Four Rare Clouded Leopards Sighted in Nagaland
New Delhi: A team of researchers, led by the Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI), sighted four exclusive clouded leopards at an elevation of 3,700 metres in the Thanamir village community forest of Kiphire district, Nagaland.
WPSI and Thanamir village surveyed the region to document its bio-cultural diversity. The team placed over 50 cameras in the 65 sq. km forest from January to June 2020 and July to September 2021.
“In total, we have evidence of at least two adults and two cubs, where two distinct individuals were photo captured at a camera placed above the tree line at 3,700 m close to the summit of Mt. Saramati. Another individual was photo captured at 3,436 m,” the study read. Mount Saramati and the adjoining forest lie close to the Indo-Myanmar border.
Other photographed species include the Asiatic black bear, yellow-throated marten, stump-tailed macaque, Assamese macaque, the Asiatic golden cat, the marbled cat, and the leopard cat.
Ramya Nair of WPSI said, “Our team has been generating data on wildlife population through camera trap images of mammals in the forest, as well as conducting bird surveys, in collaboration with the local student union and village council. All this data will help local bodies form resolutions and management plans in the community forests.”
Clouded leopards were reported in the high altitude state-protected regions of Sikkim (3,720 m), Bhutan (3,600 m), and Nepal (3,140 m), thus making Nagaland the highest altitude in the world to host the wildcats.
The Clouded Leopard is a native of the Himalayan foothills, distinguished by large dark blotches and irregular stripes that resemble clouds. The wildcat is locally extinct in Singapore, Taiwan, and Vietnam and was enlisted vulnerable under the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List since 2008.
(Avya Mathur)
