SILCHAR, Feb 5 - A Marten species commonly known as yellow-throated Marten was recently spotted in the tea plantation areas of Irongmara, adjacent to Assam University Silchar campus. The location falls in the fringe areas of the Inner Line Reserve Forest of Barak Valley.
Noted environmentalist and head Department of Ecology and Environmental Science at Assam University, Prof Parthankar Choudhury informed that the species bearing scientific name Martes flavigula was spotted by Biswajit Singh, a wildlife researcher of the department.
�Yellow-throated Marten� belongs to Order Mammalia and family Carnivora. Earlier studies reveal that about two decades ago, in 1997, Martens were recorded from the Dhansiri Reserve forest of Karbi Anglong district and Dima Hasao district (erstwhile NC Hills) of Barail range above 1500 m altitude by renowned naturalist, Dr Anwaruddin Choudhury. The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) has categorised Martes flavigula as belonging to the �Least Concern� category,� Prof Choudhury added.
Further, emphasising on the Inner-Line Reserve Forest (ILRF), Cachar, Assam, India lying between 24�22��25�8�N longitude and 92�24�93�15�E latitude, Prof Choudhury said that the area a potential site is to be declared as protected area. About 40 per cent of the ILRF border is in Barak Valley (Cachar and Hailakandi district) and Mizoram and Manipur State covers another 40 and 20 per cent respectively. �The area is very important for primate conservation, as it supports eight different primate species and many other small carnivore animals like palm civet, jungle cat and mongoose,� he added expressing concerns on the rising threat faced due to encroachment, particularly from illegal timber harvesting and procuring of non-timber forest products. Moreover, referring to reports, Prof Choudhury claimed that till 1963, the endangered rhino was frequently found in the area. Prof Choudhury expressed his disappointment saying that serious lack of conservation initiatives has led to localised extinction of several species from the valley. The environmentalist has urged the Government and the Forest Department and the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) to take steps for conservation of the area.
It may be mentioned that Biswajit Singh has been pursuing field investigations under the projects funded by the University Grants Commission, India and the International Primatological Society, USA for researches on the Inner Line Reserve forest, Cachar under the supervision of Prof Choudhury.