Arunachal Pradesh, a veritable treasure house of nature, tucked away in the northeastern tip of India, invites you to relax in its picturesque hills and vales encircled on three sides by Bhutan, China and Myanmar. Situated on the north-eastern tip of the country, the state of Arunachal Pradesh is a part of Eastern Himalayan Ranges. Arunachal Pradesh occupies the largest area (83.743 Sq. Km) in the north-eastern region of India and consists of mountainous ranges sloping to the plains of Assam.
The State has numerous types of forests such as Tropical
evergreen, semi-evergreen, deciduous, Pine, Temperate, Alpine, and grassland, etc. Forests are the mainstay for the people of Arunachal Pradesh and are the
richest Bio-geographical province in the eastern Himalayan zone.
The State has 20% species of country’s fauna, 4500 species
of flowering plants, 400 species of pteridophytes, 23 species of conifers, 35
species of bamboos, 20 species of canes, 52 Rhododendron species & more
than 500 species of orchids.
Arunachal Pradesh in the Eastern Himalayas of India is among
the 200 globally important Ecoregions. It is also considered as one of the
eighteen “biodiversity hotspots” in the world.
There are ten Wildlife Sanctuaries and one Orchid Sanctuary and two National Parks in the state of Arunachal Pradesh covering an area of 9,488.48 sq. km. There is no such threat to these protected areas by the dispersed population of the state that is 13 per sq. km.
List of Wildlife Sanctuaries in Arunachal Pradesh:
Sl. No. | Name of Wild Life Sanctuary | Year | Total Area (Km2) |
1 | Daying Ering Memorial Wildlife Sanctuary | 1978 | 190 |
2 | Dibang Wild Life Sanctuary | 1991 | 4,149.00 |
3 | Eaglenest Wild Life Sanctuary | 1989 | 217 |
4 | Itanagar Wild Life Sanctuary | 1978 | 140.3 |
5 | Kamlang Wild Life Sanctuary | 1989 | 783 |
6 | Kane Wild Life Sanctuary | 2007 | 31 |
7 | Mehao Wild Life Sanctuary | 1980 | 281.5 |
8 | Pakke Wild Life
Sanctuary | 1977 | 861.95 |
9 | Sessa Orchid Wild Life
Sanctuary | 1989 | 100 |
10 | Tale Valley Wild Life
Sanctuary | 1995 | 337 |
11 | Yordi-Rabe Supse Wild Life Sanctuary | 1996 | 397 |
1. Daying Ering Memorial Wildlife Sanctuary
The sanctuary located 13 km from Pasighat is home to
different species of plants, wild animals, trees, and birds. It is home to two
of the great cats-the Tiger and the Leopard.
Here you will find the endangered Takin, Hoolock Gibbon, Red
Panda, Slow Lories, and Capped Langur. Apart from these animals, wild buffaloes,
wild elephants, Hog Deer, etc. are found here in abundance. The Sanctuary is
home to a species of resident birds and a haven to different species of
migrating birds.
2. Dibang Wildlife Sanctuary
The Dibang Wildlife Sanctuary is one of the eight wildlife
sanctuaries of Arunachal Pradesh, India. It is located in the Upper Dibang
Valley district covering an area of 4,149 km2 (1,602 sq. mi). The sanctuary is
rich in wildlife.
The Dibang Wildlife Sanctuary of the Sanctuary area is
Mountainous and consistent steep and rugged terrain. The altitude varies from
1800 mean sea level to 5000 (mean sea level). The Eastern part of the Himalayas
consists of Eastern Tibet, the Yamana province of South China, Hainan the northern part of the Indo-China, Burma, and northern part of Thailand. These
constitute a single natural unit of mountainous land and known as Indo-China
sub-region.
The vegetation of Dibang Wildlife Sanctuary is of temperate
and alpine type. The Vegetation of the sanctuaries can be broadly placed as
temperate broad-leaved forests (1800m to 2800m) and temperate conifer forests
(2800m to
The major part of the sanctuary remains covered with snow and
the physiological activities of plants are restricted only for a few months
during the period snow melts. The trees are stunted and dwarf in bushes. The
plants are mostly herbs with deep roots. The ground is mostly cushioned with
leaves and branches.
The sanctuary becomes very attractive and beautiful during the flowering season with bright color gregarious flowering for a brief period.
