Journal of Threatened
Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 December 2024 | 16(12): 26296–26300
ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893
(Print)
https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.9359.16.12.26296-26300
#9359 | Received 09 August 2024 | Final
received 11 September 2024 | Finally accepted 23 October 2024
Sightings of Red
Goral Nemorhaedus baileyi
in the community forest of the Upper Siang region, Arunachal Pradesh: an
insight into its conservation challenges and implications within a
tribal-managed landscape
Takhe Bamin
1, Kishon Tekseng 2 &
Daniel Mize 3
1,3
Ecology and Wildlife Biology Unit, Department of Zoology, Rajiv Gandhi
University, Rono Hills, Doimukh,
Arunachal Pradesh 791112, India.
2 Simong village, Upper Siang District, Arunachal Pradesh
791002, India.
1 takhe.bamin@rgu.ac.in,
2 tutuktekseng@gmail.com, 3 mizezoology@yahoo.co.in
(corresponding author)
Editor: Anwaruddin
Choudhury, The Rhino Foundation for Nature in North East India, Guwahati,
India. Date of publication: 26
December 2024 (online & print)
Citation: Bamin, T., K. Tekseng
& D. Mize (2024). Sightings of
Red Goral Nemorhaedus baileyi in the community forest of the Upper Siang
region, Arunachal Pradesh: an insight into its conservation challenges and
implications within a tribal-managed landscape. Journal
of Threatened Taxa 16(12): 26296–26300. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.9359.16.12.26296-26300
Copyright: © Bamin et al. 2024. 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, New Delhi, India.
Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.
Acknowledgements: The authors are
thankful to the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), DST, New Delhi,
as the observation of the Red Goral was made during the Sclater’s
Monal survey sponsored by the agency. Gratitude is
extended to Rajiv Gandhi University for providing infrastructure that enabled
analysis and development of the manuscript. The authors are indebted to the Simong Community for granting permission to conduct the
survey on their forested lands and for sharing their traditional knowledge
reflected in this study, as they are the rightful owners of the presented
information. Lastly, the authors extend their sincere thanks to Oyon Pertin, Tani
Boli, Anand Tekseng, and Tajir Tamuk for their valuable
assistance and support during the fieldwork for this study.
Abstract: A recent Sclater’s Monal survey conducted
in the Upper Siang region of Arunachal Pradesh (India) resulted in the sighting
of two Red Goral individuals - a young adult and a juvenile. These observations
were made within the Mount Eko Dumbing area, which is
owned and managed by the indigenous Simong tribal
community. The report includes photographic documentation of the observed Red
Gorals and provides detailed illustrations of their habitat characteristics, as
well as the deep traditional relationships that the Simong
people maintain with these species and the surrounding natural environment.
Additionally, the study highlights the critical conservation challenges and
opportunities relevant to the Red Goral in this ecologically and culturally
significant region.
Keywords: Adi, Bovidae, highlands, hunting, Mount Eko
Dumbing, ritual, Simong, taboo, traditional
belief system, traditional knowledge.
Red Goral Nemorhaedus baileyi
(Pocock, 1914) is an enigmatic small goat-antelope species in the Bovidae family. It is classified as ‘Vulnerable’ on the
IUCN Red List, included in CITES Appendix I (Nijhawan
2020), and receives the highest level of protection in China (Xiong et al. 2013) & under India’s Wild Life
(Protection) Act of 1972 as a Schedule I species. Red Gorals are one of the geographically
restricted species within the Nemorhaedus
genus, being geographically confined to the temperate mountain ranges of southeastern China, northern Myanmar, and the eastern
region of Arunachal Pradesh, India (Nijhawan 2020).
In Arunachal Pradesh,
India, the Red Goral is known to commonly occur in the Mishmi Hills region east
of the Siang River (Anjaw, Dibang
Valley, Lower Dibang Valley, East Siang, Lohit, and Changlang districts),
with the Dibang Wildlife Sanctuary serving as a
stronghold for the species. To the west of the Siang River, the species is
relatively rare, occurring only sporadically, with its range extending as far
west as the Tawang District (Choudhury 2013).
The presence of the
species has been confirmed from various locations across the state, including Namdapha National Park (Datta et
al. 2008) and community forests beyond Vijaynagar
near the border with Myanmar in Changlang (Nijhawan 2020), Kamlang Tiger
Reserve in Lohit (Singh & Gupta 2021), Walong in Anjaw (Choudhury 2009; Patgiri et al. 2023), Mehao WS in
Lower Dibang Valley (Ahmad & Gopi 2024), Dibang Valley and Upper Siang District (Aiyadurai
2014; Nijhawan 2020). Additionally, according to Nijhawan (2020), the Red Goral may also likely to be found
in the higher catchments of the Kameng (previously
reported by Mishra et al. 2005 and Mishra et al. 2006 from West Kameng District), Kurung, Kumey, and Subansiri rivers
within the state.
Here, we report the
recent sightings of the Red Goral within the Simong
community forest in the Upper Siang District located adjacent to the Dihang-Dibang Biosphere Reserve. While the presence of the
species has been reported from this region, these accounts have been based
solely on verbal confirmations (Nijhawan 2020), as
there are currently no known published records documenting its occurrence from
this specific location.
The information on
the Simong community’s traditional knowledge and
their local environment outlined here was obtained through extensive
discussions with Simong guides and subsequently
validated through informal interviews with the village’s elders, hunters, and
shaman.
