The biodiversity of Assam (), a

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

North-East India , native_name_lang = mni , settlement_type = , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , motto = , image_map = Northeast india.png , ...

, makes it a biological hotspot with many rare and

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

plant and animal species. The greatest success in recent years has been the conservation of the

Indian rhinoceros } The Indian rhinoceros (''Rhinoceros unicornis''), also called the Indian rhino, greater one-horned rhinoceros or great Indian rhinoceros, is a rhinoceros species native to the Indian subcontinent. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red Li ...

at the

Kaziranga National Park Kaziranga National Park is a national park in the Golaghat and Nagaon districts of the state of Assam, India. The park, which hosts two-thirds of the world's great one-horned rhinoceroses, is a World Heritage Site. According to the census held i ...

, but a rapid increase in human population in

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

threatens many plants and animals and their natural habitats. The rhinoceros, tiger, deer or

chital The chital or cheetal (''Axis axis''; ), also known as the spotted deer, chital deer, and axis deer, is a deer species native to the Indian subcontinent. It was first described and given a binomial name by German naturalist Johann Christian Po ...

/ ''futukihorina'' (''Axis axis''),

swamp deer The barasingha (''Rucervus duvaucelii''), also known as the swamp deer, is a Cervidae, deer species distributed in the Indian subcontinent. Populations in Northern India, northern and central India are fragmented, and two isolated populations occ ...

or ''dolhorina'' (''Cervus duvauceli duvauceli''),

clouded leopard The clouded leopard (''Neofelis nebulosa''), also called the mainland clouded leopard, is a wild cat inhabiting dense forests from the foothills of the Himalayas through mainland Southeast Asia into South China. In the early 19th century, a cl ...

(''Neofelis nebulosa''),

hoolock gibbon The hoolock gibbons are three primate species of genus ''Hoolock'' in the gibbon family, Hylobatidae, native to eastern Bangladesh, Northeast India, Myanmar, and Southwest China. Description Hoolocks are the second-largest of the gibbons, after ...

pygmy hog The pygmy hog (''Porcula salvania'') is the rarest species of pig in the world today, and is the only species in the genus ''Porcula''. It is also the smallest species of pig in the world, with its piglets being small enough to fit in one's pock ...

or ''nol-gahori'' (''Porcula salvania''),

hispid hare The hispid hare (''Caprolagus hispidus''), also called Assam rabbit and bristly rabbit, is a leporid native to South Asia, whose historic range extended along the southern foothills of the Himalayas. Today, its habitat is highly fragmented with an ...

golden langur Gee's golden langur (''Trachypithecus geei''), also known as simply the golden langur, is an Old World monkey found in a small region of Western Assam, India and in the neighboring foothills of the Black Mountains of Bhutan. Long considered sac ...

(''Trachypithecus geei''), golden cat, giant civet,

binturong The binturong (''Arctictis binturong'') (, ), also known as the bearcat, is a viverrid native to South and Southeast Asia. It is uncommon in much of its range, and has been assessed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because of a declining popu ...

hog badger Hog badgers are three species of mustelid in the genus ''Arctonyx''. They represent one of the two genera in the subfamily Melinae, alongside the true badgers (genus '' Meles''). Taxonomy ''Arctonyx'' was formerly considered a monotypic genus ...

porcupine Porcupines are large rodents with coats of sharp spines, or quills, that protect them against predation. The term covers two families of animals: the Old World porcupines of family Hystricidae, and the New World porcupines of family, Erethizont ...

, and

civet A civet () is a small, lean, mostly nocturnal mammal native to tropical Asia and Africa, especially the tropical forests. The term civet applies to over a dozen different species, mostly from the family Viverridae. Most of the species diversity ...

are found in Assam. Moreover, there are abundant numbers of

Gangetic dolphin South Asian river dolphins are toothed whales in the genus ''Platanista'', which inhabit fresh water habitats in the northern Indian subcontinent. They were historically considered to be one species (''P. gangetica'') with the Ganges river do ...

mongoose A mongoose is a small terrestrial carnivorous mammal belonging to the family Herpestidae. This family is currently split into two subfamilies, the Herpestinae and the Mungotinae. The Herpestinae comprises 23 living species that are native to so ...

giant squirrel Oriental giant squirrels are cat-sized tree squirrels from the genus ''Ratufa'' in the subfamily Ratufinae. They are a distinctive element of the fauna of south and southeast Asia. Species There are four living species of oriental giant squirre ...

s and

pythons The Pythonidae, commonly known as pythons, are a family of nonvenomous snakes found in Africa, Asia, and Australia. Among its members are some of the largest snakes in the world. Ten genera and 42 species are currently recognized. Distribution ...

. The largest population of wild water buffalo anywhere is in Assam.Choudhury, A.U. (2010)The vanishing herds : the wild water buffalo. Gibbon Books, Rhino Foundation, CEPF & COA, Taiwan, Guwahati, India. The major birds in Assam include the blue-throated barbet or ''hetuluka'' (''Megalaima asiatica''),

white-winged wood duck The white-winged duck or white-winged wood duck (''Asarcornis scutulata'') is a large species of duck, formerly placed in the genus ''Cairina'' with the Muscovy duck (''Cairina moschata'') and allied with the dabbling ducks. However, mtDNA cyto ...

or ''deuhnah'' (''Asarcornis scultulata''),

Pallas's fish eagle Pallas's fish eagle (''Haliaeetus leucoryphus''), also known as Pallas's sea eagle or band-tailed fish eagle, is a large, brownish sea eagle. It breeds in the east Palearctic in Kazakhstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Mongolia, C ...

or ''kuruwa'' (''Haliaeetus leucoryphus''), great pied hornbill or ''rajdhonesh'' (''Buceros bicornis homrai''), Himalayan golden-backed three-toed wood-pecker or ''barhoituka'' (''Dinopium shorii shorii''), and migratory pelican. Assam is also known for

orchids Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

and for valuable plant species and forest products.

