern hills along Nagaland enclose the
South-eastern sides of the upper Brahmaputra Valleywhile the Greater Himalaya
and its foothills are positioned such that the monsoon clouds get
trapped in Upper Assam causing extremely heavy rainfall. In all the valleys
of Arunachal Pradesh opening to the West, particularly in the southern
segment in which the Diyun valley lies, rain occurs most heavily for almost
8 months of the year with a short winter (October-January) being
comparatively dry. The Diyun has a very low valley floor. The mouth of the
valley is less than 150 m above sea level while the uppermost reaches, about
175 km. to the east, are less than 1500m above sea level. As a result,
tropical vegetation and climate occur throughout the length of the valley.
Historically, the Diyun Valley must have been a major migration path
into India for Arunachal tribes who trace their origin from Thailand or
further East. This is because the valley is the only route free of snow
linking Upper Myanmar with the Assam Valley. Even in recent years this
migration has been continuing in case of tribes such as the Lisu. The Lisu
are today settled at Gandhigram lying at the Eastern end of the reserve.Their
present number in this large settlement is about a thousand. The
tribe is today antagonistic towards the Park administration. They have also
been found to indulge in poaching on a limited scale. During our travels in
Namdapha, we found malicious statements against the Wildlife Wing painted
at a couple of places, by Lisus.
1.2 How to get there:
The headquarters of the Namdapha Tiger Reserve are located in
the town of Miao. Miao is a quaint little town located on the eastern
boundary of the reserve. Miao is conveniently accessible from the
Assamese town of Tinsukia ( 110 km. ) which is well connected to other
Assamese cities ( such as Gauhati, Dibrugarh ) by road and rail. The nearest
airport to Namdapha is at Mohanbari (Dibrugarh). For traveller's from
outside the North-east, the most convenient route is Gauhati-Tinsukia/
Dibrugarh - Miao. Both Arunachal and Assam State transport services run
buses from Tinsukia to Miao.
1.3 Entry formalities
Entry into Arunachal Pradesh requires a permit which is issued by the
Secretary (Political) Government of Arunachal Pradesh, Itanagar, Arunachal
Pradesh. An Application giving all details of the proposed visit and
nformation about the applicant such as Date of Birth, Age, Local address,
Permanent address should be made, (by post) at least two months in advance. The
permit is also supposed to be available at Mohanbari, but the exact procedure
is unknown to us.
The Resident Commissioner of the Government of Arunachal Pradesh is stationed
in New Delhi. He is also authorized to issue an Entry Permit after taking
approval from the Secretary Political in Itanagar.The visitor should also
make it a point to inform the Field Director at Miao about the visit as any
response from him is a useful document to have in case of any trouble.
Entry into Arunachal Pradesh occurs at the Namchik Checkpoint, a few
kilometers beyond the town of Jagun in Assam. Jagun is the nearest town
with S.T.D. facility, although Miao is expected to get this facility soon.
1.4 Where to stay
Accommodation for tourists is now available only at Miao and at the
village of Deban which is 27 km. from Miao, and lies inside the reserve.
Facilities at Miao are meant to serve as a transit for tourists bound for Deban.
Deban is far more interesting a place to stay than Miao. The forest rest house
at Deban is located on the banks of the Diyun in incredibly beautiful
terrain. Researchers are permitted to travel in the Buffer Zone. Simple
housing in this Zone is available at various places such as Haldibari,
Hornbill Camp, Firmbase Camp, Bulbulia, and the 40th mile Camp.
Accommodation facilities are likely to improve in the future. Accommodation
at Deban should preferably be booked in advance by writing to the Field
Director.
1.5 Flora of the Reserve
The vegetation may be broadly classified into tropical,
temperate and alpine vegetation. The lowland tropical forests of Namdapha are
perhaps the last remaining Dipterocarpus forests in India. The valley forests
can be classified into the following ( after Champion and Seth's
classification.)
