Murali Krishna Submitted to

INVESTIGATING THE FORAGING PATTERNS AND DISTRIBUTION OF NOCTURNAL FRUGIVORES WITH SPECIAL FOCUS ON CONSERVATION THREATS IN NAMDAPHA NATIONAL PARK, ARUNACHAL PRADESH, INDIA

Submitted by Murali Krishna, Awadhesh Kumar, Murali Krishna Parimal Chandra Ray [Type the abstract of the document here. The abstract is & typically a short summary of the contents of the document. Kuladip Sarma Type the abstract of the document here. The abstract is typically a short summary of the contents of the document.]

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Suggested citation: Krishna, C. M., Kumar, A., Ray, P.C., Sarma, K. & Deka, J. (2015). Investigating the Foraging Patterns and Distribution of Nocturnal Frugivores with Special Focus on Conservation Threats In Namdapha National Park, Arunachal Pradesh, India. Final report to the Rufford Small Grants Program (UK). Krishna, C. M. (editor). Pp. 36

Wildlife Resource & Conservation Lab, Department of Forestry, North Eastern Regional Institute of Science & Technology (Deemed University) (NERIST), Nirjuli, Itanagar, Aruanchal Pradesh – 791109. India.

Email: [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

Photo credit: Murali Krishna

Front cover: Middle Box: Particolored Gliding Squirrel (Top left); Common Palm Civet (Top Right & Bottom Left) Masked Palm Civet (Bottom Right); The Team in the centre. Lower Box: Panoramic View of Namdapha National Park. Back cover: Camp at Hornbill (Top) & solar plates for charging the equipment (Bottom) 1

Investigating the Foraging Patterns and Distribution of Nocturnal Frugivores with Special Focus on Conservation Threats In Namdapha National Park, Arunachal Pradesh, India

Final report January 2015

Project Investigator Murali Krishna

Research Affiliates Dr. Awadhesh Kumar, Parimal Chandra Ray & Kuladip Sarma

Technical Support Dr. Jyotishman Deka (RS & GIS)

Project period: January 2014 ‐ December 2014

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PROGRAM ASSOCIATES PROJECT INVESTIGATOR

Murali Krishna

RESEARCH AFFILIATES

RESEARCH AFFILIATES

Dr. Awadhesh Kumar Parimal Chandra Ray

RESEARCH AFFILIATES

TECHNICAL SUPPORT

LOCAL FIELD STAFF

Kuladip Sarma

Dr. Jyotishman Deka

Bironjay Basumtary

LOCAL FIELD STAFF

LOCAL FIELD STAFF

LOCAL FIELD STAFF

Erebo Chakma

Tinku Chakma

Sambu Chakma

OTHER FUNDING SOURCES Idea Wild Grant, USA – Equipment Grant. (2011 - 2012)

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CONTENTS Page Number Acknowledgements Summary Introduction Study Area Objective 1

Objective 2

Objective 3

Photo plates References Appendix

1 2 4 8 Foraging and distributional patterns of nocturnal frugivores in Namdapha National Park Methods 9 Results 9 Discussion 19 Drivers involved in hunting of nocturnal frugivores in Namdapha National Park Methods 20 Results 20 Discussion 21 Status of few nocturnal frugivores (additional objective) Methods 23 Results 23 Discussion 24 26 31 36

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Acknowledgments We thank the PCCF, Arunachal Pradesh Forest Department, for providing us with permissions to carry out the research. I thank the Field Director, Assistant Field Director, Research Officer (Tajum Yomcha), and the Range officers, Beat officers, Field staff (permanent & contingency) of Namdapha National Park cum Tiger Reserve for helping us in various ways to carry out the research work and for providing logistic support.

We thank the Chakmas, Lisus, Lamas, Miju-Mishmis community peoples for their support during the project. The Head-man’s of the Lama Camp, Budhisutta, 32nd Mile for their kind help during the project. I thank Y. Srinivas (Wildlife Institute of India (WII)) for his inputs during the project. Also, I thank Karthik Teegalapalli (National Conservation

Foundation

(NCF)),

Ambika

Ayyundorai

(National

University

of

Singapore) for their guidance during the project planning and execution. I also thank Rubul Buragohain, Amal Bawri and Anup Kumar Das (all the three from NERIST) for helping us in identifying the plant specimens. Acknowledging Pupla Singpho and & Pikon has not to be forgotten for his their kind help in arranging accommodation and for other logistic support at Miao in during our tough times.

Will Duckworth (Co-Chair, Small Carnivore Conservation, IUCN), Dr. Aparajita Datta (Senior Scientist, NCF, India) & Dr. Srinivasulu, (Osmania University) are sincerely thanked for their inputs without which the project could have not been possible.

The work was also made possible from the equipment grant provided by Idea Wild Grant, USA which has to be acknowledged.

Big thanks to Ranjan Kumar Das for helpful photography trips and for sharing his knowledge about the area. Last but not the least, I thank, Bironjay Basumatary, Erebo Chakma, Tinku Chakma, Japang Pansa (Mahoot), Gopal Chetry & Anil Gogoi (Cook’s) for their assistance during the field work.

Murali Krishna Nirjuli, Arunachal Pradesh, India 1

Summary We have been involved in various project with regard to ecology and conservation of primates, birds in Namdapha National Park since 2010. It was in 2011, we started our work on Nocturnal Mammals, mainly the Red Giant Gliding Squirrel. I was involved in studying the ecology of the species. Namdapha is a home to array of frugivores. If we look up globally, the work on diurnal frugivores appear to be vast but spare data occurs on the ecology and conservation aspects of nocturnal frugivores. Thus the idea was to put up a study that focuses on the ecology and conservation aspects of nocturnal frugivores in Namdapha. It is a home to four species of gliding squirrels and six species of Civets and a Loris. The ecology of the species especially the feeding habits were observed during the study. Also, the distribution maps of the species were build and are overlaid so that these maps will help the Forest department in formulating the conservation action plans of the species within the park. Also, data on hunting and use pattern were collected from local tribes with great difficulty as none were interested in sharing the data. Moreover the forest department’s strict orders have restricted the movement of locals into the park for non timber forest products (NTFP’s) and the village head-man have asked the people of the respective villages to stop hunting thus calling for a ban. However, the encounters of the species especially the civets were very low. But, the data collected is first of its kind using the spot light technique and scan sampling.

