Namdapha Flying Squirrel:
A Namdapha flying squirrel has resurfaced in Arunachal Pradesh after going missing for 42 years.
- Namdapha flying squirrel is an arboreal, nocturnal flying squirrel endemic to Arunachal Pradesh.
- It is one of the 43 known flying squirrel species in the world.
- It was named the Namdapha Flying Squirrel after the location it was discovered in an area which falls under the Namdapha National Park.
- These squirrels are not capable of flight like birds or bats; instead, they glide between trees.
- They inhabit tall Mesua ferrea jungles, often on hill slopes in the catchment area of the Dihing River (particularly on the western slope of the Patkai range) in northeastern India.
- They are herbivores (frugivores, granivores). They eat various fruits, nuts, seeds, fungi, flowers, and tree sap.
- Conservation status:
- UCN Red List: Critically Endangered
- Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: schedule II
Namdapha Tiger Reserve:
- It is located in the Changlang district of Arunachal Pradesh.
- Namdapha is the name of a river which originates from Daphabum and meets the Noa-Dehing river.
- This river flows right across in a North-South direction of the National Park and hence the name Namdapha has been given.
- This protected area is wedged between the Dapha Bum ridge of Mishmi Hills, of North Eastern Himalayas and the Patkai Ranges.
