Dehing Patkai National Park : Clouded Leopard Spotted
A camera trap inside Dehing Patkai National Park has recorded a rare sighting of a Clouded Leopard (Neofelis nebulosa), a species classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.It is located in the Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts of Assam.
- It lies in the Dehing Patkai Landscape, which is a dipterocarp-dominated lowland rainforest.
- It is situated at the foothills of Patkai Hill Ranges, on the banks of the River Dehing (Tributary of Brahmaputra), and adjacent to the Namdapha Wildlife Sanctuary.
- It is often referred to as the ‘Amazon of the East‘, owing to its expanse and the thick forest.
- It is famous for its largest stretch of tropical lowland rainforests in India, covering an area of 231.65 sq.km. of Dehing Patkai rainforest.
- It was declared a wildlife sanctuary on 13 June 2004. On 13 December 2020, Government of Assam upgraded it into a national park.
- The climate of the region is mostly tropical with an annual rainfall of more than 4,000 mm.
- There are more than a dozen different ethnic groups living in the area including the indigenous Assamese communities, particularly Tai Phake, Khamyang, Khampti, Singpho, Nocte, Ahom, Kaibarta, Moran and Motok, Burmese, and non-indigenous Nepali people.
