Eaglenest or Eagle's Nest Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected area of India

Protected areas of India

As of May 2004, the protected areas of India cover , roughly 4.95% of the total surface area.-Classification:India has the following kinds of protected areas, in the sense of the word designated by IUCN:-National Park:...

 in the Himalayan foothills of West Kameng District, Arunachal Pradesh

Arunachal Pradesh

Arunachal Pradesh is a state of India, located in the far northeast. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south, and shares international borders with Burma in the east, Bhutan in the west, and the People's Republic of China in the north. The majority of the territory is claimed by...

. It conjoins Sessa Orchid Sanctuary

Sessa Orchid Sanctuary

Sessa Orchid Sanctuary is a 100 km2 protected area of India in the Himalayan foothills in Bhalukpong Forest Division of West Kameng District, Arunachal Pradesh. It conjoins Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary to the southwest. It is a part of the Kameng Protected Area Complex , which is an Elephant...

 to the northeast and Pakhui Tiger Reserve across the Kameng river

Kameng River

The Kameng River in the eastern Himalayan mountains, originates in Tawang district from the glacial lake below snow capped Gori Chen mountain , on the India-Tibet border in South Tibet and flows through Bhalukpong circle of West Kameng District, Arunachal Pradesh and Sonitpur...

 to the east. Altitude ranges extremely from 500 metres (1,640 ft) to 3250 metres (10,663 ft). See: Map 1, Topo map It is a part of the Kameng Elephant Reserve

Kameng Elephant Reserve

Kameng Elephant Reserve is an Elephant Reserve established June 19, 2002 in the Himalayan foothills of West Kameng and East Kameng Districts of Arunachal Pradesh, India. The reserve headquarters are at .-Geography:...

.

Eaglenest is notable as a prime birding site due to the extraordinary variety, numbers and accessibility of bird species there.

Geography and climate

Eaglenest and Sessa Orchid Sanctuary together occupy a rough east-west rectangle with Sessa occupying the north-east quadrant. Eaglenest is bounded to the north by Eaglenest Ridge and the reserved forests of the Bugun community (Lama Camp area). Eaglenest adjoins Tawang district

Tawang District

Tawang district is one of the 16 administrative districts of Arunachal Pradesh in eastern India. The area is historically Tibetan territory and is claimed by both India and Republic of China as a part of South Tibet...

 to the north. The Bhalukpong–Bomdila highway (and Pakke immediately beyond) are its eastern boundary. There are no distinct geographical features delineating its western boundary along the Bhutan border and the southern boundary at about 27° N latitude.

Eaglenest and Sessa ridges rise to 3250 metres (10,663 ft) and 3150 metres (10,335 ft) respectively and are the first major barriers to the monsoon

Monsoon

Monsoon is traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation, but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with the asymmetric heating of land and sea...

 as it moves north from the plains of Assam. These ridges get over 3000 millimetres (118.1 in) of rain on the southern slopes and about 1500 millimetres (59.1 in) on the northern slopes.

The eastern half of Eaglenest and Sessa sanctuaries is drained by the Tippi Naala (Tippi river) which joins the Kameng river at Tippi village on the Bhalukpong–Bomdila highway. Several smaller streams including Buhiri Nadi and Dihung Nadi in the western half of the area flow down to join the Brahmaputra separately.Topographic map

Eaglenest is part of the Kameng protected area complex (KPAC), the largest contiguous closed-canopy forest tract of Arunachal Pradesh, which includes Eaglenest, Pakke, Sessa, Nameri, and Sonai Rupai sanctuaries and associated reserved forest blocks. The complex covers 3500 km² in area and ranges from 100 metres (328 ft) to 3300 metres (10,827 ft) in altitude.
Eaglenest has an unpaved road running from its base to Eaglenest pass at 2800 metres (9,186 ft) allowing good access to the entire altitudinal range, making it accessible to the military, scientists and ecotourists.

Birds

Eaglenest is well known as a major birding area.. It is home to at least 454 species of birds including 3cormorants, 5 herons, Black Stork

Black Stork

The Black Stork Ciconia nigra is a large wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. It is a widespread, but rare, species that breeds in the warmer parts of Europe, predominantly in central and eastern regions. This is a shy and wary species, unlike the closely related White Stork. It is seen in...