Contribution of work by each research investigator Ecological data was conducted by me and point location data were collected by Parimal Chandra Ray. Dr. Awadhesh Kumar has provided us with technical inputs of data collection. Kuladip Sarma accompanied me in few visits and is important in distribution map building and overlay of different species. Jyotishman Deka was involved in map building and modelling work. Plant identification was mostly done by Rubul Burgohain, Amal Bawri and Anup Kumar Das with the help of photographs and specimens at NERIST.

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Disclaimer: The data presented in few portions of the report are preliminary findings, And further data collection and analysis is needed for drawing final conclusions. Note: There is no mention of tribe name and village names in many places throughout the text. Because, the people’s denied to put their tribe name and village name. So keeping the ethics in mind, we have not mentioned much about the tribes and villages.

(The whole document is prepared in Word of Office 2013. So the graphics and fonts might look different when viewed under lower versions of Office viz., 2003; 2007; 2010)

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Introduction Eastern Himalaya The Eastern Himalayan region is a congregation of globally important plants diversity along with more than 175 species of mammals and 500 species of avifauna. The reason for such rich diversity could be perhaps due to multiple bio-geographic origins, its considerable climatic variability, and its topographic complexity that has created isolated habitat islands stretching across its vast mountain ranges. The variation in altitudes ranges from 100 meters to more than 8,000 meters, and rainfall varies from 2,000 mm per year in monsoon-facing (south and east-facing) slopes to desert-like conditions in the northern and western rain-shadows. The Eastern Himalayas’ biological diversity is paralleled by great political and cultural diversity. The region is home to more than 100 million people of multiple ethnicities and religions. It covers a vast range of area lying between Nepal and Myanmar including India. The Indian States viz., Sikkim, North Bengal and other north-eastern states (Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram & Tripura) (Anonymous, 2011).

Arunachal Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh is in a portion of Eastern Himalayan global biodiversity hotspot (Myers et al., 2000) and falls among the 200 globally important eco-regions (Olson & Dinerstein, 1998). The state harbours world’s northernmost tropical rainforests with a total of 82% of its geographical area under forest. Over 7000‐8000 species of flowering plants occur here (nearly 50 % of the total flowering plants in India) and 625 orchid species are reported from Arunachal. These forests inhabit more than 200 mammalian species and over 600 avian species (Rao & Hajra, 1986; Whitmore, 1998; Procter et al., 1998; Aiyadurai, 2007; Datta et al., 2008). Arunachal Pradesh has been a home of discoveries in the recent decades, where till date 4 species of mammals (among these 3 are new to science and one addition to India) and a bird species have been discovered from this region. These discoveries are new species of gliding squirrels, mishmi hills giant gliding squirrel (P. mishmiensis) (Choudhary, 2007; 2009), Arunachal macaque (Macaca munzala) (Sinha et al., 2005) Leaf Deer (Muntiacus putaoensis) (Datta, 2003) and Bugan liocichla (Liocichla bugunorum) (Athreya, 2006) are the discoveries. Apart, photographic evidences of Small toothed Palm Civet and Critically Endangered White bellied heron (Ardea insigns) too appear from this place (Krishna et al, 2012a; 2014).

Arunachal Pradesh, termed as the Land of Rising Sun is blessed with rich culture and ethnic tribes. The state is a home to 25 major and 110 ethnic sub-tribes (Murali & Kumar, 2013). These tribals have a long history of hunting practice where the wild animals are killed as a source of bushmeat collection and the skins and the skulls are displayed as trophies in the 4

houses of tribals (Krishna & Kumar, 2012b). The tribals usually practice slash and burn for agriculture. Also, plenty of plain areas are converted to agricultural land. Crops like Mustard Sinapis alba, Maize Zea mays, Ginger Zingiber officinale and Turmeric Curcuma longa etc. are grown. Also, fruit orchards such as apple, pine apple, kiwi, pears etc. have increased bringing down the forest area due to forest clearing and tree felling.

Frugivores Basic knowledge about fruit-frugivore interactions, and especially the seed dispersal process in forest ecosystems, is essential for conservation of endangered animals and the forest itself (Corlett 1998; Silva and Tabarelli 2000). Tropical rain forests are by far the richest terrestrial ecosystems in the world. Much of this diversity is accounted for by the richness of frugivores, which are wholly or partly dependent on flowers, fruits and seeds (Howe 1986). These forests differ from other kinds of forests in that a high proportion (typically 50-90%) of their trees and shrubs produce fleshy fruits (drupes, berries, and arillate forms) that are eaten by a large number of vertebrates, insects, fungi, and bacteria. The year-round availability of fruit has led to the evolution of many specialized vertebrate frugivores in the New World (e.g., among birds, the oilbird, toucans, cotingids, and manakins; among mammals, phyllostomatid bats, platyrrhine monkeys, and certain procyonids) and the Old World tropics (e.g., among birds, musophagids, colies, barbets, fruit pigeons, and birds of paradise; among mammals, mega chiropteran bats, many primates, and certain viverrid carnivores). These species and a host of more opportunistic vertebrates are involved in a mutualistic exploitation system with their food plants: The animals provide seed dispersal services while gaining a meal (Fleming, 1979). In the tropics, where frugivores are the dominant group of vertebrates (Gautier-Hion et al. 1985), there have been few studies about which frugivores disperse which seeds, and the degree to which plants and animals rely on one another. However, with the exception of studies on bats, large rodents and deer; most research has focused on diurnal animals. As a result, studies on nocturnal and terrestrial animals are rare in comparison globally which made us to design the present study.

