NAMDAPHA FLYING SQUIRRELS - ENVIRONMENT
News: After
42 years, nocturnal flying squirrel resurfaces in Arunachal Pradesh
What's in the news?
● Recently,
a Namdapha flying squirrel has resurfaced in Arunachal Pradesh after going missing
for 42 years.
Namdapha Flying Squirrel:
● It
is an arboreal, nocturnal flying
squirrel endemic to Arunachal Pradesh.
● It
is one of the 43 known flying squirrel species in the world.
● It
was named the Namdapha Flying Squirrel after the location it was discovered in
an area which falls under the Namdapha National Park.
Features:
● These
squirrels are not capable of flight like
birds or bats; instead, they glide between trees.
● They
are herbivores (frugivores,
granivores). They eat various fruits, nuts, seeds, fungi, flowers, and tree
sap.
Habitat:
● They
inhabit tall Mesua ferrea jungles,
often on hill slopes in the catchment area of the Dihing River (particularly on
the western slope of the Patkai range) in northeastern India.
Conservation status:
● IUCN Red List -
Critically Endangered
● Wildlife (Protection)
Act, 1972 - Schedule II
Go back to basics:
Namdapha Tiger Reserve:
● It
is located in the Changlang district of Arunachal
Pradesh.
● Namdapha is the name of
a river which originates from Daphabum and meets the Noa-Dehing river.
● This
river flows right across in a North-South direction of the National Park and
hence the name Namdapha has been given.
● This
protected area is wedged between the Dapha Bum ridge of Mishmi Hills, of North
Eastern Himalayas and the Patkai Ranges.
● Flora:
Evergreen Forests, Moist deciduous forests, subtropical forests, Temperate
Forests and Alpine.
● Fauna:
Earthworms, Butterflies & Moths, Amphibians, Reptiles etc.