Khonoma Nature Conservation and Tragopan Sanctuary or KNCTS is a conservation reserve and a protected area in the

Kohima District Kohima District () is a List of districts of Nagaland, district of the Indian state of Nagaland. It is the home of the Angami Naga, Angami Naga people, Nagas. As of 2011, it is the second most populous district of Nagaland (out of then-List of d ...

of the state of

Nagaland Nagaland () is a landlocked state in the northeastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south and the Sagaing Region of Myanmar to the east. Its capital cit ...

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 is about west of the capital of Nagaland,

Kohima Kohima (; Angami Naga: ''Kewhira'' ()), is the capital of the Northeastern Indian state of Nagaland. With a resident population of almost 100,000, it is the second largest city in the state. Originally known as ''Kewhira'', Kohima was founded ...

. The total area notified under this park is around ; some of villages and hamlets are adjacent to this park:

Khonoma Khonoma is an Angami Naga village located about 20 km west from the state capital, Kohima in Nagaland, India. The village is referred to as Khwüno-ra (named after the Angami term for a local plant, Glouthera fragrantisima). The total popula ...

, Mezoma and

Dzüleke Dzüleke is a village in Kohima District of Nagaland Nagaland () is a landlocked state in the northeastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south and t ...

. The sanctuary is home to several endangered mammal species, including the

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 ...

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 ...

, and

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 ...

, as well as over 300 avian species. The sanctuary was created in 1998, when alarmed after 300 endangered

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 ...

s (Tragopan blythii) were killed by the villagers in one week as part of a hunting competition, the village council demarcated a 20 sqkm area within which hunting was banned and the Khonoma Nature Conservation and Tragopan Sanctuary was created.

Geography

This park lies at the extension of

Barail Range The Barail Range is a tertiary mountain range in Northeast India with an area of approximately 80,000 ha between Brahmaputra and Barak basins stretching from Nagaland & Manipur to the east and Assam & Meghalaya Meghalaya (, or , meaning "ab ...

; the mountain range complex of north-east India and the undisturbed primary virgin forest is a place for some of the range restricted avian fauna. KNCTS is an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

; under criteria A1 (threatened species) and A2 (range restricted species) with area code IN423, as identified by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...

Natural history

Ecoregions

The sanctuary includes portions of three

ecoregions An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of l ...

: *

Himalayan subtropical broadleaf forests The Himalayan subtropical broadleaf forests is an ecoregion that extends from the middle hills of central Nepal through Darjeeling into Bhutan and also into the Indian States of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. It represents the east-west-directed band of ...

Northeast India-Myanmar pine forests The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...

Chin Hills-Arakan Yoma montane forests The chin is the forward pointed part of the anterior mandible ( mental region) below the lower lip. A fully developed human skull has a chin of between 0.7 cm and 1.1 cm. Evolution The presence of a well-developed chin is considered to be one ...

Fauna

Birds some of the exotic species from North-east India are present in this wildlife sanctuary; like

Mountain bamboo partridge The mountain bamboo partridge (''Bambusicola fytchii'') is a species of bird in the family Phasianidae. It is found in Bangladesh, Tibet, India, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. The binomial commemorates Major-General Albert Fytche. Their ...

Crested Finchbill The crested finchbill (''Spizixos canifrons'') is a species of songbird in the bulbul family, Pycnonotidae. It is found in south-eastern Asia from China and India to Indochina. Taxonomy The crested finchbill was formally described in 1845 by ...

Assam laughingthrush The Assam laughingthrush (''Trochalopteron chrysopterum'') is a species of bird in the family Leiothrichidae. It is found in Northeast India and adjacent southwest China and Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. ...

Striped laughingthrush The striped laughingthrush (''Trochalopteron virgatum'') is a species of bird in the family Leiothrichidae. It is found in the Patkai range, where its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forest Montane ecosystems are fo ...

Spot-breasted scimitar babbler The spot-breasted scimitar babbler (''Erythrogenys mcclellandi'') is a species of bird in the family Timaliidae. It is found in Eastern Himalaya and western Myanmar. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and sub ...

Flavescent Bulbul The flavescent bulbul (''Pycnonotus flavescens'') is a species of songbird in the bulbul family of passerine birds. Its name comes from flavescent, a yellowish colour. It is found in south-eastern Asia. Taxonomy and systematics Alternate names ...

, Naga wren-babbler, to name a few. File:Green Cochoa Khonoma Nagaland India 24.12.2016.jpg,

Green cochoa The green cochoa (''Cochoa viridis'') is a bird species that was variously placed with the thrushes of family Turdidae or the related Muscicapidae (Old World flycatchers). It is considered closer to the former. Description This Himalayan thrush ...

(''Cochoa viridis'') File:Assam Laughingthrush Khonoma Nagaland India 23.12.2016.jpg,

(''Trochalopteron chrysopterum'') File:Rusty-capped Fulvetta Khonoma Nagaland India 03.11.2016.jpg,

Rusty-capped fulvetta The rusty-capped fulvetta (''Schoeniparus dubius'') is a species of bird in the family Pellorneidae. It is found in Bhutan, China, India, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forest Mont ...

(''Alcippe dubia'') Mammals like

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 ...

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 ...

Jungle cat The jungle cat (''Felis chaus''), also called reed cat, swamp cat and jungle lynx, is a medium-sized cat native to the Middle East, the Caucasus, South and Southeast Asia and southern China. It inhabits foremost wetlands like swamps, littora ...

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 ...

Gayal The gayal (''Bos frontalis''), also known as the Drung ox or mithun, is a large domestic cattle distributed in Northeast India, Bangladesh, Myanmar and in Yunnan, China.Simoons, F. J. (1984). ''Gayal or mithan''. In: Mason, I. L. (ed.) ''Evoluti ...

, Pallas's squirrel, Himalayan striped squirrel,

, and

can be seen in this park. Though

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...

and

poaching Poaching has been defined as the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set a ...

was a major threat for nature and wildlife in Nagaland; however Khonoma may be considered one of the safest place for wild birds and mammals. Community conservation played a major role in protecting the biodiversity of the area.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Nagaland ENVIS Hub
Wildlife sanctuaries in Nagaland Protected areas of Nagaland Kohima district Protected areas with year of establishment missing