Disclaimer: Copyright infringement not intended.

Context:

The rare sighting was captured on cameras installed by the forest staff of the Namdapha park.

About White-Eared Night Heron:

About Namdapha National Park and Tiger Reserve:

• Location: Changlang district, Arunachal Pradesh; near India–Myanmar border; part of Eastern Himalayas and Indo–Burma biodiversity hotspot.
• Area: 1,985 km² (core + buffer) — India’s third‑largest national park; declared a tiger reserve in 1983 under Project Tiger.
• Elevation: Ranges from ~200 m to ~4,571 m at Dapha Bum peak.
• Name origin: From the Namdapha River (Nam = water; dapha = origin), flowing north–south across the reserve.

Geography & Vegetation

• Biogeographic realms: Convergence of Palearctic and Indo-Malayan zones
• River systems: Noa‑Dihing, Namdapha, Deban, Diyun, Dapha rivers.
• Vegetation zones:
• Northern tropical evergreen
• Tropical moist deciduous
• East Himalayan moist temperate
• Moist alpine scrub

Notable flora:

• Exclusive trees: Pinus merkusii, Abies delavayi
• Rare orchids: Blue Vanda (Vanda coerulea)
• Medicinal plant: Mishmi Teeta (Coptis teeta), used by local tribes; export banned.

Biodiversity Highlights

• Flora: Over 1,000 plant species (dipterocarps, orchids, ferns, gymnosperms).
• Fauna: ~1,400 animal species.
• Big cats: Tiger, Leopard, Snow Leopard, Clouded Leopard – only park globally with all four.
• Primates: Hoolock gibbon (India’s only ape), capped; stump‑tailed; pig‑tailed; Assamese/ rhesus macaques.
• Critically endangered mammals:
• Namdapha flying squirrel (Biswamoyopterus biswasi), first discovered here; last recorded 1981.
• White-eared night heron camera-trapped recently (≤1,000 individuals globally) .
• Other fauna: Elephants, Asiatic black & sun bears, red panda, dhole, takin, Himalayan ungulates, pangolin, otters.
• Birds/Insects: 425+ bird species incl. hornbills, white-winged duck; diverse Lepidoptera including four‑ringed butterfly .

Conservation Significance

• Status:
• Declared National Park & Tiger Reserve in 1983.
• Listed as an Eco-Sensitive Zone in 2024.
• Habitat corridors: Elephant migration interrupted by encroachment since 1996; a lone elephant captured on camera after 12 years.
• Research hotspots: Rich primate, carnivore, and avian biodiversity – critical for studies on tropical-to-temperate gradient adaptations.

Tribal Interface

• Local tribes: Lisu, Singpho, Tangsa, Chakma – traditionally forest-dependent; now custodians in conservation initiatives.
• Community ties: Ethnobotanical knowledge (‘Mishmi Teeta’) and role in anti-poaching + habitat preservation efforts.

Source: Deccanherald