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25-694: The name Dehing Patkai comes from the Dehing river and Patkai hills. It is popularly referred to as “The Amazon of East”. Dehing Patkai landscape has tropical monsoon rainforest climate with heavy monsoon downpour. The temperature reaches a Peak in June and falls with the arrival of monsoons. July is the month of heaviest rainfall and monsoons end in September. The dry period ranges from October to February. The average temperature ranges from 6 °C to 38 °C. There are 119 to 164 rainy days per year. The Dehing Patkai Landscape

50-909: A clan who subsequently drive them off. Their gestation period is 10 to 11 months, with an inter-birth interval of one year. They typically give birth to a single offspring, although twins are possible. Age at sexual maturity is 18 months for males, and three years for females. The maximum known lifespan is 25 years in the wild. In Assam, herd sizes vary from three to 30 individuals. They are probably grazers by preference, feeding mainly on graminoids when available, such as Bermuda grass , and Cyperus sedges, but they also eat other herbs , fruits, and bark, as well as browsing on trees and shrubs. They also feed on crops, including rice, sugarcane , and jute , sometimes causing considerable damage. Tigers and mugger crocodiles prey on adult wild water buffaloes, and Asian black bears have also been known to kill them. A population reduction by at least 50% over

75-418: A mosaic of tea plantations, farmlands and oil and coalfields. There are also more than a dozen ethnic groups which have lived in this region. Some of the indigenous tribes from this region are Tai Phake , Khamyang , Khampti , Singpho , Nocte , Sonowal Kachari , Ahom , Kaibarta , and Moran . Dehing-Patkai landscape has been a site for legal and illegal coal mining. In April 2020, a coal mining project in

100-705: A small number of wild water buffaloes occur. This is part of the sub-population that occurs in India's Manas National Park. In Myanmar, a few animals live in Hukaung Valley Wildlife Sanctuary . In Thailand, wild water buffaloes have been reported to occur in small herds of less than 40 individuals. A population of 25–60 individuals inhabited lowland areas of the Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary between December 1999 and April 2001. This population has not grown significantly in 15 years, and

125-592: Is a large bovine native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It has been listed as Endangered in the IUCN Red List since 1986, as the remaining population totals less than 4,000. A population decline of at least 50% over the last three generations (24–30 years) is projected to continue. The global population has been estimated at 3,400 individuals, of which 95% live in India, mostly in Assam . The wild water buffalo

150-491: Is also an important biodiversity spot for its range of orchid species. There are around 100 species of orchid in this region, including Bulbophyllum ebulbum , Chrysoglossum erraticum , Chrysoglossum robinsonii , Eria connate , Eria pudica , Zeuxine clandestina , Hetaeria affinis , Thelasis pygmaea and Taeniophyllum crepidiforme . Dehing Patkai landscape is a critical refuge for biodiversity as it provides habitat for species of most conservation concern at

175-1101: Is associated with wet grasslands, swamps, flood plains and densely vegetated river valleys. India hosts 95% of the total global wild buffalo population, with over 2,600 wild water buffaloes in Assam . It is largely restricted to in and around Kaziranga , Manas and Dibru-Saikhowa National Parks , Laokhowa Wildlife Sanctuary and Bura Chapori Wildlife Sanctuary and in a few scattered pockets in Assam, and in and around D'Ering Memorial Wildlife Sanctuary in Arunachal Pradesh. A small population survives in Balphakram National Park in Meghalaya, and in Chhattisgarh in Indravati National Park and Udanti Wildlife Sanctuary . This population might extend into adjacent parts of Odisha and Gadchiroli District of Maharashtra . In

200-998: Is maybe interbreeding with domestic water buffaloes. The population in Cambodia is confined to a small area of easternmost Mondulkiri and possibly Ratanakiri Provinces . Only a few dozen individuals remain. The wild water buffaloes in Sri Lanka are thought to be descendants of the introduced domestic water buffalo . It is unlikely that any true wild water buffaloes remain there today. Wild-living populations found elsewhere in Asia, Australia, Argentina and Bolivia are feral domestic water buffaloes. Wild water buffaloes are both diurnal and nocturnal . Adult females and their young form stable clans of as many as 30 individuals which have home ranges of 170 to 1,000 ha (420 to 2,470 acres), including areas for resting, grazing, wallowing, and drinking. Clans are led by old cows, even when bulls accompany

225-424: Is one of the richest spots for biodiversity in India. It has hundreds of plant species which range from Shorea assamica and Dipterocarpus retusus , occupying the top canopy of the forest at heights of 50 m, to Mesua ferrea and Vatica lanceifolia , which dominate the middle canopy, and a number of woody shrubs such as Saprosma ternatum , Livistona jenkinsiana and Calamus erectus , which constitute

250-446: Is the most likely ancestor of the domestic water buffalo . Bos arnee was the scientific name proposed by Robert Kerr in 1792 who described a skull with horns of a buffalo zoological specimen from Bengal in northern India. The specific name arnee is derived from Hindi arnī , which referred to a female wild water buffalo; the term is related to Sanskrit áraṇya ("forest") and áraṇa ("strange, foreign.") Bubalus arnee

275-478: Is well known for its avian diversity with nearly 400 species reported so far. A majority of these bird species are resident species. Some of the important bird species found in the area includes Slender-billed vulture , White-winged Duck (State bird of Assam), Greater Adjutant Stork , Lesser Adjutant Stork , Greater Spotted Eagle , Gray Peacock-Pheasant , Rufous-necked hornbill , Pale-capped Pigeon , brown hornbill , etc. The Dehing Patkai Landscape lies within