, Oriental White (Black-headed) Ibis, 4ducks

Anatidae

Anatidae is the biological family of birds that includes ducks, geese and swans. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on all the world's continents except Antarctica and on most of the world's islands and island groups...

, 20 hawks, eagles, kites, harriers and vultures

Accipitridae

The Accipitridae, one of the two major families within the order Accipitriformes , are a family of small to large birds with strongly hooked bills and variable morphology based on diet. They feed on a range of prey items from insects to medium-sized mammals, with a number feeding on carrion and a...

, 3 falcons

Falconidae

The falcons and caracaras are around 60 species of diurnal birds of prey that make up the family Falconidae. The family is divided into two subfamiles, Polyborinae, which includes the caracaras and forest falcons, and Falconinae, the falcons, kestrels and falconets.-Description:Falcons and...

, 10 pheasants, junglefowl, quail, and peafowl

Phasianidae

The Phasianidae is a family of birds which consists of the pheasants and partridges, including the junglefowl , Old World Quail, francolins, monals and peafowl. The family is a large one, and is occasionally broken up into two subfamilies, the Phasianinae, and the Perdicinae...

, Black-necked Crane, 3 rails

Rallidae

The rails, or Rallidae, are a large cosmopolitan family of small to medium-sized birds. The family exhibits considerable diversity and the family also includes the crakes, coots, and gallinules...

, 6 plovers, dotterels, and lapwings

Charadriidae

The bird family Charadriidae includes the plovers, dotterels, and lapwings, about 64 to 66 species in all.- Morphology :They are small to medium-sized birds with compact bodies, short, thick necks and long, usually pointed, wings, but most species of lapwing may have more rounded wings...

, 7 waders

Scolopacidae

The sandpipers are a large family, Scolopacidae, of waders or shorebirds. They include many species called sandpipers, as well as those called by names such as curlew and snipe. The majority of these species eat small invertebrates picked out of the mud or soil...

, ibisbill, Stone-Curlew (Eurasian Thick-knee), Small Pratincole, 2 gulls, 14 pigeons, 3 parrots, 15 cukoos, 10 owls, 2 nightjars, 4 swifts, 2 trogons, 7 kingfishers, 2 bee-eaters, 2 rollers, hoopoes, 4 hornbills, 6 barbets, 14 woodpeckers

Picidae

The woodpeckers, piculets and wrynecks are a family, Picidae, of near-passerine birds. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia and New Zealand, Madagascar, and the extreme polar regions...

, 2 broadbills, 2 pittas, 2 larks, 6 martins, 7 wagtails

Motacillidae

The Motacillidae are a family of small passerine birds with medium to long tails. There are around 65 species in 6 genera and they include the wagtails, longclaws and pipits. The longclaws are entirely restricted to the Afrotropics, and the wagtails are predominately found in Europe, Africa and...

, 9 shrikes, 9 bulbuls, 4 Fairy-bluebirds, 3 shrike, Brown Dipper

Brown Dipper

The Brown Dipper , alternatively known by the common names Pallas's Dipper, Asian Dipper or the Asiatic Dipper, is an aquatic songbird found in the mountains of southern and central Asia. At and , it is the largest of the dippers...

, 3 accentor

Accentor

The accentors are in the only bird family, the Prunellidae, which is completely endemic to the Palearctic. This small group of closely related passerines are all in a single genus Prunella...

s, 46 thrush

Thrush (bird)

The thrushes, family Turdidae, are a group of passerine birds that occur worldwide.-Characteristics:Thrushes are plump, soft-plumaged, small to medium-sized birds, inhabiting wooded areas, and often feed on the ground or eat small fruit. The smallest thrush may be the Forest Rock-thrush, at and...

es, 65 Old World flycatcher

Old World flycatcher

The Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae is a large family of small passerine birds mostly restricted to the Old World. These are mainly small arboreal insectivores, many of which, as the name implies, take their prey on the wing.-Characteristics:...

s, 6 parrotbill

Parrotbill

The parrotbills are a group of peculiar birds native to East and Southeast Asia, though feral populations are known from elsewhere. They are generally small, long-tailed birds which inhabit reedbeds and similar habitat. They feed mainly on seeds, e.g. of grasses, to which their bill, as the name...

