Record of Himalayan Marmot Marmota himalayana (Hodgson, 1841) (Rodentia: Sciuridae) from Arunachal Pradesh, India

In India, the Himalayan Marmot Marmota himalayana occurs in Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh. In this communication, we describe the single sighting of foraging and storing of grass by Himalayan Marmots in the eastern Himalayan landscape of western Arunachal Pradesh and address the threats that we noticed. Though the species occur in different areas of India, no systematic work has been done till now to assess their population status and distribution, let alone in the state of Arunachal Pradesh.

ISSN 0974-7907 (Online); ISSN 0974-7893 (Print) The mammalian family of Sciuridae includes squirrel species that are adapted to different habitats. Based on their adaptations, they are classified as tree squirrels, gliding squirrels, and ground squirrels. The particular tribe Marmotini, which includes the burrow-dwelling ground species has 13 genera comprising a total of 95 species (Thorington et al. 2012). The species, Himalayan Marmot Marmota himalayana, has a large range that extends over a vast area in the mountains of southern Asia, including the Kuenlun, Arkatag, Altyn Tagh, and Nan Shan mountain ranges, the Tibetan Plateau, Sikkim, and Bhutan (Sclater 1891;Bobrinskii 1937;Gromov et al. 1965;Sibo & Ganyun 1983;Bibikov 1989;Nikol'skii et al. 2006). In India, the species occurs in Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh.
The present study was carried out in high-altitude grasslands near Mago village of Thingbu Tehsil of Tawang district Arunachal Pradesh (Figure 1). Mago is situated at around 3,600 m elevation and the grasslands are at around 4,000 m elevation where the marmots occur. This particular observation was carried out at Zithang (27.733700°N, 92.285867°E, 4,100 m). Throughout the year, there is no absolute frost-free period. The area is undulating with mountains surrounding the whole area (Image 1). The river that flows in the region is locally known as Yechum. The grasslands are used as grazing lands by the Yak-herders of Brokpa community (Brokpa people are a sect of the Monpa people, who rear livestock such as yak, dzo and sheeps, and live a nomadic lifestyle).
We trekked from the village of Mago to Zithang (Image 2). It took around four hours to reach Zithang. After reaching Zithang, we took shelter in a temporary makeshift tent. Visual observations were made using binoculars (Nikon Prostaff 3S 10x42). The observations were recorded using a camera (Nikon D500).
During our stay at the place, we observed that, when the weather was gloomy, marmots do not come out frequently. But when the weather was clear they spend most of the time, foraging, grooming, and playing (Image 3). We also documented Himalayan Marmots foraging on grass (Image 4). We also documented them coming out from the burrows, taking a mouthful of grass, and again going back to the burrows (Image 5). This can be indicative of preparedness for the harsh winters. Himalayan Marmot locally in Dirang Monpa (language) is known as 'Gomchen Chikpa' (Gomchen meaning hermit). When asked about why it is called so, they told that since they are not seen during the winters (because they hibernate), they are thought to be meditating in the burrows, like a hermit. As the inhabitants of the region predominantly follow Tibetan Buddhism, they usually do not hunt. But there are reports of using marmots in the preparation of ethnomedicines (Mishra et al. 2006). The fat of the animal is used as a pain reliever. The fat is melted and rubbed in the area of pain. The skin of the animal is also used as a pain-relieving belt and wrapped around the area of pain to get relief from pain. The high-altitude grasslands are used as grazing places for livestock by the Brokpa people. In order to organise and control large numbers of livestock and to protect them from potential predators, herding dogs are used (Image 6). During our visit to the grasslands, we were reported instances of dogs predating on marmots.
There is scanty information available for Himalayan Marmot from Arunachal Pradesh. There are no historical reports of the species in the state, according to previous literature, including works by Ellerman (1961), Alfred et al. (2006), and De et al. (2006). Mishra et al. (2006) recorded the presence of the species in Tawang and West Kameng districts. In the CAMP report, Molur et al. (2005), recorded its occurrence from Manmagyalem and Tawang, the same is followed by Srinivasulu & Srinivasulu (2012) and Menon (2014). However, in the chapter on Sciurids in Mammals of South Asia (Datta & Nandini 2015), there is no mention of any occurrence of the marmot species from Arunachal Pradesh. Therefore, this is the first study that has presented photographic evidence of the species from Arunachal Pradesh.

Conclusion
Though Himalayan Marmot occurs in different areas of India, no systematic work has been done till now to assess their population status and distribution of Himalayan Marmots, let alone in the state of Arunachal Pradesh. So, proper research is needed to fill the www.threatenedtaxa.org The Journal of Threatened Taxa (JoTT) is dedicated to building evidence for conservation globally by publishing peer-reviewed articles online every month at a reasonably rapid rate at www.threatenedtaxa.org. All articles published in JoTT are registered under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License unless otherwise mentioned. JoTT allows allows unrestricted use, reproduction, and distribution of articles in any medium by providing adequate credit to the author(s) and the source of publication.