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Background to current research Globally, diurnal frugivores have received major attention and thus appear majority of the studies on the diurnal frugivores. Whereas, sparse data appears over the nocturnal frugivores as studies on nocturnal frugivores are not that common that led us to studying on this topic i.e. mainly on the feeding habits of the nocturnal frugivores. And more over through our 45 years of experience, we observed that Namdapha national park holds array of nocturnal frugivores and through informal talks with the locals, we understood that the nocturnal frugivores especially the red giant gliding squirrel is used for ethno-zoological purposes. Thus, we took up this study for studying the feeding ecology and threats the species face in Namdapha National Park.

Specific objectives under the project (January 2014‐ December 2015) 1.) Foraging and distributional patterns of nocturnal frugivores in Namdapha National Park.

2.) Drivers involved in hunting of nocturnal frugivores in Namdapha National Park. 3.) Status of few nocturnal frugivores (additional objective)

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Study Area Overview Namdapha National Park (27°23'30” ‐ 27°39'40”N and 96°15'2” ‐ 96°58'33”E; 1985 km2)

is situated in the Changlang district of Arunachal Pradesh, north‐east India (Fig. 1). The site

harbours some of the northernmost tropical rainforests in the world (Proctor et al., 1998) and extensive dipterocarp forests. The elevation ranges from 200 to 4571 m. With increasing elevation, there is a transition in habitat to subtropical broad‐leaved forests, subtropical pine forests, temperate broad‐leaved forests, alpine meadows and perennial snow. Though primary forests cover most of the park, there are extensive bamboo and secondary forests. The park lies within the Indo‐Myanmar global biodiversity hotspot (Myers et al., 2000) at the junction of the Palearctic and Malayan biogeographic realms resulting in a highly diverse species assemblage.

The Diversity The park is a home to about 96 species of mammal species including nine species of felids, two bear species, 15 viverrid and mustelid species and seven primate species (including one ape species) and four species of mountain ungulates. Recent surveys reported the presence of leaf deer (Muntiacus putaoensis) and the black barking deer (Muntiacus crinifrons) which appear to the first records from the country. In recent years, the elephant populations in the Namdapha area have declined. However, camera trapping has revealed few herds in Bulbulia area (sulphur spring) of the park. The park is a home to the endemic mammal species like Namdapha gliding squirrel (Biswamoyopterus biswasi) (Saha, 1981). Also, the park is a home to many other lesser known rodents, bats and shrews (Datta, 2008). Further biological surveys are very much needed for estimating the mammalian diversity. Coming to aves, nearly 425 bird species are recorded from the park. The area is a home to five species of hornbills and several pheasant species. Several species of rare wren babblers, laughing thrushes, parrot bills, fulvettas, shrike babblers and scimitar babblers, yuhina’s add to the bird diversity making it a birding paradise. Namdapha is one of just 2 sites known to support the snowy‐throated babbler (Stachyrei oglei) (Datta, 2008). Other rare, restricted range or globally endangered species include the White‐bellied heron, Rufous‐necked hornbill, Green Cochoa, Purple Cochoa, Beautiful nuthatch, Ward’s trogon, Ruddy kingfisher, Blue‐eared kingfisher, White‐tailed fishing eagle, Eurasian hobby, Pied falconet, White‐winged wood duck, Himalayan wood owl, Rufous‐throated hill partridge, and White‐cheeked hill partridge (Datta, 2008). Recent studies revealed the nesting sites of critically endangered white bellied heron in the park. Several long term studies in the higher elevations might up to the bird diversity in future. 7

Apart, 200 plant species belonging to 73 families are recorded from NNP (Nath et al., 2005). Also, 25 amphibian, 50 reptiles, 76 fishes, 140 butterflies and moths and numerous invertebrates are reported to occur in the park (Ghosh, 1987; Singh et al., year of publishing unknown).

Tribal Communities Several indigenous tribes and other communities reside in and around the park; viz., Lisu, Chakma, Miju Mishmi, Singhpo, Nepali etc. However those that primarily affect the park are the Chakma, Miju Mishmi and the Lisu (Datta, 2007). The Chakma and Miju Mishmi enter the park for fuel wood, nontimber forest produce collection (Arunachalam et al., 2004), hunting and fishing.

A

B

C Fig. 1. A – India; B – Aruanchal Pradesh; (A & B source – Internet); C – Namdapha National Park (Datta, 2008).

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Objectives 1. Foraging and distributional patterns of nocturnal frugivores in Namdapha National Park. Methods: Feeding: Animals were located by scanning the canopy with red lights. On sighting an animal, two spotlights (6 V, solar powered) and National Geographic 5× night-vision binoculars were used to identify and observe the species. Heights of animals above ground were measured using a Bosch laser distance measurer. Feeding observations were recorded using scan sampling (see Altmann, 1974), which started after sunset and continued till sunrise. Care was taken not to use spotlights for longer periods as the animals tend to be disturbed. So, the behaviour was recorded mostly using the night vision binocular.

Distributional Pattern: The geo-coordinates of different species were collected, Ecological niche modelling of some selected nocturnal frugivores was done using Maximum Entropy Modelling algorithm taking environmental variables from worldclim database (www.worldclim.org).