Plants like Rhododendron rivals, Rthomaoni, Sedum spp.
The richness and diversity of the flora composition provides rich varieties of faunal species. The density of vegetation provides food and shelter to the various insects, reptiles, birds and mammals.
3. Eagle Nest Wildlife Sanctuary
On the way towards Bomdila, there are a series of mini waterfalls all along the road. One will be tempted to get down for a while to
associate with this charming beauty of nature. Downhill get a sight of flowing
Kameng River through the thick lush green canopy of tropical vegetation.
Spread over an area of 217 sq km at an altitudinal range
from 500 meters to 3500 meters from sea level under Shergaon Forest Division in
the West Kameng District of Arunachal Pradesh, Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary is
a major centerpiece of nature lovers all over the world. This unique sanctuary
in this Himalayan region is also a successful model of joint government and
community conservation endeavor.
A birder’s paradise, Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary, is a popular destination for all kinds of nature lovers and tourists who visit the
place from October to March every year for the study of its rich flora and fauna
especially study of birds.
Over 700 species of birds are found here. Bugun Liochigla,
the only bird that exists in the world, is found in the sanctuary. Besides
these, various species of mammals, amphibians and lizards, moths and butterflies
and vegetation including many varieties of rhododendrons are found in the
region.
This is the centerpiece of the Kameng Protected Area Complex covering an area of 3,500 sq km of mostly contiguous forests spread across the two states of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh in five protected areas.
4. Itanagar Reserve Forest
Itanagar Reserve Forest was declared as Itanagar Wildlife
Sanctuary with the geographical boundary as Pam River in the East, Pachin in
the South, Neorochi on the North-East and Chingke stream in the North. The
capital of Arunachal Pradesh, Itanagar is located within the Sanctuary.
The area was rich in the population of Wildlife like Sambar,
Barking Deer, Elephant herbs, Tiger and Panthers. Hornbills were very common
birds to sight. But now it is a chance to sight a Hornbill.
The vegetation of this Sanctuary can be classified as a tropical semi-evergreen and wet evergreen. The main features of the forest are a heterogeneous mixture of the species with the merging of evergreen and semi-evergreen forests into one another. Pure patches of bamboos are very common in
almost all the area.
The State bird of Arunachal Pradesh, the magnificent
Hornbill used to be found in the Sanctuary, but their population came down
drastically due to loss of habitat. However, the Wildlife is still available in
a fair number especially in the northern and eastern side of the Itanagar
Sanctuary.
5. Kamlang Wildlife Sanctuary
Kamlang Wildlife Sanctuary is situated in the South-Eastern
part of Lohit District of Arunachal Pradesh. The name comes from the River
Kamlang, which flows through the Sanctuary and joins the Brahmaputra.
The scenic beauty of the Sanctuary is un-comparable because of its location, terrain, and perennial water
sources. The Sanctuary has a few numbers of water bodies at a height of 600 mean
sea level and above. The most significant one is “Glow Lake”, situated at a
distance of 20 Km from Wakro and the circumference is around 4 to 5 km
(approx.).
Wildlife Sanctuary contains all four big cats (Tiger,
Leopard, Clouded Leopard, and Snow Leopard). It also has a population of
endangered spp. like Hollock gibbon, Slow lorises, Leopard cat, Himalayan palm
civets, etc.
There are about 150 tree species common in this area. Such
floral diversity gives a large variety of faunal species. Some of such species
are- Canarium resigniferum, Terminalia chebula, Gmelina arborea, Ammora wallichi, etc.
6. Kane Wildlife Sanctuary
The Kane Wildlife Sanctuary is situated in the West Siang
district in the north-eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh. The Kane Wildlife
Sanctuary is spread over an area of 55 square kilometers. The Kane Wildlife
Sanctuary acts as a home to a varied variety of wild creatures.
The wildlife sanctuary spans an altitude of 120 to 1500
meters and is mostly hilly with densely vegetated slopes covering it. There are
a variety of plantations in the sanctuary.
The sanctuary receives an annual rainfall of 2,500 mm mostly
during the south-west monsoon months of July to September. The temperatures
range from 50C in winters to 320C during summer.
