First Photographic Evidence of Chinese Pangolin in Assam's Raimona National Park
In Raimona National Park (RNP) in Assam, an important and exciting find was just made.
Conservationists and forest officials have taken the first pictures of the Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla), which is very hard to find and is severely endangered in this area.
Animals that are nocturnal, live alone, and burrow are called Chinese pangolins. They are known for being mysterious. Conservationists have been trying to figure out what this animal is for a long time, since it is rarely seen in the wild and is often caught by people. Its range and current population state are not well known, which makes this discovery even more significant. The picture was taken near a dry stream that flows into the Ranganadi River in a semi-deciduous forest area that is mostly made up of Sal trees (Shorea robusta). The dry leaves and small stones in the area made it a great place to take pictures of the pangolin.
This exciting moment came about after years of hard work by a group of activists and forest officials. The Kachugaon Forest Division of the Assam Forest Department and Aaranyak, the main biodiversity conservation organisation in the region, both confirmed the find. Their work was published in the "Journal of Threatened Taxa," which is a well-known scientific magazine around the world. Aaranyak's Senior Scientist Dr. M. Firoz Ahmed, Bhanu Sinha, Pranjal Talukdar, Biswajit Basumatary, Tunu Basumatary, Ramie H. Begum, Nibir Medhi, Nitul Kalita, and Abishek Harihar were some of the most important people who worked on this study.
It is one of two kinds of pangolin that live in India. The other is the Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata). The study says that illegal hunts and poaching are putting a lot of stress on the Chinese pangolin right now. Its scales and meat are very valuable in the illegal wildlife trade, and people often kill them for traditional medical uses. The Chinese pangolin is "Critically Endangered" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) because of these threats. It is also mentioned in Schedule-I of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, which gives it the most legal protection.
This unusual discovery shows how important it is to protect wildlife in the area, especially since species like the Chinese pangolin are becoming more likely to go extinct. The Chinese pangolin lives in many countries in eastern, northern, and southeastern Asia. In India, it is mostly found in the northeastern region and in the foothills of the Himalayas.
Not only is the Chinese pangolin being photographed in Raimona National Park an exciting event for scientists, but it also shows how important it is to protect these rare and unique species. Conservationists hope that this finding will lead to more focused efforts to keep pangolins and other threatened species safe from poaching and habitat loss.
The fact that this was found in Raimona National Park is a reminder of how diverse India is and how important it is to keep it safe for future generations.
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