Results: Diversity: The forest trails around Gibbon’s land, Deban, Haldibari, Hornbill Camp, Bulbulia, Firmbase areas were thoroughly surveyed using spotlighting technique. The nocturnal frugivores diversity included 2 species of gliding squirrels, 6 species of civets and a Loris species (Table 1). As per IUCN, 2 species under Vulnerable category were observed i.e., the Binturong and Bengal Slow Loris. Apart from this during the survey, the other nocturnal mammals that we observed, were Sambar (Rusa unicolor), Barking deer (Muntiacus muntjack), Leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis), Fishing cat (Prionailurus viverrinus), Common leopard (Panthers pardus), Himalayan crestless porcupine (Hystrix brachyuran), Brush tailed porcupine (Atherurus macrourus) etc.

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Table 1: Nocturnal frugivores species diversity as recorded during our night survey conducted in Namdapha National Park from January to December 2014. Sl.No

Common Name

Latin Name

Family

IUCN

Rodentia 1.

Red giant gliding squirrel

Petaurista petaurista

Sciuridae

Least Concern

2.

Particolored gliding squirrel

Hylopetes alboniger

Sciuridae

Least Concern

Carnivora 3.

Common Palm Civet

Paradoxurus hermaphroditus

Viverridae

Least Concern

4.

Large Indian Civet

Vivvera zibetha

Viverridae

Least Concern

5.

Small Indian Civet

Vivvera indica

Viverridae

Least Concern

6.

Masked Palm Civet

Paguma larvata

Viverridae

Least Concern

7.

Small Toothed Palm Civet

Arctogalidia trivirigata

Viverridae

Least Concern

8.

Binturong

Arctictis binturong

Viverridae

Vulnerable

Nycticebus bengalensis

Lorisidae

Vulnerable

Primates 9.

Bengal Slow Loris

Feeding: Feeding observations for the nocturnal mammals were collected for three seasons’ viz., summer, monsoon and winter. The maximum number of total observations on feeding was observed for the Red giant gliding squirrel followed by Particolored gliding squirrel and Common palm civet. Whereas, the minimum number of total observations was recorded for the Bengal slow loris. The highest data was recorded in winter followed by Monsoon and summer. The data is recorded in table 2.

Table 2: Seasonal feeding records observed per species during our study conducted in Namdapha National Park from January to December 2014. S.No.

Species

Summer

Monsoon

Winter

Total

1


90

56

174

320

2


26

38

42

106

3

Common palm civet

12

22

38

72

10

4

Large Indian civet

--

10

14

24

5

Small Indian civet

--

4

10

14

6

Masked palm civet

10

10

36

56

7

Binturong

--

--

10

10

8

Bengal Slow loris

1

--

8

9 Total

611

Feeding Trees: A total of 18 fruit trees belonging to 12 genera and 10 families were identified over which the nocturnal frugivores fed. Neolamarckia cadamba and ficus sp. were identified as the important fruit trees over which the majority of mammals were dependent. Moraceae represented as the dominant family among the feeding trees and others represented a family each (Table 3) (Fig 1).

Table 3: List of tree species on which the nocturnal frugivores were depended. S.No

Tree Species

Dependent Nocturnal Mammals

Season

1.

Altingia excelsa


Winter

Hamamelidaceae

2.

Artocarpus chaplasa


Winter

Moraceae

3.

Biscofia javanica

Common Palm Civet

Winter

Bischofiaceae

4.

Cannarium strictum

Large Indian Civet

Winter

Burseraceae

5.

Castonopsis indica


Winter

Fagaceae

6.

Chukrasia tubularis

7.

Duabanga grandiflora

8.

Ficus altissima


Meliaceae Winter, Summer

Slow Loris Red giant gliding squirrel

Winter

Lythraceae


Summer, Monsoon

Moraceae

Particolored gliding squirrel Common Palm Civet

9.

Ficus bengalensis

Family


Moraceae Summer

Particolored gliding squirrel Binturong 10.

Ficus drupacea


Moraceae Winter

Particolored gliding squirrel 11

11.

Ficus heterophylla


Winter

Common palm civet

Moraceae Moraceae

Masked palm civet 12.

Ficus heteropleura

Winter, summer Red giant gliding squirrel Particolored gliding squirrel

13.

Ficus rumphii


Summer

Moraceae

14.

Gynocardia odorata

Common palm civet

Winter

Achariaceae

15.

Magnolia graifitti

Masked palm civet

Magnoliaceae Summer

Common palm civet Masked palm civet

Rubiaceae

Large Indian civet 16.

Neolamarckia cadamba

Small Indian civet Winter, Monsoon Red giant gliding squirrel Particolored gliding squirrel Slow loris Common palm civet

17

Syzygium cumini

Small Indian Civet

Myrtaceae Monsoon

Particolored gliding squirrel 18.

Unknown sp.

Common palm civet

Winter

Fig 1: Family wise list of tree species.

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Non plant products fed on by nocturnal frugivores: Apart from the plant products, observations were made where the civets were seen feeding on birds, fish and small mammals. Most feeding observations were on pompadour green pigeon by Small Indian Civet followed by the other species as mentioned in table 4. Highest feeding on non-plant products was observed in summer season.

Table 4: List of Non- plant products fed by the nocturnal frugivores S.No

Animals predated on

Dependent Nocturnal Mammals

Season

Small Indian Civet (SIC) 1.

Pompadour Green pigeon

Common palm Civet (CPC)

4 (SIC) Winter

Masked palm Civet (MPC) Rodent

6 (SIC) 2 (MIC)

Small Indian Civet (SIC) 2.

No. of Observations

2 (MIC) Summer

Common palm Civet (CPC)

1 (MIC)

3.

Silver Eared Mesia

Small Indian Civet (SIC)

Monsoon

2 (SIC)

4.