Kane’s topographical variations and altitudinal zonation lead to the flourishing of a huge flora and fauna assortments and the sanctuary is home to 70 species of birds including White-winged Wood Duck and Rufous-necked Hornbill and a variety of animal species like wild dogs, gaur, black bear etc.
7. Mehao Wildlife Sanctuary
A real ocean of green paradise on earth. A rugged mountains
belt its panoramic landscape is beyond descriptions. It is a land of wonder for
tourist and living treasure for scientists i.e. Ornithologists, Zoologists,
Botanists, Ecologists. Indeed, a virgin natural forest with unique natural
lakes in the midst of the wilderness.
The medicinal plants Coptis Teeta(Mishmi Teeta) is an
endemic species and Taxus baccata are available here. The area is also rich in
orchid varieties. Like the flora, the fauna of this area is equally rich and
varied. It includes some rare species of wild animals and birds.
The common variety of wildlife are Tiger, Black Panther,
Leopard, Bear, Elephant, Wild Pig, Langur, White-browed gibbon, Musk Deer,
Mishmi Takin. Among the birds, the common varieties are Hornbills, Babblers,
Bulbul, Warblers, Flycatchers, Pigeons, etc. The area is also an abode of different
species of snakes, reptiles, and insects and last but not the least different
varieties of blood-sucking leeches.
Some of the mammals found in the sanctuary are - Red Pand, Musk
Deer, Mishmi Takin, Serow, Goral, Snow Leopard, Tiger, Leopard, Clouded
Leopard, Leopard Cat, Jungle Cat, Fishing Cat, Spotted Linsang, Common
Mongoose, Wild Dog, Jackel, etc.
Also plenty of avian fauna such as Gosander, Large Cormorant, Mallard, Godwall, Cotton Teal, Three Toed Forest Kingfisher, Himalayan Pied Kingfisher, Blue Throated Barbet, Temmink’s Tragopen, Monal Pheasant, Japanese Awfinch, etc.
8. Pakke Wildlife Sanctuary
The Pakke Tiger Reserve, also known as Pakhui Tiger Reserve,
is a Project Tiger reserve in the Pakke Kessang district of Arunachal Pradesh. Pakke
Wildlife Sanctuary elevations range from 100 to 2,000 m (330 to 6,560 ft.)
above mean sea level. The terrain is rugged with mountainous ranges in the
north and narrow plains and sloping hill valleys in the south.
The sanctuary slopes southwards towards the river valley of
the Brahmaputra River. The area of Brahmaputra and Chittagong Hills, which
includes Pakke and Namdapha Tiger Reserve, is the north-western limit of the
Indochinese tiger's range, bordering the eastern limit of the Bengal tiger's
range.
The area is at the foothills includes a portion of
valley and riverine areas have a peculiar association of species. Passing
through the stretch of Northern tropical semi-evergreen forest one gradually
notices the change in the ecological condition of the vegetation representing
the Northern tropical evergreen forests.
Most of the hill slopes and upper reaches the vegetation is
more of evergreen whereas along the river course for a few distances the
vegetation is more of riverine and deciduous, occasionally meeting with the cane
and Bamboo breaks. The humid condition provides a room for the growth of epiphytes,
mosses, ferns, etc.
The habitat types are lowland semi-evergreen, evergreen
forest and Eastern Himalayan broadleaf forests. A total of 343 woody species of
flowering plants (angiosperms) have been recorded from the lowland areas of the
park, with a high representation of species from the families Euphorbiaceae and
Lauraceae, but at least 1500 species of vascular plants are expected from
Pakhui WLS, of which 500 species would be woody.
While about 600 species of orchids are reported from
Arunachal Pradesh, Pakhui WLS and adjoining areas also harbour many orchids
species. The forest has a typical layered structure and the major emergent
species are Bhelu Tetrameles nudiflora, Borpat Ailanthus grandis and Jutuli
Altingia excelsa.
It is so common to sight Horn Bill, it was noticed that a
tree of Albizzia was crowded with as many 29 Hornbills.
There are 40 mammal species occur in Pakhui Tiger Reserve
(PTR). Three large cats - the Bengal tiger, Indian leopard and clouded leopard
share space with two canids – the wild dog and Asiatic jackal. Among the
herbivore species, elephant, barking deer, gaur, and sambar are most common in Pakke
Wildlife Sanctuary. Also, monkeys like Rhesus macaque, Assamese macaque, and the
capped langur found here.