The Observations
A field survey was
undertaken from 29 October 2023 to 04 November 2023 to study the Sclater’s Monal Lophophorus sclateri
within the highland regions of the Simong community’s
forest land, covering an elevation range of 2,500‒4,200 m (Image 1). During
this survey on 03 November 2023, a young adult Red Goral (Image 2) was observed
grazing in the open, undergrowth shrub-and-grass covered habitat within the ‘Hadang Edpang’ locality of the
Mount Eko Dumbing region, situated in the
north-eastern part of the community forest. The individual was recorded at an
elevation of 3,145 m (28.434°N, 95.084°E) and a slope of ~30‒40° angle.
Subsequently, within 200 m of the first sighted location, a young fawn (Images
3 & 4) was spotted on a steep, rugged crag with a drop and sparse
vegetation, at an elevation of 3,120 m (28.4°N, 95.084°E). Both sightings
occurred within the span of an hour, between 1430 h and 1530 h, under overcast
skies with light drizzle.
The Simong community, their landscape and its wildlife
The Simong (or Himong) community is a
small subgroup within the larger Adi ethnic group, residing in the Upper Siang
District of Arunachal Pradesh. According to the 2011 census data, the Simong village consists of 179 households and a total
population of 672 individuals. The community maintains ownership of a
substantial forested area spanning a wide range of elevations, from
approximately 700‒4,200 m.
The Mount Eko Dumbing (Image 5), the highest point within their land,
is situated at the heart of this territory and is revered as a sacred site,
along with the surrounding highland region. Like many other tribal communities
in the state, the Simong have their own distinct
traditions and belief systems that are deeply integrated with the natural
landscape. They are traditional hunters, and their utilization of the forest’s
resources is directly linked to their traditional practices. While they
predominantly extract resources from the nearby forests and fallow lands, they
generally avoid the highlands due to taboos associated with these regions.
According to the Simong people’s belief system, the high-altitude mountains
within their forested lands are believed to be the domain of a spiritual entity
known as ‘Jimu Tayang’, who
is regarded as the guardian and owner of the highlands and its wildlife. During
certain ceremonial occasions such as ‘Unying-Aran’
and ‘Jihang’ when the Simong
require access to resources from these highlands, they perform a ritual
involving the sacrifice of domestic animals. This sacrificial ritual is
intended to appease ‘Jimu Tayang’
and facilitate the exchange of resources. They believe that failing to uphold
proper sacrificial rituals would result in personal misfortunes, as well as the
imposition of unfavourable weather conditions throughout their ceremonial
journeys.
The Simong people claims that their intricate relationship with
their forest land helps safeguard the highland region and its species,
including the ‘Hiyar’ (Simong:
Red Goral).
Conservation
challenges and prospects for the Red Goral in the region
As per locals, the
once wildlife-abundant highlands that harboured substantial populations of Red
Gorals and other wildlife species have been severely degraded due to hunting
pressure, particularly from illegal hunting activities targeting Musk Deer Moschus sp. They believe that neighbouring
tribal clans (probably other than Adi tribe) from the surrounding area
illegally trespass into their community’s forest territory to engage in such
hunting activities. A study by Datta-Roy (2022)
indicates that the inhabitants of the Bomdo village,
which is situated around 25 km from the Simong
Village and belongs to the same Adi tribal group, also engage in the hunting of
Musk Deer and Takin from their surrounding highlands.
During our investigation,
we discovered two recently utilized encampments of the potential illegal
hunters in the Mount Eko Dumbing region (both of
which were later dismantled by our local guides, a resident of the Simong community). The illegal hunters are also known to
exploit the Red Goral as well as other wildlife species like Mishmi Takin Budorcas taxicolor,
Himalayan Black Bear Ursus thibetanus, and various pheasant species. These animals
are targeted for their meat, organs, and to sustain themselves during their
expeditions. As a result, our Simong guides reported,
these wildlife populations have become rare, and their sightings have declined
significantly within the local area. While the Simong
people have implemented a hunting ban within their own community, some individuals
are still likely to be engaged in the practice.
Such instances of the
exploitation of Red Goral in conjunction with the hunting of Musk Deer are
already a significant issue in Arunachal Pradesh as well as in Myanmar, where
hunters have been noted to rely on the meat of the Red Goral to sustain
themselves during their extended expeditions targeting Musk Deer (Nijhawan 2020; Rabinowitz & Khaing
1998).
Red Goral is a poorly
known species, with limited knowledge regarding its population dynamics,
geographic distribution, behaviour, and habitat ecology. Given its restricted
range and declining population, unsustainable illegal hunting and habitat loss
due to infrastructure development and expansion of monoculture forestry pose
serious threats to the species (Nijhawan 2020).
Undertaking
comprehensive research on the Red Goral is necessary to address the existing
knowledge gaps and conservation challenges associated with this species. Also,
it is critical to recognize that although the Red Goral and its habitat may
benefit from the protections provided by the state’s designated protected
areas, a major portion of the species’ geographic range exists outside these
delineated zones, on lands owned and managed by local tribal communities.
Subsequently, conservation efforts within these tribal-owned and managed
landscapes are crucial. To achieve this, it is essential to understand and
acknowledge the cultural traditions and belief systems of these indigenous
communities, which often play a pivotal role in preserving the species and its
surrounding environment, as exemplified by the Simong
people. Furthermore, actively engaging the local tribal stakeholders in the
planning of future conservation strategies is imperative to ensure the
long-term viability of the Red Goral population and its habitat.
For
images - - click here for full PDF
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