1. Assam valley Tropical Rain forests
2. North Indian Tropical Moist Deciduous forests
3. Miscellaneous forests
1. Assam Valley Tropical Forest
This type of forest is found in the Diyun Valley and in the hills up
to a certain elevation. These forests are typically three- storeyed with
Hollong and Mekai forming a definite dominant layer. The top storey also
contains Hollock (Terminalia myriocarpa) and Jhutuli (Altinsia excelsa).The
understorey is extremely dense with many species of woody shrubs, climbers,
ground orchids (Dendrobium spp.) and ferns. Ferns are profuse and
giant-sized too, the most handsome being the tree ferns, Cyathea spp. and
Angiopteris evecta. The variety of saprophytic fungi is also staggering.
2. North Indian Tropical Moist Deciduous Forests
On alluvial flats, along rivers and stream banks and on the hill
slopes, moist deciduous forests with most of the species in the top storey
shedding their leaves, are found. The top storey is composed of Hollock and
Khokan (Duabanga grandiflora) among other species. Bamboos (Bambusa spp. and
Dendrocalamus sp.) dominate the understorey. Climbers are also plentiful.
3. Miscellaneous forests
There are scattered patches of Khokan, Borpat, Hilika etc. of
various sizes. Undergrowth is very dense and contains canes besides other
species. Wherever the natural vegetation has been disturbed Mikenia cordata
has invaded the area and prevented any other vegetation from coming up. No
details of the temperate and alpine forests is currently available, because
these areas are inaccessible.
1.6 Fauna of the Reserve
The subtropical humid climate and the virgin untouched forests of the
area sustain the richest and most varied mamallian fauna, compared to any
other area in India. The richness of Namdapha's faunal heritage is comparable
to the best preserved tropical forests anywhere in the world. Of the 135
genera of land mammals recorded in India, 85 are represented here. Of the
eleven Orders present Carnivora are the richest in genera with 23 Genera and
31 species . Namdapha is the only reserve in the world to house four species of
big cats- the tiger, the leopard, the snow leopard, and the clouded
leopard. It should be noted that although the snow leopard and the clouded
leopard have been recorded here, sightings have been rare- less than five
in the last decade. A list of mamallian species reported from Namdapha has
been reported elsewhere[1]. Another attraction of Namdapha is as one of the
last secure homes of India's only ape -the hoolock gibbon ( hylobates hoolock).
Mornings in Namdapha are punctuated with the intermittent callings of troops
of gibbons, vying with each other in trying to shatter the silence of the
morn. Amost elaborate description of the song of the gibbons has been
provided elsewhere [Attenborough]. The only other member of the Primate
family that we were privileged to observe, was the Capped Langur
(presbytis pileatus ). On our first morning in Namdapha we were lucky enough
to spot a troop of ten members. Their undersides were distinctly golden in
color and they reminded us of the Golden Langur, a close relative of the
Capped Langur. They watched us warily for some moving slowly among the
branches. Once they felt that we were getting too close for comfort they
disappeared instantly taking prodigious jumps leaving broken branches in
their wake.
The profusion of squirrels of many kinds is a prime attraction
too, especially when the sun is high and there is little other wildlife
to be seen. We spent quite some time observing Malayan Giant Squirrels and
Hoary Bellied Himalayan Squirrels at Deban, feeding in the trees. However,
our most exiting and rewarding interaction with the squirrels occurred quite
unexpectedly at night at the Bulbulia watch tower.All of us, except Vineet were
asleep.
Vineet was keeping watch for whatever animal that cared to show itself. The
time was about 2015 when Vineet saw a flying squirrel gliding and
alighting on a tree barely 20 feet away. He woke us up immediately.
There in the glare of our Commander torches, was a flying squirrel. It was
lightly colored on the underside and dark-brown in color on the dorsal
side. We clicked many photographs of it on the tree but unfortunately the
illumination from the flash of our camera was not enough and good photogr
aphs (that would have meant positive identification ) could not be obtained.
The squirrel was spotted two or three times in a couple of hours time.
Later at or about 2200 Vineet observed an entire family of flying squirrels
on a neighboring tree.