Protected areas in Assam

There are several protections in Assam, including several national parks, in particular in the Brahmaputra Valley. ;National parks *

Manas National Park Manas may refer to: Philosophy and mythology *Manas, the Pali and Sanskrit term for "mind"; see **Manas (early Buddhism) **Manas-vijnana, one of the eight consciousnesses taught in Yogacara Buddhism *''Ramcharitmanas'', a retelling of the Ramayan ...

(560 km²) *

(320 km²) *

Orang National Park Orang National Park is a national park in India located on the northern bank of the Brahmaputra River in the Darrang and Sonitpur districts of Assam. It covers an area of . It was established as a sanctuary in 1985 and declared a national park o ...

(110 km²) *

Nameri National Park Nameri National Park is a national park in the foothills of the eastern Himalayas in the Sonitpur District of Assam, India, about 35 km from Tezpur. Nameri is about 9 km from Chariduar, the nearest village. Nameri shares its northern boundary ...

(90 km²) *

Dibru-Saikhowa National Park Dibru-Saikhowa National Park is a national park located in Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts, Assam, India. It was designated a Biosphere Reserve in July 1997 with an area of , including a core area of and a buffer zone of . It is located at a ...

(490 km²) ;Wildlife sanctuaries #

Garampani Wildlife Sanctuary Garampani Wildlife Sanctuary ( as, গৰমপানী অভয়াৰণ্য) is a wildlife sanctuary located in Karbi Anglong district, Assam, India. It was notified as a Wildlife Sanctuary in 1952 vide notification No, FR.199/52 da ...

Laokhowa Wildlife Sanctuary Laokhowa Wildlife Sanctuary ( as, লাওখোৱা অভয়াৰণ্য) is protected area located in the state of Assam in India. This wildlife sanctuary covers 70.13 km2, on the south bank of the Brahmaputra River in Nagaon distri ...

# Bornadi Wildlife Sanctuary #

Chakrashila Wildlife Sanctuary Chakrashila Wildlife Sanctuary is a wildlife sanctuary falling under Kokrajhar district and some adjacent areas of Dhubri district of Assam, India. It is famous for the golden langur and is the second protected habitat for golden langurs in Ind ...

Bura Chapori Wildlife Sanctuary Bura Chapori Wildlife Sanctuary ( as, বুঢ়া চাপৰি অভয়াৰণ্য) is a protected area located in the state of Assam in India. This wildlife sanctuary covers 44.06 km2, on the south bank of the Brahmaputra R ...

# Pani Dihing Wildlife Sanctuary # Hollongapar Wildlife Sanctuary #

Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary () is a wildlife sanctuary on the southern bank of the Brahmaputra in Morigaon district in Assam, India. It was declared in 1987 and covers , providing grassland and wetland habitat for the Indian rhinoceros. Pobitora ...

Sonai Rupai Wildlife Sanctuary Sonai Rupai Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected area located in the state of Assam in India. This wildlife sanctuary covers 175 km2. It is located along the foothills of the Great Himalayan Range. The area was declared as a sanctuary in 1998. It ...

Bherjan-Borajan-Padumoni Wildlife Sanctuary Bherjan Bokajan Padumoni Wildlife Sanctuary ( as, ভেৰজান, বোকাজান, পদুমনি অভয়াৰণ্য) is a protected area located in Tinsukia district of Assam located in India covering 7.22 km2. This wildl ...

East Karbi-Anglong Wildlife Sanctuary The East Karbi Anglong Wildlife Sanctuary is located in the Assam state of India. It is situated 35 km from the city of Diphu, Karbi Anglong district. It covers an area of 221.81 km2, and its elevation varies between 80 and 500 meter ab ...

Nambor Wildlife Sanctuary Nambor Wildlife Sanctuary ( as, নামবৰ অভয়াৰণ্য) is a protected area located in Karbi Anglong district of Assam in India. This wildlife sanctuary covers an area of 37 km2. The area was declared as a sanctuary on ...

# Marat Longri Wildlife Sanctuary #

Nambor - Doigrung Wildlife Sanctuary Nambor - Doigrung Wildlife Sanctuary ( as, নামবৰ দৈগ্ৰুং অভয়াৰণ্য) is a Morangi located in Golaghat district of Assam in India. This wildlife sanctuary covers an area of 97.15 km2. It is located 2 ...

# Amchang Wildlife Sanctuary #

Dehing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary Dehing Patkai National Park is located in the Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts of Assam and covers an area of rainforest. It was declared a wildlife sanctuary on 13 June 2004. On 13 December 2020 Government of Assam upgraded it into a national ...

# Borail Wildlife Sanctuary # Deepar Beel Wildlife Sanctuary # Bordoibam Bilmukh Bird Wildlife Sanctuary (Proposed) # North K. Anglong Wildlife Sanctuary (Proposed)

Notes

References

* ''Biodiversity of Assam: Status Strategy & Action Plan for Conservation'', eds A K Bhagabati, M C Kalita, S Baruah, Eastern Book House, New Delhi (2006)

External links

* {{Biodiversity Worldwide

Biota of Assam Tourism in Assam

Protected areas in Assam

See also

Notes

References

External links