Fish

Large Indian Civet (LIC)

Summer

1 (LIC)

Distribution Pattern: Predictive distribution modelling was done to show the possible distribution of the nocturnal frugivores in the tropical belt with respect to their present environment in the Namdapha National Park. The modelling was done to produce distribution maps based on the GPS locations collected from ground and with the help of bio-climatic variables. The distribution maps are as shown below (Fig 2 – Fig 6). Jackknife validation was done and the Area under curve (AUC) was found near to 0.99 making the model acceptable. The influence of the bioclimatic variable for each species are mentioned in the table 5. We could build the maps only to 5 species.

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Table 5: Showing the important bioclimatic variable influencing the species distribution S.No:

Species

Influencing

Percent Contribution

Permutation Importance

Bio-climatic variable 1.

Common Palm Civet

Bio2*

37.3

73.7

2.

Large Indian Civet

Bio2*

52.4

70.2

3.

Masked Palm Civet

Bio3**

24.1

20.6

4.

Red Giant Gliding Squirrel

Bio3**

25.3

29.7

5.

Bengal Slow Loris

Bio2*

48.5

32.9

*Bio 2 is Mean diurnal range (mean of monthly max. and min. temp.) **Bio 3 is Isothermality

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Fig 2: Showing the possible distribution pattern on Common palm civet.

15

Fig 3: Showing the possible distribution pattern on Large Indian Civet. 16

Fig 4: Showing the possible distribution pattern on Masked palm civet.

17

Fig 5: Showing the possible distribution pattern on Red Giant Gliding Squirrel.

18

Fig 6: Showing the possible distribution pattern on Bengal Slow Loris.

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Discussion: Feeding: In the present study, as the encounter rates of the species were less (discussed in objective 3) and thus the data collected was not much. And as such, final conclusions on the feeding habits can’t be completely drawn. Through this study, it was understood that the gliding squirrels seemed to be much frugivorous in comparison to civets. There was very less data collected on Bengal slow Loris. So, we have not included the species in discussion with regard to diet.

All the species seemed to be highly frugivorous seasonally. Whereas the civets depended on animal matter in summer season. Similar observations were made for masked palm civet from Japan (see. Matsuo & Ochiai, 2009). Even in case of observations made for Common palm civet in Kerala of India, It was observed that the species fed mostly on fruit matter followed by animal matters (Jotish, 2011). Also, civets i.e., Binturong in general are termed as hypo carnivores which depends upon a lot of fruit and animal matters (Prater 1971, Lambert 1990). All these observations support our observations. Also, fig dependency by civets was observed along with gliding squirrels in summer and winter seasons. High level of Fig dependency was even doubted in case of civet species like Binturong in a study conducted by Murali et. al., 2013. In this study, it was observed that the binturong heavily depended on fig species in winter in Namdapha National Park. The gliding squirrels were highly frugivorous seasonally. They depended on resins, flowers along with young and mature leaves during the fruit deficit seasons (Personal observation) making it a strong frugivores seasonally.

Distribution: The species was found to be distributed along the river and in the Hornbill, Haldibari and Happy valley areas of the park which fall under tropical belt. These areas too harbour the tree species that are mostly fed upon by these nocturnal frugivores. Most portions towards the northeast portion of the park fall under temperate and alpine scrubs, And thus the species distribution doesn’t appear to fall under this region. Also, no point location data was collected from that regions as these regions remain mostly inaccessible. Moreover, our predictive modelling distribution maps were based on the ground thruthing data that signifies the authenticity of the final outputs.

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Objective 2. Drivers involved in hunting of nocturnal frugivores in Namdapha National Park. Methods: Hunting and use pattern: Snowball sampling approach (Goodman, 1961) was used in which, a hunter was asked to introduce to other hunter and a traditional healer to another. The hunter and traditional healers initially in the community were selected through the suggestions from village headman. Thus the focus of this study was not to quantifying hunting but to examine the practice of hunting and to know the use pattern in the park. Animal species hunted were identified by using the mammals of India book (With coloured photographs). The questionnaire survey was followed to get further information as mentioned below.

Questionnaire Survey: In this method, semi structured interviews were conducted to know the quick responses on the methods of hunting, Season of hunting, purpose of hunting, preferences among the nocturnal mammals, use pattern such as for cultural, bush-meat and trade. Mostly the surveys were conducted during the evenings when locals are free from their work. (Questionnaire attached as appendix I)

Results: A total of 17 ex-hunters and 9 traditional healers were interviewed from 5 villages which included Chakma, Lisu and Miju-mishmi people. The hunters preferred local guns for hunting followed by snare and mentioned monsoon and winter as their favourable hunting season. Traditional healers explained the use pattern of the nocturnal frugivores and the uses are mentioned in table 6. No differentiation on the use pattern of the species are mentioned separately in the table tribe wise as the tribes have common beliefs in most of the cases.

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Table 6: List of Animals hunted and their use as collected from our questionnaire based survey S.No:

Species

1.

Red giant squirrel

gliding

2.

Particolored squirrel

gliding

Use

Season of use

Bush meat & ethno-zoological

Throughout year

the

Bushmeat

Throughout year

the

3.

Binturong

Bushmeat & cultural use

4.

Common palm civet

Bushmeat

Winter

5.

Masked palm civet

Bushmeat

Winter

6.

Large Indian civet

Bushmeat

Winter

7.