9. Sessa Orchid Sanctuary
Sessa Orchid Sanctuary is a 100 km2 protected
area of India in the Himalayan foothills in Bhalukpong Forest Division of West
Kameng District, Arunachal Pradesh. It conjoins Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary to
the southwest.
A nursery includes representative specimens of various
orchid species of the sanctuary and a demonstration farm of Cymbidium hybrids
for cut-flower production. This patch of the forest provides an ideal home for orchids
with other components of the ecosystem of forest vegetation.
The population of Orchid diminishes as one proceeds towards
poles from tropics. Orchids are found both terrestrial and as well as epiphytic.
Baring a few terrestrial varieties most of the orchids are epiphytic – the plants
are a herb and grow on the trunk and branches of trees having the proper
conditions which orchid needs for its survival. The life cycle of orchid has a peculiar association with the fungus; the association is only possible at a
site where the site is conducive for the growth of fungus.
There are about 20,000 varieties of orchids in the world out
of which about 1200 accounts in India. The ecological condition and climate
variation in Arunachal Pradesh is so much favorable that the state holds about
60% of the Indian variety of orchids. Till today about 605 spp. of orchids of
Arunachal Pradesh has been identified
10. Talle Wildlife Sanctuary
The Talle Wildlife Sanctuary in the North-East of Hapoli 10
Km away (Hapoli is the District HQ of Lower Subansiri District) Area:- 337 Sq.
km lies roughly in between the subansiri, Sipu and Pange rivers surrounded by
densely forested mountains ranging from 2,000 to 4,000 meters Altitude.
At the altitude of 2400 meters, Talley is a plateau with
dense forest of silver fir trees, pine clad plateau of beautiful grandeur and
a vast wasteland. The area has some of the most important endangered species
including the clouded leopard.
There are numbers of Bamboo Species grow here. Some of them Arundinaria spp,
Cephalostachyum capitatum, Chimonobambusa callosa – Non clump forming,
Phyllostachys ba.
The Sanctuary is very rich in wildlife. It is one of the
homes for clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa).
About 16 species of rare and endangered flora has been
assessed here. These are - Angioteris evecta, Cyathia spinulosa, Monotropa
uniflora, Balanphora dioica, Lilium grandiflora, Pleioblastus simonii, Berberis
spp., Clematis apiculata, Corybus spp.,
Goleola falconeri, Panax Sikkimensis,
Schizandre, Acer hookeri, Acer oblongum, Goleola neediflora, Cotoneaster
species.
11. Mehao Wildlife Sanctuary
A real ocean of green paradise on earth. A rugged mountains
belt its panoramic landscape is beyond descriptions. It is a land of wonder for
tourist and living treasure for scientists i.e. Ornithologists, Zoologists,
Botanists, Ecologists. Indeed, a virgin natural forest with unique natural
lakes in the midst of the wilderness.
The medicinal plants Coptis Teeta(Mishmi Teeta) is an
endemic species and Taxus baccata are available here. The area is also rich in
orchid varieties. Like the flora, the fauna of this area is equally rich and
varied. It includes some rare species of wild animals and birds.
The common variety of wildlife are Tiger, Black Panther,
Leopard, Bear, Elephant, Wild Pig, Langur, White-browed gibbon, Musk Deer,
Mishmi Takin. Among the birds, the common varieties are Hornbills, Babblers,
Bulbul, Warblers, Flycatchers, Pigeons, etc. The area is also an abode of different
species of snakes, reptiles and insects and last but not the least different
varieties of blood-sucking leeches.
Some of the mammals found in the sanctuary are - Red Pand, Musk
Deer, Mishmi Takin, Serow, Goral, Snow Leopard, Tiger, Leopard, Clouded
Leopard, Leopard Cat, Jungle Cat, Fishing Cat, Spotted Linsang, Common
Mongoose, Wild Dog, Jackel, etc.
Also plenty of avian fauna such as Gosander, Large
Cormorant, Mallard, Godwall, Cotton Teal, Three Toed Forest Kingfisher,
Himalayan Pied Kingfisher, Blue Throated Barbet, Temmink’s Tragopen, Monal
Pheasant, Japanese Awfinch, etc.
Image Courtesy
Eagle-forest by