s, 31 warbler

Warbler

There are a number of Passeriformes called "warblers". They are not particularly closely related, but share some characteristics, such as being fairly small, vocal and insectivorous....

s, 25 flycatcher

Flycatcher

There are various families of bird termed flycatchers:* The Old World flycatchers, Muscicapidae* The Tyrant flycatchers, Tyrannidae* The Monarch flycatchers, Dicruridae* The Silky-flycatchers, Ptilogonatidae* The Fairy flycatchers, Stenostiridae...

s, 10 tits, 5 nuthatches

Sittidae

Sittidae is a family of small passerine birds which contains the single genus Sitta containing about 24 species of nuthatches, which are found across Eurasia and North America....

, 3 treecreepers, 5flowerpeckers, 8 sunbirds, Oriental White-eye

Oriental White-eye

The Oriental White-eye, Zosterops palpebrosus, is a small passerine bird in the white-eye family. It is a resident breeder in open woodland in tropical Asia east from India to China and Indonesia. They forage in small groups, feeding on nectar and small insects. They are easily identified by the...

, 3 bunting

Bunting (bird)

Buntings are a group of Eurasian and African passerine birds of the family Emberizidae.They are seed-eating birds with stubby, conical bills, and are the Old World equivalents of the species known in North America as sparrows...

, 14 finches, 2 munia, 3 sparrows, 5 starlings, 2 oriole

Oriole

Orioles are colourful Old World passerine birds in the genus Oriolus, the namesake of the corvoidean family Oriolidae. They are not related to the New World orioles, which are icterids and, belonging to the superfamily Passeroidea songbirds, are quite unrelated to the true orioles.The orioles are...

s, 7 drongos, Ashy Woodswallow

Ashy Woodswallow

The Ashy Woodswallow, Artamus fuscus, is a woodswallow which is found in south Asia.The plumage of this species is pale grey....

 and 9 jays

Corvidae

Corvidae is a cosmopolitan family of oscine passerine birds that contains the crows, ravens, rooks, jackdaws, jays, magpies, treepies, choughs and nutcrackers. The common English names used are corvids or the crow family , and there are over 120 species...

.The sanctuary has the distinction of having three tragopan species, perhaps unique in India.

Eaglenest is the site where Bugun Liocichla

Bugun Liocichla

The Bugun Liocichla, Liocichla bugunorum, is a passerine bird species from the Old World babbler family closely related to the Grey-faced Liocichla. First spotted in 1995, it was described as a new species in 2006 by Ramana Athreya. The description was made without the collection of a type...

 was first discovered in 1995 and again observed and described in 2006 by Ramana Athreyaa.

Herpetofauna

Eaglenest is home to a wide variety of Herpetofauna

Herpetology

Herpetology is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians and reptiles...

 including at least 34 species of amphibian

Amphibian

Amphibians , are a class of vertebrate animals including animals such as toads, frogs, caecilians, and salamanders. They are characterized as non-amniote ectothermic tetrapods...

s, 24 species of snake

Snake

Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...

s and 7 species of lizard

Lizard

Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with nearly 3800 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica as well as most oceanic island chains...

s including 3 gecko

Gecko

Geckos are lizards belonging to the infraorder Gekkota, found in warm climates throughout the world. They range from 1.6 cm to 60 cm....

s, 3 agamids and 4 skink

Skink

Skinks are lizards belonging to the family Scincidae. Together with several other lizard families, including Lacertidae , they comprise the superfamily or infraorder Scincomorpha...

s. Abor Hills Agama

Mictopholis austeniana

The Abor Hills Agama is a rare species of agamid lizard found in India .Type locality: Hills near Harmatti . The species was previously known only from its holotype, but was rediscovered in 2006 at Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary in Arunachal Pradesh....

 was rediscovered at Eaglenest after 125 years. Other rare species include Darjeeling False-wolfsnake

Dinodon gammiei

Gammie's Wolf Snake, Dinodon gammiei, is a nonvenomous species of Colubrid snake found in Sikkim, India.-Description:At first glance, Gammie's Wolf Snake resembles the kraits. Its body is surrounded by alternating dark and light rings with irregular margins. Its head is dark olive, and there are...

 which was only known to science through 5 specimens, Anderson's Mountain lizard

Japalura andersoniana

Japalura andersoniana is an agamid lizard found in Eastern India , elevation 4000 feet.Also found in parts of China .-References:...