Bengal slow loris

Bush meat & ethno-zoological

Throughout year

Winter

the

Other Comments Kernels of Oryza spp. are stored in the urine and are consumed for the treatment of kidney stones. --The hair of the species is tied to the waist of the children on Thursdays to treat fever and also from evil spirits. Hunted in winter as the species odour remains less due to fat deposit Hunted in winter as the species odour remains less due to fat deposit Hunted in winter as the species odour remains less due to fat deposit Skin and hair used in healing the cuts and wounds

Discussion: Hunting of wildlife is a long back practice in the state of Arunachal Pradesh. The tribals have a long history of hunting and dependency on various wildlife species as a source of bushmeat (Aiyadurai, 2007). It was also observed that the wildlife species is hunted as a part of bush-meat collection, sport hunting and for ritual and ethno-zoological purposes. Wildlife plays an important role in ethno-zoological purposes in the tribal states of Northeast India and Southeast Asia in general (see-Alves et al. 2010). In the present study, it was observed that the civets were mostly hunted as a part of bushmeat. The species were hunted in winter and the reason for preference in winter is due to its bulkiness and the species emit less smell in the season. Also, the hunters used local guns and snare traps to kill and trap the species respectively. Some have even reported to use catapults for killing the gliding squirrels. The ethno-zoological use of the gliding squirrels was observed in the study area. However, the decline in hunting practice and due to strict orders from the Gaon Buras

21

(village head-men), the people were not interested in sharing the information. Also, the forest department has laid strict orders on hunting thus bringing down the hunting practice in the protected area. The use of slow loris skin and hair in the treatment of wounds was observed. Old skins of slow loris were observed in the villages. The use of slow loris in ethnozoological purposes and as taboos is noted in few south-east Asian countries also (See Nijman & Nekaris, 2014). The main reason for the practice of wildlife hunting in the park is due to many socio-economic aspects. This can be better understood through Datta’s popular book chapter on Threatened Forests and Forgotten people Pages 165-199.

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Objective 3. Status of few nocturnal frugivores (additional objective) Methods: Spotlight count method (Lee et al., 1993; Ray et al., 2012) was used in the established permanent trails in the different study areas. In this method, nocturnal mammals were counted 2-4 nights per month in a season between 1800-2400 hrs – when the nocturnal mammals seem to be most active. Nocturnal mammals were detected by an orange/red reflection produced from its eyes (Barrett, 1984; Lee et al., 1986). Also, on confirmation of animal, attempt was made to identify the species. Encounter Rates: The encounter rate was calculated as the number of gliding squirrels sighted per kilometre of trail walked by following the method of Sutherland (2002).

Results: Out of 14 trails with walking effort of 48 km, it was observed that the encounter rates were high in case of Red giant gliding squirrel (1.3 individuals/km) followed by particolored gliding squirrel and the least encounter rates were observed for Small and Large Indian Civets (0.1 individuals/km each) (Table 7). The encounter rates were calculated for only winter season.

Table 7: Encounter rates of different nocturnal species: S.No

Species

Trail length (Km)

Total Walking effort (Km)

Encounter rate (Individuals/km)

1.


14

48

1.3

2.


14

48

0.9

3.

Common palm civet

14

48

0.2

4.

Masked palm civet

14

48

0.2

5.

Small Indian civet

14

48

0.1

6.

Large Indian civet

14

48

0.1

7

Bengal slow loris

14

48

0.4

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Discussion: Namdapha National Park was threatened in the past due to hunting practices. Low encounter rates were observed in the previous studies conducted by Datta et al., (2008). Currently, due to the ban on hunting in the surrounding villages along with the strict orders of forest department has brought down hunting pressure. However, hunting still gets unnoticed in few areas especially in rainy season. The reason is the lack for forest department staff and though topography along with harsh climatic conditions. Also, lack of basic medical facilities make the tribals to depend on the wildlife for various purposes. The encounter rates were observed high for Red giant gliding squirrel followed by Particolored gliding squirrels. This can be compared to various studies around the world. The reasons in variations in encounter rate could be habitat quality, type, survey season etc. (Table 8). Also, less encounter rates were observed for the civet species. Similar observations were made by Datta et al., (2008) in the study area through camera trapping surveys. The reasons for less encounter rates could be due to historic hunting practice.

Table 8: Encounter rates of Giant gliding squirrels observed in different studies till date: Study Site

Species

Encounter rate

Source

(individuals/km) Chitou Experimental

Red giant gliding Squirrel

0.47 (Conifer Forest)

Lee et al., 1993

Forest

(P. petaurista)

1.96 (Hardwood forest)

Assam and Meghalaya,


0.10 - 0.77 (Various forest

Radhakrishna et al.,

India

(P. petaurista)

types)

2006

Khao Ang Rue Nai


0.36 (Primary forest)

Plisoungnoen et al.,

Wildlife Sanctuary,

(P. petaurista)

2010

Eastern Thailand Joypore Reserve Forest,


Assam, India

(P. petaurista)

Western Ghats, India

Brown giant gliding

0.85

Ray et al., 2012

0.55

Kumara & Singh

squirrel (Petaurista

2004

phillipensis) Western Ghats, India

Brown giant gliding

0.28 (Brahmagiri-Makut)

Kumara & Singh

squirrel (P. phillipensis)

0.03 (Pushpagiri-Bisale)

2006

24

0.29 (Sirsi-Honnavara) 1.33 (Nagarahole) Western Ghats, India

Brown giant gliding

1.5 (Cardamom plantations)


1.29 (Moist deciduous forest)

Ashraf et al., 1993.

0.7 (Evergreen forest) 0.3 (Coffee plantations) None (Teak Forest) Forest fragments of

Brown giant gliding

0.1 (forest edges)

Nandini &

Western Ghats, India


3.92 (forest interiors)

Parthasarathy, 2008.

