Journal of Threatened Taxa |
www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 May 2023 | 15(5): 23262–23265
ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893
(Print)
https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.8402.15.5.23262-23265
#8402 | Received 10 February 2023 | Final
received 31 March 2023 | Finally accepted 16 May 2023
Record of Himalayan Marmot Marmota himalayana
(Hodgson, 1841) (Rodentia: Sciuridae) from Arunachal
Pradesh, India
Hiranmoy Chetia
1 & Murali Krishna Chatakonda 2
1,2 Amity Institute of
Forestry and Wildlife, Amity University, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, 201313, India.
1 hiranmoychetia@gmail.com,
2 mkchatakonda@amity.edu (corresponding author)
Editor: S.S. Talmale,
Zoological Survey of India, Pune, India. Date
of publication: 26 May 2023 (online & print)
Citation: Chetia, H. & M.K. Chatakonda (2023). Record of Himalayan Marmot Marmota himalayana
(Hodgson, 1841) (Rodentia: Sciuridae) from Arunachal
Pradesh, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 15(5): 23262–23265. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.8248.15.5.23262-23265
Copyright: © Chetia & Chatakonda 2023. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
License. JoTT
allows unrestricted use, reproduction, and distribution of this article in any
medium by providing adequate credit to the author(s) and the source of
publication.
Funding: Science and Engineering Research Board, Department of Science and Technology,
Govt. of India, Project ID-ECR/2017/000594
Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.
Ethical statement: This study was conducted with permission from the village headmen of the village of Mago. We followed all guidelines for animal care and scientific research ethics.
Acknowledgements: The authors express
thanks to the people of Mago. We would like to
express our gratitude to Mr. Pema Tsering, who
accompanied and guided us at Zithang. We would like
to thank the funding agency, Science and Engineering Research Board, Department
of Science & Technology, Government of India for supporting the study.
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 knowledge gaps for planning conservation measures for these
beautiful creatures.
For
figure & images - - click here for full PDF
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