First photographic evidence of Sun Bear in Intangki National Park in Nagaland

Guwahati: The first-ever photographic evidence of a Sun bear from Intangki National Park in Nagaland has delighted wildlife lovers.

This is important as the sun bear was thought to be extirpated and Intangki National Park has been in the news not for good reasons.

A study carried out by Satem Longchar and Matt W. Hayward of Conservation Science Research Group, School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle, New South Wales, has found the first photographic evidence of 2 species of bears—Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus) and sun bear (Helartos malayanus) from a camera-trap study conducted from January 2020 to June 2021 in Intangki National Park, Nagaland.

In Asia, the largest population of Asiatic black bears occurs in the Himalayan region and the hills of northeastern India within the temperate and subtropical broad-leaved forest and at elevations between 1,200 metres and 3,300 metres. 

Sun bears occur in primary and logged forests and are found up to an elevation of 3,000 m. Asiatic black bears are found across Nagaland, mostly in the hill regions of the state, specifically the Naga Hill stretch of the Nagaland–Myanmar border. 

The nearest photographic evidence of the Asiatic black bear presence in relation to Intangki National Park is the community forests of Fakim and Thanamir village, Kiphire District.

In recent years, records of bears have become rare. Historically both bear species were found all over Nagaland; recently, however, bear habitat and population sizes have decreased as a result of human actions. 

Camera traps were used to record wildlife and human presence as part of an investigation of the effect of forest modification on mammals in Intangki National Park, Nagaland. The study was done between January 2020 to June 2021 in Intangki National Park. 

“We photographed an Asiatic black bear and sun bear for the first time in Intangki National Park. Our study also photographed the Asiatic black bear at another study site, the Khelia Community Forest in Noklak District along the boundary of Myanmar,” the researchers said. 

“We were pretty excited to find photographic evidence of Sun bears in Intangki national park as black bears are found in other parts of Nagaland,” Satem Longchar one of the authors of the study told EastMojo.

Nagaland forests fall within a transition zone between the Indian, Indo–Malayan, and Indo–Chinese biogeographic regions at the junction of the Himalayan Mountains, and Southeast Asia. It has a wide variation in altitude and climate from the hot lowland Assam plains to the cool subalpine forest bordering Myanmar which adds to the diversity of the flora and fauna. 

Shifting cultivation and large-scale timber logging around the buffer area of Intangki National Park has affected wildlife habitat and has increased human access to the park for illegal activities such as hunting and fishing. For sun bears, which rely on forests without anthropogenic impacts such as habitat loss and heavy poaching pressure such human activity could cause a population decline of sun bears in Nagaland. 

“The presence of bears in Intangki shows the potential for effective species conservation in Nagaland through collaboration with local communities and government management. This finding highlights the need to draw attention to the conservation issues pertaining to large-bodied mammals, such as bears, in poorly monitored areas of the world,” the study says. There was a lot of community support for the study which has given positive hopes for wildlife conservation in Nagaland. 

“Both the Asiatic black bear and sun bear are flagship species for their ecosystems, which function to raise public awareness for conservation efforts. Protecting these species will help maintain habitat quality,” the study says. 

Forests in Nagaland are dwindling at a rapid rate and many wildlife species are declining.  Eighty-eight per cent of the state forest is owned by the Naga Community (clans, tribes, or individuals), and many human residents rely on the forest for reasons of economics and livelihood.  

In such situations where the human dependency on the forest is high, the conservation of large mammals is challenging because it involves protecting habitats and species while also attending to human needs. Such problems require collective efforts of all stakeholders—local government, state forest department, local community, researchers, and nongovernmental organizations—to resolve,” the study argues. 

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