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300-532: The Official List of Specific Names in Zoology , recognizing the validity of this name for a wild species. Most authors have adopted the binomen Bubalus arnee for the wild water buffalo as valid for the taxon . The wild water buffalo is the most likely ancestor of the domestic water buffalo . Only a few DNA sequences are available from wild water buffalo populations. Wild populations are considered to be

325-402: The progenitor of the modern domestic water buffalo, but the genetic variation within the species is unclear, and also how it is related to the domesticated river and Carabao swamp buffaloes. The wild water buffalo has an ash-gray to black skin. The moderately long, coarse and sparse hair is directed forward from the haunches to the long and narrow head. There is a tuft on the forehead, and

350-536: The Dehing Patkai Elephant Reserve was approved by the National Board for Wildlife of India. Nearly a hundred hectares of land from reserve forest land was approved for a coal mining project by North-Easter Coal Field (NECF), a unit of Coal India Limited . This decision was challenged by environmental groups from Assam and other parts of the country, which highlighted the rich biodiversity harboured in

375-653: The Dehing Patkai landscape. As a result of these awareness campaigns and protests, the North Eastern Coalfields (NEC), temporarily halted all of its operations in the region from June 3, 2020. Shorea assamica Anthoshorea assamica is a species of tree in the family Dipterocarpaceae , It is a large tree, growing to more than 50 meters in height. It flowers from June to July and fruits in December and January. The species ranges from Arunachal Pradesh in

400-883: The early 1990s, there may still have been about 3,300–3,500 wild water buffaloes in Assam and the adjacent states of northeast India. In 1997, the number was assessed at less than 1,500 mature individuals. Many surviving populations are thought to have interbred with feral or domestic water buffaloes. In the late 1980s, fewer than 100 wild water buffaloes were left in Madhya Pradesh . By 1992, only 50 animals were estimated to have survived there. Nepal's only population lives in Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve and has grown from 63 individuals in 1976 to 219 individuals in 2009. In 2016, 18 individuals were translocated from Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve to Chitwan National Park . In and around Bhutan's Royal Manas National Park ,

425-416: The ears are comparatively small. Its head-to-body-length is 240 to 300 cm (94 to 118 in) with a 60 to 100 cm (24 to 39 in) long tail and a shoulder height of 150 to 190 cm (59 to 75 in). Both sexes carry horns that are heavy at the base and widely spreading up to 2 m (6 ft 7 in) along the outer edges, exceeding in size the horns of any other living bovid . The tip of

450-565: The eastern Himalayas to Yunnan in south-central China, and southwards through Myanmar, Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Borneo, the Philippines, Sulawesi, and Maluku. It grows in valleys in lowland tropical forests up to 1000 meters elevation. Its seedlings and saplings can tolerate some shade. The tree is not fire resistant. Wild water buffalo Bubalus bubalis arnee The wild water buffalo ( Bubalus arnee ), also called Asian buffalo , Asiatic buffalo and wild buffalo ,

475-458: The group. Several clans form a herd of 30 to 500 animals that gather at resting areas. Adult males form bachelor groups of up to 10 individuals, with older males often being solitary, and spend the dry season apart from the female clans. They are seasonal breeders in most of their range, typically in October and November. However, some populations breed year round. Dominant males mate with the females of

500-582: The last three generations seems likely given the severity of the threats, especially hybridization ; this population trend is projected to continue into the future. The most important threats are: Bubalus arnee is included in CITES Appendix III , and is legally protected in Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Thailand. In 2017, 15 wild water buffaloes were reintroduced into Chitwan National Park in Nepal to establish

525-411: The sub-national level in India and species that are identified under the IUCN Red List . There is a wide variety of wildlife found in the landscape with as many as 47 species of mammals, 50 species of snakes, 13 species of lizards, few rare and threatened turtle species, more than 350 species of butterflies etc. It was the first place in the world to have presence of seven different species of wild cats in

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550-674: The tail is bushy; the hooves are large and splayed. It is larger and heavier than the domestic water buffalo, and weighs from 600 to 1,200 kg (1,300 to 2,600 lb). The average weight of three captive wild water buffaloes was 900 kg (2,000 lb). It is among the heaviest living wild bovid species, and is slightly smaller than gaur . The wild water buffalo occurs in India, Nepal , Bhutan , Thailand , and Cambodia , with an unconfirmed population in Myanmar . It has been extirpated in Bangladesh, Laos , Vietnam , and Sri Lanka . It

575-438: The undergrowth. Dipterocarpus retusus , or hollong, the state tree of Assam dominates the forest while the forest floor is home to charismatic ground orchids. Some of the important tree species found in the forest area are: hollong, mekai ( Shorea assamica ), dhuna ( Shorea robusta ), nahar ( Mesua ferrea , gurjan ( Dipterocarpus turbinatus ), outenga ( Dillenia indica ), different species of Ficus etc. Dehing Patkai

600-570: The world - tiger , leopard , clouded leopard , leopard cat , golden cat , jungle cat and marbled cat . There are also seven species of primates found in the forest - Western hoolock gibbon , rhesus macaque , Assamese macaque , pig-tailed macaque , stump-tailed macaque , slow loris , and capped langur . It is also home to mammals like Asian elephant , gaur , Chinese pangolin , Himalayan black bear , black giant squirrel , Porcupine , Crab-eating mongoose , sambar , sun bear , barking deer , wild water buffalo etc. The rich rainforest

625-494: Was proposed by Charles Hamilton Smith in 1827 who introduced the generic name Bubalus for bovids with large heads, convex-shaped narrow foreheads, laterally bent flat horns, funnel-shaped ears, small dewlaps and slender tails. Later authors subordinated the wild water buffalo under either Bos , Bubalus or Buffelus . In 2003, the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature placed Bubalus arnee on

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