Dihang-Dibang or Dehang-Debang is a

biosphere reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...

constituted in 1998. It is in the

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n state of

Arunachal Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh (, ) is a state in Northeastern India. It was formed from the erstwhile North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and became a state on 20 February 1987. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south. It shares int ...

. The Mouling National Park and the

Dibang Wildlife Sanctuary The Dibang Wildlife Sanctuary is one of the eight wildlife sanctuaries of Arunachal Pradesh, India. Location It is located in the Upper Dibang Valley district covering an area of . The sanctuary is rich in wildlife. Rare mammals such as Mish ...

are located fully or partly within this biosphere reserve. The reserve spreads over three districts: Dibang Valley, Upper Siang, and West Siang. It covers high mountains of Eastern Himalaya and Mishmi Hills. The elevation in the reserve ranges up to more than above sea level. An important fact relating to this Biosphere reserve is that it has natural vegetation stretching in an unbroken sequence from the tropics to mountain tundra. The type of vegetation found in this biosphere reserve can be grouped as 1. Sub-tropical broad leafed forests, 2. Sub tropical pine forest, 3. Temperate broad leafed forests, 4. Temperate conifer, 5. Sub-alpine woody shrub, 6. Alpine meadow( mountain Tundra), 7. Bamboo brakes, 8. Grassland. The habitat in Dihang-Dibang ranges from tropical wet evergreen in the river gorges to subtropical, temperate, alpine and permanent snow.Choudhury, Anwaruddin (2008) Survey of mammals and birds in Dihang-Dibang biosphere reserve, Arunachal Pradesh. Final report to Ministry of Environment & Forests, Government of India. The Rhino Foundation for nature in NE India, Guwahati, India. 70pp. The reserve is rich in wildlife. Rare mammals such as

Mishmi takin The Mishmi takin (''Budorcas taxicolor taxicolor'') is an endangered goat-antelope native to India, Myanmar and the People's Republic of China. It is a subspecies of takin. The Mishmi takin lives in Northeast India and eats bamboo and willow sh ...

red goral The red goral (''Naemorhedus baileyi'') is a species of even-toed ungulate in the subfamily Caprinae in the family Bovidae. It is found in India, Tibet and Myanmar. Its natural habitats are seasonal mountainous areas 1,000 to 2,000 meters above s ...

musk deer Musk deer can refer to any one, or all seven, of the species that make up ''Moschus'', the only extant genus of the family Moschidae. Despite being commonly called deer, they are not true deer belonging to the family Cervidae, but rather their fa ...

(at least two sub-species),

red panda The red panda (''Ailurus fulgens''), also known as the lesser panda, is a small mammal native to the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China. It has dense reddish-brown fur with a black belly and legs, white-lined ears, a mostly white muzzle ...

Asiatic black bear The Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), also known as the Asiatic black bear, moon bear and white-chested bear, is a medium-sized bear species native to Asia that is largely adapted to an arboreal lifestyle. It lives in the Himalayas, sou ...

, occasional

tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus '' Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on u ...

and

Gongshan muntjac The Gongshan muntjac (''Muntiacus gongshanensis'') is a species of muntjac (a type of deer) living in the Gongshan mountains in northwestern Yunnan, southeast Tibet, Northeast India (especially in Arunachal Pradesh) and northern Myanmar. Ongoin ...

occur, while among birds there are the rare

Sclater's monal Sclater's monal (''Lophophorus sclateri'') also known as the crestless monal is a Himalayan pheasant. The name commemorates the British zoologist Philip Lutley Sclater. Taxonomy There are two recognized subspecies: * ''L. s. arunachalensis'' (Ku ...

and

Blyth's tragopan Blyth's tragopan (''Tragopan blythii'') or the grey-bellied tragopan, is a pheasant that is a vulnerable species. The common name commemorates Edward Blyth (1810–1873), English zoologist and Curator of the Museum of the Asiatic Society of Benga ...

. Two

flying squirrel Flying squirrels (scientifically known as Pteromyini or Petauristini) are a tribe of 50 species of squirrels in the family Sciuridae. Despite their name, they are not in fact capable of full flight in the same way as birds or bats, but they ar ...

s have been discovered from the vicinity of this reserve. These are named as

Mechuka giant flying squirrel The Mechuka giant flying squirrel (''Petaurista mechukaensis'') is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. First described in 2007 from East Himalayan forests at altitudes of in the region of Mechuka of north-central Arunachal Pradesh in I ...

(''Petaurista mechukaensis'') and

Mishmi Hills giant flying squirrel The Mishmi giant flying squirrel (''Petaurista mishmiensis'') is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. First described in 2009 from East Himalayan forests at altitudes of in the Mishmi Hills of northeastern Arunachal Pradesh in India ( ...

(''Petaurista mishmiensis'').Choudhury, Anwaruddin (2009) .One more new flying squirrel of the genus ''Petaurista'' Link, 1795 from Arunachal Pradesh in north-east India. The Newsletter & Journal of the Rhino Foundation for nat. in NE India 8: 26-34, plates.

References

Biosphere reserves of India Protected areas of Arunachal Pradesh Environment of Arunachal Pradesh 1998 establishments in Arunachal Pradesh Protected areas established in 1998 {{India-protected-area-stub

See also

References