Camera-trapped picture of the tiger in Dibang. Picture credit: Wildlife Institute of India

Guwahati, July 8: The chances of Dibang wildlife sanctuary, bordering China in Arunachal Pradesh, becoming a tiger reserve has become bright with the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) asking the state forest department to submit a proposal.

If Dibang does become a tiger reserve, it would be the third in the state after Namdapha and Pakke. Besides Namdapha, the other reserves in the Northeast are Kaziranga, Manas and Nameri.

The NTCA in a letter to the Arunachal Pradesh forest department said the report of the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) has confirmed the occurrence of tigers and good prey population in Dibang wildlife sanctuary.

“In this context, I am directed to request you to send a proposal under Section 38 V of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, as amended in 2006, for declaring the said area as a tiger reserve,” S.P. Yadav, DIG NTCA, stated in his letter to the Arunachal Pradesh forest department.

The survey was done in the early part of this year.

The institute in its report, a rapid field survey of tigers and prey in Dibang valley district, has confirmed the presence of tigers in Dibang valley district and have camera trapped the first-ever image of an adult tiger from the wildlife sanctuary. The survey results clearly indicate that the wildlife sanctuary holds the highest elevation range for tigers in the country.

“We also observed 10 pug marks and collected 11 scats in an around the wildlife sanctuary. All the 24 people whom we informally interviewed have confirmed the presence of tigers in the wildlife sanctuary and reported either having had a direct sighting, observed indirect evidences or heard about livestock depredation incidents by the tigers,” the report stated.

The sanctuary holds a good diversity and an abundance of prey like takin, wild pig, goral, musk deer, barking deer, Himalayan serow and Mithun which can sustain a good population of tigers.

The district that has borders with China was chosen to survey for tigers and their prey because of the rescue of tigers from Angrim valley in December 2012.

“The wildlife sanctuary has the potential of becoming a tiger reserve in the future as it may harbour a very important source population of tigers in this region and the next immediate priority must be to ensure that this vital tiger population is protected and continuously monitored,” it said.

Wildlife biologist Firoz Ahmed said there could be a few tigers in Dibang but protection has to be given top priority. “Local dynamics will have to be seen before going ahead with a tiger reserve,” he said, adding there are concerns of wildlife hunting in the district.

In fact, the WII report said sporadic hunting does take place and shows a picture of a hunted giant squirrel.

The report added that the Idu Mishimi community appears to have long co-existed with tigers and they regard the tiger as a big brother and the tigers in Dibang do not face any threat from locals.

“The local people feel that the government needs to address the livestock depredation by tigers on a priority basis. It is imperative to garner the support of the local communities here, if we have to conserve tigers in this landscape. This could easily be done by providing adequate compensation packages in the Mithun depredation cases,” the report said.

Tiger estimations in Arunachal Pradesh have generally been done only in Namdapha and Pakke. Scientists say there is a need to document other source populations as these populations represent historical entry points to the Indian sub-continent and would have high conservation and genetic value.