Forest officials said the Mainland Serow was spotted in the newly declared Raimona National Park in Assam's Kokrajhar district, adjoining West Bengal and Bhutan.
Assam Forest Department officials, accompanied by conservationists from Aaranyak, the largest biodiversity conservation organization in the northeastern region, recently captured photographic evidence of Mainland Serow at two separate events near the Ganda Bajrum anti-poaching camp, located in the western mountain range of Ramona National Park, using white. Panthera V6 passive flash traps for digital cameras.
The finding is published as a scientific article in the Journal of Threatened Taxa.
Forest Officer of Kachugaon Forest Division Bhanu Sinha said the discovery of Mainland Serow in Ramona National Park is good news for biodiversity conservation aspects and we are delighted with the find.
"Our goal is to widely conserve this species and other wild animals in the national park," he said.
The mainland Serow population is widely distributed in the neighboring Phibsoo Wildlife Sanctuary and Royal Manas National Park of Bhutan, which may contribute to the recovery of the Raimona National Park population.
Principal scientist of 'Aaranyak', M. Firoz Ahmed, said: “We would like to extend our gratitude to the National Park Authority for their collaborative efforts that led to the discovery of this beautiful species.
"There is a wealth of wildlife in Raimona National Park, and the discovery of this species is good news for the conservation world. The Continental Serow (Capricornis sumatraensis thar) is present in several habitats extending from the Himalayas in the Indian subcontinent to southern China, continental Southeast Asia and Sumatra."
Populations of the species are fragmented, isolated, and declining rapidly due to poaching, destruction, and habitat loss.
"The lack of reliable data on the abundance and distribution of this species makes it difficult to implement effective conservation actions to ensure long-term survival," said Dipankar Lahkar, senior conservationist at 'Aaranyak'.
Occasional poaching for bushmeat and habitat alteration due to logging during ethnopolitical violence are major conservation concerns for Raimona National Park.
Now that the government protects the park, future conservation efforts should consider securing and recovering the species' population and restoring degraded habitats, forest officials said.
The Assam government declared the area a national park in June 2021.
After almost three decades of ethnopolitical violence, the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTR) was created in 2020 and conservation efforts have been boosted ever since.
Assam Forest Department officials, accompanied by conservationists from Aaranyak, the largest biodiversity conservation organization in the northeastern region, recently captured photographic evidence of Mainland Serow at two separate events near the Ganda Bajrum anti-poaching camp, located in the western mountain range of Ramona National Park, using white. Panthera V6 passive flash traps for digital cameras.
The finding is published as a scientific article in the Journal of Threatened Taxa.
Forest Officer of Kachugaon Forest Division Bhanu Sinha said the discovery of Mainland Serow in Ramona National Park is good news for biodiversity conservation aspects and we are delighted with the find.
"Our goal is to widely conserve this species and other wild animals in the national park," he said.
The mainland Serow population is widely distributed in the neighboring Phibsoo Wildlife Sanctuary and Royal Manas National Park of Bhutan, which may contribute to the recovery of the Raimona National Park population.
Principal scientist of 'Aaranyak', M. Firoz Ahmed, said: “We would like to extend our gratitude to the National Park Authority for their collaborative efforts that led to the discovery of this beautiful species.
"There is a wealth of wildlife in Raimona National Park, and the discovery of this species is good news for the conservation world. The Continental Serow (Capricornis sumatraensis thar) is present in several habitats extending from the Himalayas in the Indian subcontinent to southern China, continental Southeast Asia and Sumatra."
Populations of the species are fragmented, isolated, and declining rapidly due to poaching, destruction, and habitat loss.
"The lack of reliable data on the abundance and distribution of this species makes it difficult to implement effective conservation actions to ensure long-term survival," said Dipankar Lahkar, senior conservationist at 'Aaranyak'.
Occasional poaching for bushmeat and habitat alteration due to logging during ethnopolitical violence are major conservation concerns for Raimona National Park.
Now that the government protects the park, future conservation efforts should consider securing and recovering the species' population and restoring degraded habitats, forest officials said.
The Assam government declared the area a national park in June 2021.
After almost three decades of ethnopolitical violence, the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTR) was created in 2020 and conservation efforts have been boosted ever since.