5.62 (Coffee plantations) Tropical Deciduous

Brown giant gliding

forests, Rajasthan, India


0.05

Koli et al., 2013

Final Words: Local authority of Namdapha National Park i.e. the forest department being the primary organization along with the support of local, regional and national level NonGovernment Organizations (NGOs) and researchers and scientists working in around the park are the first hands to provide support for conservation and management of park’s wildlife. Also, they should be involved in spreading the awareness about wildlife importance among the local communities apart from educating them. The foresaid groups and organizations have to highlight the importance of the area at broader scale leading to advertise the Namdapha National Park to be a best destination for wildlife and nature tourism. It will help in generating the employment as well as improving livelihood standard of local people if this boosts the tourists to reach this area. The more the tourists the more the employment leading to species conservation. Species conservation is nowhere. It is in our hands if properly taken care.

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Photo Plates:

A view of Namdapha National Park

A trail that was surveyed

A Red giant gliding squirrel.

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A Binturong over a Ficus drupeace tree

A Common Palm

A Masked Palm Civet

A Particolored gliding squirrel feeding over Neolamarkiana cadamba fruit

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Other Wildlife & Skins Sighted during the Survey in the park and in the villages

A Bengal Slow Loris skin with hair seen during the village survey

A Bengal slow Loris

A Barking deer

A Leopard Cat

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Few fruit species fed by Nocturnal frugivores

Artocarpus sp. fed by the particolored gliding squirrel

Ficus rumphii

Unripe Neolamarckia cadamba fruits fed by the gliding squirrels

Comparison among figs of different species.

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People at Work

PI (Murali Krishna) at work

The team Video-graphing the species in the night

The team during the night walk (to the left Erebo Chakma and towards the right Tinku Chakma)

The team in the morning (on the left Parimal Ray, PI in the middle & on right Erebo Chakma) under a huge fig tree

A tough river crossing

Bironjay Basumatary holding the search lights during the survey

An elephant hired to carry the luggage for camping inside the jungle

Along with village heads men of 32nd mile village

Along with Research officer (Tajum Yomcha) of Namdapha National Park before the start of the night survey

With Kuladip (right) before the start of survey.

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List of References: Aiyadurai, A. 2007. Hunting in a Biodiversity Hotspot: A survey on hunting practices by indigenous communities in Arunachal Pradesh, North-east India. Final report to the Rufford Small Grants Program (UK). Nature Conservation Foundation, Mysore, India. 44 pp.

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Arunachalam, A., Sarmah, R., Adhikari, D., Majumder, M. & Khan M.L. (2004). Anthropogenic threats and biodiversity conservation in Namdapha nature reserve in the Indian Eastern Himalayas. Current Science, 87: 447‐ 454. Ashraf, N.V.K., Kumar, A., & Johnsingh, A.J.T. (1993). On the relative abundance of the two sympatric flying squirrels of Western Ghats, India. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society, 90: 158-162.

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Barrett, E. (1984). The ecology of some nocturnal, arboreal mammals in the rainforests of peninsular Malaysia. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Cambridge. Cambridge, United Kingdom: 187-226. Choudhury, A. (2009). One more new flying squirrel of the genus Petaurista Link, 1795 from Arunachal Pradesh in north-east India. The Newsletter and Journal of the Rhino Foundation for nat. in NE India, 8: 26-34. Choudhury, A. U. (2007). A new flying squirrel of the genus Petaurista Link from Arunachal Pradesh in north-east India. Newsletter and Journal of the Rhino Foundation for Nat. in NE India, 7: 26-32. Corlett, R.T. (1998). Frugivory and seed dispersal by vertebrates in the Oriental (Indomalayan) region. Biological Reviews, 73: 413-448.

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Datta, A., Anand, M.O. & Naniwadekar, R. (2008). Empty forests: Large carnivore and prey abundance in Namdapha National Park, north-east India. Biological Conservation, 141: 1429 -1435 Datta, A., Japang, P., Madhusudan, M.D. & Mishra, C. (2003). Discovery of the leaf deer Muntiacus putaoensis in Arunachal Pradesh: An addition to the large mammals of India. Current Science, 84(3)-10: 454-458. Datta, A., Naniwadekar, R. & Anand, M.O. (2008). Hornbills, hoolocks and hog badgers: long‐term monitoring of threatened wildlife with local communities in Arunachal Pradesh, north‐east India. Final report to the Rufford Small Grants Program (UK). Nature Conservation Foundation, Mysore, India. 80 pp.

Fleming, H.T. (1979). Do Tropical Frugivores Compete for Food? American Zoologist, 19:1157-1172.

Gautier-Hion, A., Duplantier, J.M., Quris, R., Feer, F., Sound, C., Decoux, J.P., Dubost, G., Emmons, L., Erand, C., Hecketsweiler, P., Moungazi, A., Roussilhon, C., Thiollay, J.M. (1985). Fruit characters as a basis of fruit choice and seed dispersal in a tropical forest vertebrate community. Oecologia, 65: 324-337.

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Jothish, P. S. (2011). Diet of the Common Palm Civet Paradoxurus hermaphroditus in a rural habitat in Kerala, India, and its possible role in seed dispersal. Journal of Small Carnivore Conservation, 45: 14-17.

Koli, V. K., Bhatnagar, C. & Sharma, S. K. (2013). Distribution and status of Indian Giant Flying Squirrel (Petaurista philippensis) in Rajasthan, India. National Academy Science Letters, 36(1): 27-33. 32

Krishna, C. M., Ray, P.C., Sarma, K. and Kumar, A. (2012a). Conservation of White-bellied Heron Ardea insignis (Hume, 1878) habitat in Namdapha National Park, Arunachal Pradesh, India. Current Science, 102(8): 25-26. Krishna, C.M., Sarma, K., & Kumar, A. (2012b). Rapid assessment of Wreathed Hornbill Aceros undulatus (Aves: Bucerotidae) populations and conservation issues in fragmented lowland tropical forests of Arunachal Pradesh, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa, 4(14): 3342–3348 Kumara, H.N., & Mewa, S. (2004). The influence of different hunting practices on the relative abundance of mammals in the rain forest areas of the Western Ghats, India. Oryx, 38(3): 321-327.

