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New life, new hope for Manas National Park


Western Assam's Manas National Park which also covers a part of Bhutan has excited conservationists. A study conducted last month by a team from Manas, Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Arya Vidyapeeth College, Gauhati University and biodiversity conservation NGO Aaranyak revealed a thriving hitherto undocumented amphibian and reptile population. 

According to park officials, preliminary survey results indicated the presence of at least 55 herpeto-fauna species comprising 20 amphibian and 35 reptile species in the trans-boundary landscape. 

Officials said the Green Tree Frog, Bubble Nest Frog, Twin Spotted Tree Frog, Blue Fan-Throated Lizard, Water Monitor Lizard, King Cobra and Pope's Pit Viper are some of the species indicating the thriving biodiversity of the trans-boundary landscape. They added that most of the herpeto-fauna species found are new records for Bhutan. 

"Some of the species discovered are of immense scientific interest. In the Indian part of Manas, the new species found show Indian, Indo-Malayan and Indo-Chinese elements. Habitat patches in Lotajhar and Doimari inside Manas National Park were found to be particularly rich in forest species while grassland-wetland areas such as Kuribeel in the Bansbari Range were identified as the park's critical turtle habitat," a senior park official said. 

WII director V B Mathur said the findings of the survey will help strengthen the case for declaring trans-boundary Manas a World Heritage Site. WII herpetologist Abhijit Das who led the team said the survey indicated the herpeto-fauna biodiversity of the Manas landscape. Das said there is a need to conduct long-term and periodic surveys to have a better understanding of species richness and ecology. 

The Indian portion of Manas, a Unesco World Heritage Site, forms a contiguous biodiversity landscape with Royal Manas National Park in Bhutan. With Unesco's World Heritage Committee focusing on trans-boundary conservation training of frontline staff in both the Indian and Bhutan sections of the park has assumed primacy. The Indo-Bhutan Manas landscape is one the world's single-largest protected landscapes and it lies at the juncture of two biodiversity hotspots - the Himalayan and Indo-Burmese. 



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