Our encounter with the big cats was restricted to spotting pug
marks, first at Deban and then at Haldibari Camp. At both locations we found
tiger pugmarks. We found no evidence of any other member belonging to the
cat family although Namdapha boasts of 4 big cats and a whole host of lesser
ones such as golden cat, jungle cat, leopard cat, marbled cat etc.
Our tryst with the Civet family was more rewarding. Near Gibbons
land Camp, close to the river, three of us saw a Civet like animal which
was probably a Large Indian Civet. On the bus journey from Namchik Checkpoint
to Miao Prof. Mahajan, saw an animal that closely resembled a Binturong, in
the headlights of the bus.
The Deer family representatives at Namdapha did not give us
the pleasure of a sighting, but the bark of the Barking deer was heard by us
at most of our camps. During the night that we spent at Haldibari the barks
were heard throughout the night. The Deer were probably alarmed by the
unfamiliar human scent. At the Bulbulia Watch tower, Vineet heard a sound
resembling the 'honk' sound of the Sambar but it was not repeated.
We were unable to record the presence of bears, mongooses,
wild dogs, porcupines, gaur etc. that have been previously recorded in
the areas of Namdapha that we visited. There are two main reasons for this:
The first is the short duration of our visit and the second is our
extremely limited experience in the field.
1.7 Suggestions for improving visitor facilities at Namdapha
The aim of improving visitor facilities in the Namdapha Tiger
Reserve should be to strike a happy balance between the need to expose the
maximum number of people to wildlife and the need to reduce the disturbance
to the wildlife itself from tourists. Keeping this guiding principle in
view, we feel that the following steps could be taken.
1. Day visitors to Deban may be curtailed or eliminated completely. Day visitors from the neighboring Assam coal and oil fields tend to treat the reserve as their own back yard and cause disturbance to wildlife all along the road from Miao to Deban.
2. Genuine enthusiasts ( such as our group ) should be encouraged to travel only beyond Deban right up to Firm base Camp. This would assure that the Accommodation at intermediate camping sites does not fall into disuse and there is increased vigilance in the area.
3. The MV Road should be maintained in motorable condition up to the 20 mile Camp. The view from here is incredible and overnight visitors to Deban should be encouraged to visit it.
4. The Interpretation Center coming up at Deban should be designed to highlight the following:
* Namdapha' floral and faunal diversity and reasons for it.
* Need to protect tropical Rain forests to prevent environmental
disaster on a global scale.
* Steps that concerned individuals can take to reduce or
eliminate the use of rain-forest products such as timber.
* The broad aims of Project tiger to protect the entire habitat
of the tiger and the justification for it.
5. Elephant rides near the river at Deban serve no educative purpose. They only serve as pleasure rides which can be got at any zoo. In its place trained guides could take visitors around and familiarize them with the richness of flora and fauna all around.
USEFUL ADDRESSES
1. Field Director, Project Tiger
Namdapha Tiger Reserve
Miao, Changlang District
Arunachal Pradesh
2. Bombay Natural History Society
Hornbill House, Dr. Salim Ali Chowk
Bombay 400023
Telegrams: HORNBILL Tel: (022) 243421, 243869, 244085
3. Secretary ( Political)
Government of Arunachal Pradesh
Itanagar,791111
Arunachal Pradesh
4. Wildlife Secretary
Student's Gymkhana
Indian Institute of Technology
Powai, Bombay 400076
5. The Resident Commissioner
Arunachal Bhavan, Kautilya Marg
New Delhi 110021 Tel: 3013915, 3012153
6. Centre for Science and Environment
F-6, Kailash Colony
New Delhi 110048 Tel: 6433394, 6476401, 6470870
Useful References:
[1] Nair Satishchandran S, Namdapha Biosphere Reserve, Man and the Biosphere Programme,Dept. of Environment, Govt. of India, October 1991.
[2] Attenborough David, The Living Planet, Reader's Digest, 1989.
[3] {Brochure}, Namdapha Tiger Reserve, Forest Dept., Govt. of Arunachal Pradesh,
[4] Chatterjee A.K. and S.S Chandiramani, An Introduction to Namdapha Tiger Reserve, Arunachal Pradesh India, Tiger Paper, Vol XIII: No 3, 1986.