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Lee, P.F., Lin, Y.S. and Progulske, D.R. (1993a). Spotlight counts of giant flying squirrels (Peaurista petaurista and P. alborufus) in Taiwan. Bulletin of Institutional Zoology, Academia Sinica, 32(1): 54-61.

Mastsuo, R. & Ochiai, K. (2009). Dietary overlap among two introduced and one native sympatric carnivore species, the raccoon, the masked palm civet, and the raccoon dog, in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. Mammal Study, 34: 187-194.

Murali K. C., Kumar, A., Khatiwara, S. & Bompa, C. (2014). Further observations of Smalltoothed Palm Civet Arctogalidia trivirgata in Namdapha National Park, Arunachal Pradesh, India. Journal of Small Carnivore Conservation, 50: 45–46.

Murali, K. C., Kumar, A., Ray, P. C. & Sarma, K. (2013). Feeding observations of a Binturong Arctictis binturong group in Namdapha National Park, Arunachal Pradesh, India. Small Carnivore Conservation, 49: 28–30. 33

Murali, K.C. & Kumar, A. (2013). Flying squirrel diversity and tribal beliefs with regard to species in Arunachal Pradesh, Eastern Himalayas, India – with references to conservation issues. Abstract published. World Biodiversity Congress – 2013, held at Thailand. Pp. 138.

Myers, N., Mittermeier, R. A., Miittermeier, C. A., da Fonseca, G.A.B & Kent, J. (2000). Biodiversity Hotspots for Conservation Priorities. Nature, 403: 853-858.

Nandini, R. & Parthasarathy, N. (2008). Food habits of the Indian giant flying squirrel (Petaurista philippensis) in a rain forest fragment, Western Ghats. Journal of Mammalogy, 89 (6): 1550-1556. Nath, P. C., Arunachalam, A., Khan, M. L., Arunachala, K. & Barbhuiya, A. R. (2005). Vegetation analysis and tree population structure of tropical wet evergreen forests in and around Namdapha National Park, northeast India. Biodiversity and Conservation, 14(9): 2109-2135. Nijman, V. & Nekaris, K. A. (2014). Traditions, taboos and trade in slow lorises in Sundanese communities in southern Java, Indonesia. Endangered species Researcher, 25: 79- 88. Olson, D.M. & Dinerstein, E. (1998). The global 200: a representation approach to conserving the Earth’s most biologically valuable ecoregions. Conservation Biology, 12: 502515. Pliosungneon, M., Gale, G., & Savini, T. (2010). Density and microhabitat use of Bengal Slow Loris in primary forest and non-native plantation forest. American Journal of Primatology, 72: 1108-1117. Prater, S. H. (1971). The book of Indian animals. Oxford University Press, Bombay, India. Procter, K.H., Haridasan, K. & Smith, G.W. (1998). How far does lowland tropical rainforest go? Global Ecology and Biogeography Letters, 7: 141–146.

Radhakrishna, S., Goswami, A.B., & Sinha, A. (2006). Distribution and conservation of Nycticebus bengalensis in Northeastern India. International Journal of Primatology, 27: 971982. Rao, R.R.

& Hajra, P.K. (1986). Floristic diversity of the eastern Himalaya – in a

conservation perspective. Proceedings of Indian Academy of Sciences (Animal Science / Plant Science), Supplement, 103–125.

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Ray, P. C., A. Kumar, J. Biswas, N. Das, A. Sangma, K. Sarma & Krishna, M. (2012). Red Giant Flying Squirrel (Petaurista petaurista) in Assam - India. Taprobanica, 4(2): 109-111. Saha, S.S. (1981). A new genus and new species of flying squirrel (Mammalia: Rodentia: Scuiridae) from northeast India. Bulletin of Zoological Survey of India, 4(3): 331–336. Singh, D.N., Chandiramani, S.S., and Choudhury, A.G. Biodiversity of Namdapha – A Profile. Project Tiger, Namdapha Tiger Reserve, Miao, Dist. Changlang, Arunachal Pradesh. Year of Publishing, unknown. Sinha, A., Datta, A., Madhusudan, M. D. & Mishra, C. (2005). Macaca munzala: A new species from western Arunachal Pradesh, north eastern India. International Journal of Primatology, 26: 977–989. Whitmore, T.C. (1998). An Introduction to Tropical Rain Forests. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.

Suggested further reading: Datta, A. (2007). Protecting with people in Namdapha: Threatened forests, forgotten people. Making conservation work: Securing biodiversity in this new century 11 (ed. by G. Shahabuddin and M. Rangarajan), pp. 165‐209. Permanent Black, New Delhi.

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ANNEXURE ANNEXURE I Questionnaire Hunting patterns, frequencies, techniques and taboos: Name: Village:

Dist.:

GPS location of village: Religion / cultural belief: Name of the person interviewed:

Age:

Sex:

1. Which nocturnal mammals do you hunt now? 2. Among the nocturnal mammals you hunt, which species are preferred and why? 3. Preferred time of the night for hunting. Why? 4. What is the preferred season for hunting? Why? 5. How many hunting trips are made in a month/week? 6. Do you own a gun? IF YES, Purchased or made 7. Do you share weapons? YES/ NO 8. Which method do you prefer to hunt? (Guns/Traditional method) Why? 9. What is the cost of wild meat? Cost (Rs/kg) Fresh and Dry 10. Do you sell live nocturnal mammals? YES/NO. If sold, what is the cost? 11. Are there any taboos on hunting any nocturnal mammals? If yes, which animals and why? 12. What is the actual purpose of hunting nocturnal mammals? (Socio-cultural/ bush-meat)

36

37