4 New speices sighted in Bihar's Valmiki Tiger Reserve

[Mrudul Godbole]

4 New speices sighted in Bihar's Valmiki Tiger Reserve
Aug 7, 2013, 11.09 PM IST

Four more species have been added to Bihar's Valmiki Tiger Reserve : crab-eating mongoose, hoary-bellied squirrel, Himalayan serow and yellow-throated marten. The evidence of their presence was recorded through "camera traps".

"The last Zoological Survey of India report from 1998 recorded 53 mammals at the Valmiki Tiger Reserve. These species were not recorded then," says Dr Samir Kumar Sinha, the regional head of the Wildlife Trust of India, who has been working at the tiger reserve.

He says the reasons for the appearance of these four mammal species could be linked to changes in habitat. It is also possible that these were simply never spotted before. "The Himalayan serow and the crab-eating mongoose are present in Nepal's Chitwan National Park, which is contiguous with Valmiki Tiger Reserve. There too, they exist in higher altitudes. They are small nocturnal mammals, so there is a chance that they were missed earlier," says Dr Sinha.

Dr Sinha says the discovery was made over a period of a year, with the Himalayan Serow, the yellow throated marten and the crab-eating mongoose being discovered between the months of May and July. Dr Sinha has been working at the tiger reserve for 10 years now. He started laying camera traps (which use motion-sensing technology to capture images) sometime in 2005.

[Saktipada Panigrahi]

Valmiki-Champaran Tiger Reserve had great diversity with mixed deciduous forest, riverine forest and grassland but it suffered too much from human interference. I have been reading that level of protection has been better now and some steps in right direction have been taken. Animals, though less in numbers, are now coming out in daylight. Even tigers with cubs have been seen.

Good news that 4 new species have been recorded through 'Camera Traps'.
I may just like to mention that 'Serow' was a resident species of the park as stated in the book 'Indian Wildlife Sri Lanka Nepal' edited by Samuel Israel and Toby Sinclair: Executive Editor Bikram Grewal published in 1987 which contains articles from many famous naturalists.
Thanks for sharing.SaktiWild

[Sabyasachi Patra]

It is not surprising that people only remember the species that is physically encountered. Other less sighted species or the ones that are nocturnal remain hidden from our consciousness. Good to know that Serow was was stated to be a resident species in the book edited by Bikram Grewal. Thanks for sharing.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi