Dampa Tiger Reserve or Dampha Tiger Reserve is a

tiger reserve Project Tiger is a tiger conservation programme launched in April 1973 by the Government of India during Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's tenure. The project aims at ensuring a viable population of the Bengal tiger in its natural habitats, protectin ...

of western

Mizoram Mizoram () is a state in Northeast India, with Aizawl as its seat of government and capital city. The name of the state is derived from "Mizo people, Mizo", the endonym, self-described name of the native inhabitants, and "Ram", which in the Mizo ...

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 ...

. It covers an area of about in the

Lushai Hills The Lushai (Pron: ˌlʊˈʃaɪ) Hills (or Mizo Hills) are a mountain range in Mizoram and Manipur, India. The range is part of the Patkai range system and its highest point is 2,157 m high Phawngpui, also known as 'Blue Mountain'. Flora and fau ...

at an altitude range of . It was declared a tiger reserve in 1994 and is part of

Project Tiger Project Tiger is a tiger conservation programme launched in April 1973 by the Government of India during Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's tenure. The project aims at ensuring a viable population of the Bengal tiger in its natural habitats, protecti ...

. The tropical forests of Dampa Tiger Reserve are home to a diverse flora and fauna. It consists of forest interpolated with steep precipitous hills, deep valleys, jungle streams, ripping rivulets, natural salts licks. Dampa Tiger Reserve is not easily accessible unlike other park where you can ride on a four wheeler but one has to walk through the forest if one wishes to sight animals. In the tiger census of 2018, no tiger was found in this reserve. A tiger was spotted recently after seven years.

Etymology

The word Dampa means "lonely men" and refers to a local

narrative A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, whether nonfictional (memoir, biography, news report, documentary, travel literature, travelogue, etc.) or fictional (fairy tale, fable, legend, thriller (ge ...

about a village, where a lot of the women died.

History

The protected area was initially established as wildlife sanctuary in 1985 with an area of about , which was reduced to about . In 1994, it received the status of a

Tiger Reserve Project Tiger is a tiger conservation programme launched in April 1973 by the Government of India during Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's tenure. The project aims at ensuring a viable population of the Bengal tiger in its natural habitats, protectin ...

with an area of and thus became part of

. Jurisdiction is under two ranges, namely Teirei Range and Phuldungsei Range. Workers consist of a field director who is headquartered in W. Phaileng. There are also about five foresters and 10 regular forest guards.

Flora

Rare floral species have been found in Dampa Tiger Reserve including rare ginger species ''Globba spathulata'' and ''Hemiorchis pantlingii''.

Fauna

Mammals

Dampa Tiger Reserve hosts

Indian leopard The Indian leopard (''Panthera pardus fusca'') is a leopard subspecies widely distributed on the Indian subcontinent. The species ''Panthera pardus'' is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because populations have declined following habi ...

sloth bear The sloth bear (''Melursus ursinus'') is a myrmecophagous bear species native to the Indian subcontinent. It feeds on fruits, ants and termites. It is listed as Vulnerable species, vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, mainly because of habitat loss ...

gaur The gaur (''Bos gaurus''; ), also known as the Indian bison, is a bovine native to South Asia and Southeast Asia, and has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1986. The global population was estimated at a maximum of 21,000 m ...

serow The serows ( or ) are four species of medium-sized goat-like or antelope-like mammals of the genus ''Capricornis''. All four species of serow were until recently also classified under '' Naemorhedus'', which now only contains the gorals. Extant ...

barking deer Barking may refer to: Places * Barking, London, a town in East London, England ** London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, a local government district covering the town of Barking ** Municipal Borough of Barking, a historical local government dist ...

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...

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 ...

Phayre's leaf monkey Phayre's leaf monkey (''Trachypithecus phayrei''), also known as Phayre's langur, is a species of lutung native to South and Southeast Asia, namely India, Bangladesh, and Myanmar. Populations from further east are now thought to belong to other s ...

gray langur Gray langurs, also called Hanuman langurs and Hanuman monkeys, are Old World monkeys native to the Indian subcontinent constituting the genus ''Semnopithecus''. Traditionally only one species ''Semnopithecus entellus'' was recognized, but since a ...

Rhesus macaque The rhesus macaque (''Macaca mulatta''), colloquially rhesus monkey, is a species of Old World monkey. There are between six and nine recognised subspecies that are split between two groups, the Chinese-derived and the Indian-derived. Generally b ...

and

slow loris Slow lorises are a group of several species of nocturnal strepsirrhine primates that make up the genus ''Nycticebus''. Found in Southeast Asia and bordering areas, they range from Bangladesh and Northeast India in the west to the Sulu Archipe ...

. Four

Bengal tiger The Bengal tiger is a population of the ''Panthera tigris tigris'' subspecies. It ranks among the biggest wild cats alive today. It is considered to belong to the world's charismatic megafauna. The tiger is estimated to have been present in ...

s were recorded in 1994 but none were recorded in 2019. Dampa Tiger Reserve has one of the highest

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 ...

populations in South and South East Asia. In 2012, tiger presence was confirmed through Scat samples. No tiger was recorded in Dampa Tiger Reserve in the years 2018–2019. However, the

National Tiger Conservation Authority The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) was established in December 2005, following a recommendation of the Tiger Task Force, constituted by the Prime Minister of India for reorganised management of Project Tiger and the many Tiger Re ...

recommended that tigers from Assam’s

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 ...

be introduced to Dampa Tiger Reserve.

Birds

Bird species sighted in Dampa Tiger Reserve include

great hornbill The great hornbill (''Buceros bicornis''), also known as the concave-casqued hornbill, great Indian hornbill or great pied hornbill, is one of the larger members of the hornbill family. It occurs in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It ...

wreathed hornbill The wreathed hornbill (''Rhyticeros undulatus'') is an Old World tropical bird of the hornbill family Bucerotidae, also called bar-pouched wreathed hornbill due to its distinctive blue-black band on its lower throat sac. It is named after its cha ...

oriental pied hornbill The oriental pied hornbill (''Anthracoceros albirostris'') is an Indo-Malayan pied hornbill, a large canopy-dwelling bird belonging to the family Bucerotidae. Two other common names for this species are Sunda pied hornbill (''convexus'') and Mala ...

scarlet-backed flowerpecker The scarlet-backed flowerpecker (''Dicaeum cruentatum'') is a species of passerine bird in the flowerpecker family Dicaeidae. Sexually dimorphic, the male has navy blue upperparts with a bright red streak down its back from its crown to its tail ...

Kalij pheasant The kalij pheasant (''Lophura leucomelanos'') is a pheasant found in forests and thickets, especially in the Himalayan foothills, from Pakistan to western Thailand. Males are rather variable depending on the subspecies involved, but all have at ...

grey peacock-pheasant The gray peacock-pheasant (''Polyplectron bicalcaratum''), also known as Burmese peacock-pheasant, is a large Asian member of the order (biology), order Galliformes. Taxonomy In 1747 the English naturalist George Edwards (naturalist), George Ed ...

, speckled piculet and white-browed piculet, bay woodpecker,

greater yellownape The greater yellownape (''Chrysophlegma flavinucha'') is a species of bird in the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in East Asia from northern and eastern India to south-eastern China, Indochina, Hainan, and Sumatra. Its natural habitats ar ...

greater flameback The greater flameback (''Chrysocolaptes guttacristatus'') also known as greater goldenback, large golden-backed woodpecker is a woodpecker species. It occurs widely in the northern Indian subcontinent, eastwards to southern China, the Malay Peni ...

great barbet The great barbet (''Psilopogon virens'') is an Asian barbet native to the Indian sub-continent and Southeast Asia, where it inhabits foremost forests up to altitude. It has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List since 2004 because o ...

, blue-throated barbet,

red-headed trogon The red-headed trogon (''Harpactes erythrocephalus'') is a species of bird in the family Trogonidae. Etymology ''H. erythrocephalus'' comes from the Ancient Greek terms ἐρυθρός ''eruthros'' meaning red and κεφαλή, ''kephalē'' mean ...

Indian cuckoo The Indian cuckoo (''Cuculus micropterus'') is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes, that is found in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It ranges from India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka east to Indonesia ...

, Asian barred owlet,

green imperial pigeon The green imperial pigeon (''Ducula aenea'') is a large forest pigeon. The large range extends from Nepal, southern India and Sri Lanka eastwards to southern China, Indonesia and the Philippines. Taxonomy In 1760 the French zoologist Mathurin Ja ...

, mountain imperial pigeon,

emerald dove The common emerald dove (''Chalcophaps indica''), also called Asian emerald dove and grey-capped emerald dove, is a widespread resident breeding pigeon native to the tropical and subtropical parts of the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia. ...

crested serpent eagle The crested serpent eagle (''Spilornis cheela'') is a medium-sized bird of prey that is found in forested habitats across tropical Asia. Within its widespread range across the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia and East Asia, there are considera ...

Malayan night heron The Malayan night heron (''Gorsachius melanolophus''), also known as Malaysian night heron and tiger bittern, is a medium-sized heron. It is distributed in southern and eastern Asia. Distribution and habitat The Malayan night heron has been f ...

, long-tailed broadbill,

Asian fairy bluebird The Asian fairy-bluebird (''Irena puella'') is a medium-sized, arboreal passerine bird. This fairy-bluebird is found in forests across tropical southern Asia, Indochina and the Greater Sundas. Two or three eggs are laid in a small cup nest in a t ...

blue-winged leafbird The blue-winged leafbird (''Chloropsis moluccensis'') is a species of leafbird found in forest and second growth throughout Southeast Asia as far east as Borneo and as far south as southern Sumatra. It previously included Jerdon's leafbird (' ...

golden-fronted leafbird The golden-fronted leafbird (''Chloropsis aurifrons'') is a species of leafbird. It is found from the Indian subcontinent and south-western China, to south-east Asia and Sumatra. It builds its nest in a tree, laying 2-3 eggs. This species eats i ...

orange-bellied leafbird The orange-bellied leafbird (''Chloropsis hardwickii'') is a bird native to the central and eastern Himalayas, Yunnan and northern parts of Southeast Asia. The greyish-crowned leafbird, which is found in Hainan, was formerly considered conspecifi ...

, scarlet minivet,

maroon oriole The maroon oriole (''Oriolus traillii'') is a species of bird in the family Oriolidae. It is found in Southeast Asia. Taxonomy The maroon oriole was originally described in the genus ''Rosy starling, Pastor''. Along with the Black oriole, black, ...

greater racket-tailed drongo The greater racket-tailed drongo (''Dicrurus paradiseus'') is a medium-sized Asian bird which is distinctive in having elongated outer tail feathers with webbing restricted to the tips. They are placed along with other drongos in the family Dic ...

, Indian paradise-flycatcher,

pale-chinned blue flycatcher The pale-chinned blue flycatcher or Brook's flycatcher (''Cyornis poliogenys'') is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is a sparrow-sized bird. Male is bluish-grey on upper parts, rufous throat and white below. Its nesting season is A ...

, blue-throated flycatcher,

black-naped monarch The black-naped monarch or black-naped blue flycatcher (''Hypothymis azurea'') is a slim and agile passerine bird belonging to the family of monarch flycatchers found in southern and south-eastern Asia. They are sexually dimorphic, with the male ...

, grey-headed canary flycatcher,

white-rumped shama The white-rumped shama (''Copsychus malabaricus'') is a small passerine bird of the family Muscicapidae. Native to densely vegetated habitats in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, its popularity as a cage-bird and songster has led to it ...

slaty-backed forktail The slaty-backed forktail (''Enicurus schistaceus'') is a species of forktail in the family Muscicapidae. A slim, medium-sized forktail, it is distinguished from similar species by its slate grey forehead, crown, and mantle. It has a long and d ...

spotted forktail The spotted forktail (''Enicurus maculatus'') is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is found in the Himalayas and the hills of Northeast India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and southern China including Yunnan. Birds of this species are 25&n ...

chestnut-bellied nuthatch The chestnut-bellied nuthatch (''Sitta cinnamoventris'') belongs to the family Sittidae. It is found in the Indian Subcontinent occurring in the countries of India, Tibet Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal. It is found in subtropical or tropical fo ...

, velvet-fronted nuthatch,

black bulbul The black bulbul (''Hypsipetes leucocephalus''), also known as the Himalayan black bulbul or Asian black bulbul, is a member of the bulbul family of passerine birds. It is found primarily in the Himalayas, its range stretching from India eastwa ...

black-crested bulbul The black-crested bulbul (''Rubigula flaviventris'') is a member of the bulbul family of passerine birds. It is found from the Indian subcontinent to southeast Asia. Taxonomy and systematics The black-crested bulbul was originally described in ...

ashy bulbul The ashy bulbul (''Hemixos flavala'') is a species of songbird in the bulbul family, Pycnonotidae. It is found on the Indian subcontinent and in Southeast Asia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtropic ...

white-throated bulbul The white-throated bulbul (''Alophoixus flaveolus'') is a species of songbird in the bulbul family, Pycnonotidae. It is found in south-eastern Asia from the eastern Himalayas to Myanmar and western Thailand. Its natural habitat is subtropical or ...

slaty-bellied tesia The slaty-bellied tesia (''Tesia olivea'') is a species of warbler in the family Cettiidae. It is found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, and Vietnam. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowl ...

and striated yuhina.

Threat

It has been reported that there has been an increase in built up (590%), bamboo forest (192.89%) and scrub (74.67%) areas. These increases are simultaneously accompanied by decrease in cover area of evergreen/semi evergreen closed forests from 152.47 km² in 1978 to 95.27 km² in 2005. This could be due to the practice of

shifting cultivation Shifting cultivation is an agricultural system in which plots of land are cultivated temporarily, then abandoned while post-disturbance fallow vegetation is allowed to freely grow while the cultivator moves on to another plot. The period of cul ...

by villagers at the border of the reserve. A 62-km fence and patrol road along the Bangladesh boundary near the reserve in Mizoram is hindering the free movement of Tigers at Dampa. Oil palm and Teak plantations which occupy areas close to the Dampa Tiger Reserve are also reducing habitat of birds and animals and could pose a bigger threat to wildlife than shifting cultivation. There have also been reported cases of poaching by different groups including local hunters and insurgent groups like

Shanti Bahini The Shanti Bahini ( bn, শান্তি বাহিনী; meaning "Peace Force") was the armed wing of the Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti (United People's Party of the Chittagong Hill Tracts) in Bangladesh. It is considered an insu ...

and the

National Liberation Front of Tripura The National Liberation Front of Tripura (abbreviated NLFT) is a Tripuri nationalist militant organisation based in Tripura, India. It has an estimated 550 to 850 members. The NLFT seeks to secede from India and establish an independent Tripu ...

References

External Links

Report of Dampa
*
Through Zakhuma’s Lens - Dampa Tiger Reserve
' b
Green Hub
on

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* {{National Parks of India Tiger reserves of India Protected areas of Mizoram 1985 establishments in Mizoram Protected areas established in 1985