October 2012 - Journal of Threatened Taxa

Mammals of Kalimpong Hillsin the Kalimpong Hills. Sightings of this diurnalanimal were recorded in the lower elevation of NVNPlike Samsing. During the current survey, tracks anddroppings of this monkey were also noticed in plentyon the wet sandy patches around the Neora River,Ashalary khola, Sakam khola, Dhoula khola, etc. Thedroppings are green-brown in colour containing moreleaf stems. It is practically absent above 2,500m. Atroop of 20–30 was recorded at the Mahakal temple,Lava and adjacent areas during the recent survey.Subfamily: Colobinae Jerdon, 1867: ColobusMonkeys, Leaf-monkeys and relativesGenus: Semnopithecus Desmarest, 1822: IndianPurple-faced Langurs31. Semnopithecus hector Pocock, 1928: TeraiGray Langur (Saha et al. 1992; Mukherjee et al. 1995;WWF-India, Eastern Region 1997; Chaudhuri &Sarkar 2003; Brandon-Jones 2004).S. hector was formerly recognized as a subspeciesof S. entellus, but it is now considered a distinctspecies (Molur & Chhangani 2008). This langur wasfound scattered at lower elevations in the study area,as it is exceptionally susceptible to cold. In 1980,two troops consisting of three and 16 individuals ofthis diurnal langur were observed near the CoronationBridge on the River Teesta at Sevok, which is thesouthern borderline of the study area. WWF-India,Eastern Region (1997) recorded this species as veryrare at Lava. No other records of this species in thestudy area are available. It is also not sighted duringthe present survey.Order: Carnivora Bowdich, 1821: Flesh-eaters orCarnivoresFamily: Canidae Fischer, 1817: Canines/Dogs,Wolves, FoxesGenus: Canis Linnaeus, 1758: Wolves and Jackals32. Canis aureus indicus Hodgson, 1833: GoldenJackal (Wroughton 1917b; Sharma 1990; Agrawalet al. 1992; Saha et al. 1992; Mukhopadhyay 1996,Singhal & Mukhopadhyay 1998; Chaudhuri & Sarkar2003; downloaded on 28 October 2009; downloaded on 20 October 2009).The Golden Jackal is found both in the lower andhigher elevations in the study area. N.A. Baptistacollected one male and one female from Pedong.Specimens from the hilly areas are much darker thanJ.K. Mallickthose of the plains. It is mainly a nocturnal animal. Itwas not sighted during the recent survey. Reportedlythe jackals, at times, attack the rural dogs and thelivestock. Its population has reportedly declined inthis region, particularly due to retaliatory killings andannual tribal hunting.33. Canis indica R.K. Aggarwal et al. 2007(Research of the mtDNA)Mitochondrial DNA is the DNA located inorganelles called mitochondria, structures within cellsthat convert the energy from food into a form that cellscan use of this species, formerly Canis lupus pallipes(it is now treated as a new species): Small Indian Wolf(Saha et al. 1992; Chaudhuri & Sarkar 2003)The Small Indian Wolf inhabits a wide variety ofhabitats including coniferous and deciduous forests,but has been extirpated from much of its former rangein the study area and it is very rare now. This specieswas reportedly sighted at Thosum- 4 compartment ofNVNP (Management Plan). But this mainly nocturnalanimal was not sighted during the recent survey.Genus: Cuon Hodgson, 1838: Asiatic Wild or RedDogs34. Cuon alpinus primaevus Hodgson, 1833:Indian Wild Dog (Mukhopadhyay 1996, Singhal &Mukhopadhyay 1998; Biswas et al. 1999; Chaudhuri& Sarkar 2003; Chakraborty et al. 2008b; Dey 2009;UNESCO World Heritage Centre 2009).O’Malley (1907) reported a good deal of damageto cattle by a pack of Wild Dogs in Lava. Till the endof the 20 th century, the Wild Dog was fairly common inNVNP. Almost the entire NVNP, from high altitudesof Rechila on the north to the low altitudes of Sakamon the south, is the recorded movement-zone of thisspecies. Gradual slope and relatively less undergrowthand patches of open areas are their preferred habitats.The Wild Dogs do not occupy any particular area fora long time, but exhibit a great territorial movementcovering different altitudes of NVNP and outside.During the winter, most of them are usually confinedto the central or southern part, while in the pre- andpost-monsoon period they mainly occupy the northernpart. Periodical migration of the population of WildDogs from NVNP to contiguous parts of Bhutan andSikkim and vice versa is also reported.During 1980–2006, 48 sightings and 19 kills of theWild Dog are recorded in this Park. Considering thefrequency of sighting and kill records, Rechila-7, 14,3114Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | October 2012 | 4(12): 3103–3136