CHANDIGARH: For the first time, a rare Himalayan Brown Bear (Ursus arctos isabellinus) has been captured on camera inside the Gamgul Siyabehi Wildlife Sanctuary in Chamba of Himachal Pradesh.
This bear is listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List, with habitat degradation, climate change and shrinking alpine ecosystems posing major threats to its survival.
Thus, now it is being planned to conduct detailed studies in collaboration with the Zoological Survey of India, and also drones will be used to track the movement of the female bear and cub.
This rare footage of a female brown bear and its cub was recorded during annual wildlife surveys conducted this month by the Forest Department in the sanctuary’s remote high-altitude forests.
The breakthrough came after months of monitoring through trail cameras installed across the rugged terrain.
Initially, on July 28 last year, a suspected male brown bear was first captured on a trail camera, but the image was inconclusive. Then, this year on May 13, another trail camera captured a clearer image of a male brown bear.
Thus, monitoring was intensified, and on May 20 a female bear and cub were photographed, said sources.
Chamba Divisional Forest Officer (Wildlife) Kuldeep Singh Jamwal said that it was last year in July that the Himalayan Brown bear was captured on camera but the image was inconclusive.
"As locals and records tell that the species Himalayan brown bear exists in the Gamgul, but there was no video or photo evidence. This is the first photographic and video evidence of the Himalayan Brown Bear in the sanctuary, thereby corroborating statements of local people and shepherds over the years, and it also shows the richness of species. Both bear mother and cub in the same Wildlife sanctuary,’’ he said.
Singh said, "The department now plans to record the movement of the female bear with the cub with the drone cameras and detailed studies in collaboration with the Zoological Survey of of this species in the Gamgul. As Wildlife surveys are conducted annually for all major species of herbivores, carnivores, and pheasants."
"Presence of the Himalayan brown bear species which is a top carnivore, thereby shows that the other herbivores are also thriving well in the Sanctuary,’’ he said.
The Himalayan Brown Bear is among the rarest and most threatened species in the Indian Himalayas. Found in isolated high-altitude regions of Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Uttarakhand, the species is known for its shy nature and preference for remote mountain habitats.
Interestingly, Gamgul derives its name from Hangul, or the Kashmir stag, which once inhabited the sanctuary and was a favoured game species of the erstwhile Chamba royals.
However, no recent record of Hangul exists in the area. Located in the Pir Panjal Himalayan range in Chamba district, the 108.40-sq-km Gamgul Siyabehi Wildlife Sanctuary lies at an elevation ranging from 1,800 to 3,900 metres and shares boundaries with the Kathua and Doda regions of Jammu and Kashmir.