[5] Dillon Ripley S and Ali S. , Pictorial Guide to the Birds of the Indian Subcontinent, BNHS, 1983.
APPENDIX A
LIST OF PARTICIPANTS
1. Ambrish Kumar 92005002 H8/201
2. Yogesh Wadadekar 90011005 H4/124
3. Sandeep Tambe 90010017 H4/119
4. Hrishikesh Samant 92406001 H8/133
5. Vineet Aggarwal 90707001 H4/120
6. Deepak Das 93306009 H9/307
7. Nandan S.R 92026005 H2/143
8 Prof. A.S. Mahajan Dept. of Physics
APPENDIX B
FLORAL AND FAUNAL CHECKLIST
Only species observed by us have been listed. The complete Checklist is much biggert and may be found elsewhere[1].
1. BIRDS :
1. Himalayan Tree Pie
2. Grey Drongo
3. Pied Wagtail
4. Pintailed Green Pigeon
5. Great hill Barbet
6. Brainfever Bird
7. Black Kite
8. Scarlet Minivet
9. Chestnutbellied Nuthatch
10. Slatybellied Himalayan Forktail
11. Greater Racket Tailed Drongo
12. Yellowbellied Fantail Flycatcher
13. Streaked Spiderhunter
14. Bronzed Drongo
15. Red Headed Trogon
16. White Crested Laughing Thrush
17. Lesser Goldenbacked Woodpecker
18. Greybacked Shrike
19. Spotted Dove
20. Rufousnecked Hornbill
21. Blue Whistling Thrush
22. Crimsonbreasted Barbet
23. Browneared Bulbul
24. White Wagtail
25. Sultan Tit
26. Bluethroated Barbet
27. Little Forktail
28. Orange Fronted Chloropsis
29. Rufousbellied Niltava
30. Eastern Merganser
31. Brown Dipper
32. Longtailed Sibia
33. Whitelegged Falconet
34. Whitecapped Redstart
35. Plumbous Redstart
36. Whitebreasted Kingfisher
37. Large Yellownaped Woodpecker
38. Rufous Turtle Dove
39. Spurwinged Lapwing
40. Jungle Crow
41. Hill Myna
42. Haircrested Drongo
43. Large Goldenbacked Woodpecker
2. MAMMALS
1. Hoolock gibbon
2. Capped Langur
3. Chestnutbellied Himalayan Squirrel
4. Hoarybellied Himalayan Squirrel
5. Malayan Giant Squirrel
6. Barking Deer (heard)
7. Flying Squirrel ( Species unidentified )
8. Sambar ( heard )
3. BUTTERFLIES
1. Greater Orange tip
2. Yellow Orange Tip
3. Plain Tiger
4. Common Gem
5. Yellow Jack Sailor
6. Yellow Jezebel
7. Common Tinsel
8. Painted Jezebel
9. Tree Yellow
10. Orange Staff Sergeant
11. Small Grass Yellow
12. Yellow Rajah
13. Common Jezebel
14. Redbase Jezebel
15. Common Emigrant
16. Large Yeoman
17. Angled Castor
18. Yerbur's Sailor
19. Commander
20. Common Map
21. Common Maplet
22. Tabby
23. Glassy Tiger
24. Silver Royal
25. Common Earl
26. Punchinello
4. PLANTS
1. Hollong ( Dipterocarpus macrocarpus )
2. Hollock ( Terminalia myriocarpa)
3. Mekai ( Shorea assamica )
4. Jhutuli ( Altinsia excelsa )
5. Wild Banana
6. Tree Ferns
7. Khokan ( Duabanga grandiflora )
NOTE: The list presented above is merely a fraction of Namdapha's rich natural heritage that we were able to sample with the limited amount of time and knowledge available to us. It should be noted that we could learn so much in spite of having no background in Life Sciences whatsoever. Students of Botany/Zoology would undoubtedly find it easy to multiply the list many fold. We would also state here that we saw more bird species than we identified. There were many reasons for this - wary birds, low light conditions, low magnification on our binoculars and thick vegetation.
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