, Günther's Kukri Snake

Oligodon cinereus

Günther's Kukri Snake or Ashy Kukri Snake Oligodon cinereus is a species of snake.-Description:Nasal divided; portion of rostral seen from above as long as its distance from tho frontal or a little shorter; suture between the internasals usually shorter than that between the prefrontals: frontal as...

, Common Slug Snake

Pareas monticola

The Common Slug Snake is a species of snake found in India and parts of China . It is common.-References:...

, and Keelback

Amphiesma

Amphiesma is a genus of colubrid snakes, commonly known as keelbacks because of their keeled dorsal scales. They are all nonvenomous.-Geographic range:...

 snakes which have not been definitively identified.

Mammals

Eaglenest is home to at least 15 species of mammals including the endangered Capped Langur

Capped Langur

The capped langur is a species of primate in the Cercopithecidae family. It is found in Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, China, India, and Myanmar. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests...

, Bengal tiger

Bengal Tiger

The Bengal tiger is a tiger subspecies native to the Indian subcontinent that in 2010 has been classified as endangered by IUCN...

, Asian Elephant

Asian Elephant

The Asian or Asiatic elephant is the only living species of the genus Elephas and distributed in Southeast Asia from India in the west to Borneo in the east. Three subspecies are recognized — Elephas maximus maximus from Sri Lanka, the Indian elephant or E. m. indicus from mainland Asia, and E. m....

, Red Panda

Red Panda

The red panda , is a small arboreal mammal native to the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China. It is the only species of the genus Ailurus. Slightly larger than a domestic cat, it has reddish-brown fur, a long, shaggy tail, and a waddling gait due to its shorter front legs...

, Asiatic Black Bear

Asiatic Black Bear

The Asian black bear , also known as the moon bear or white-chested bear is a medium-sized species of bear, largely adapted for arboreal life, which occurs through much of southern Asia, Korea, northeastern China, the Russian far east and Honshū and Shikoku islands of Japan...

 and the vulnerable

Vulnerable species

On 30 January 2010, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species identified 9694 Vulnerable species, subspecies and varieties, stocks and sub-populations.-References:...

 Assamese Macaque, Arunachal Macaque and Gaur

Gaur

The gaur , also called Indian bison, is a large bovine native to South Asia and Southeast Asia. The species is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1986 as the population decline in parts of the species' range is likely to be well over 70% over the last three generations...

. It was here that a new taxon of primate was discovered in 1997 by noted primatologist of north-east India Dr Anwaruddin Choudhury but he thought it to be a new subspecies of Tibetan or Pere David's macaque. It was described as a new species, i.e., Arunachal Macaque in 2004.. The highest elevation, 11,000 ft that the wild Asian elephants reach anywhere is also partly in this sanctuary.

Butterflies

Eaglenest is home to at least 165 species of butterflies including Bhutan Glory

Bhutanitis lidderdalii

The Bhutan Glory, Bhutanitis lidderdalii, is a species of swallowtail butterfly , which is found in Bhutan, parts of northeastern India and of Southeast Asia. A spectacular insect much sought after by collectors, the species epithet is after Dr R. Lidderdale, from whose collection the butterfly was...

, Grey Admiral, Scarce Red-Forester, Dusky Labyrinth, Tigerbrown, Jungle-queen sp, White-edged Bush-Brown,and White Owl

Neorina patria

The White Owl, Neorina patria, is a species of satyrine butterfly found in India , Burma Thailand Laos and Vietnam....

.

Conservation

Eaglenest is physically protected from timber and animal poaching only by its isolation and the poor quality of the one lane road leading inside it. It is administered by the Divisional Forest Officer at Seijusa who is also the Field Director of Pakke Tiger Reserve. He is assisted by a Range Forest Office in Singchung and Beat Forest Offices in Ramalingam (close to Singchung) and Khellong. In practice, the Department has no presence inside the sanctuary. The absence of any settlement inside Eaglenest has minimized any problem of hunting.

The Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund

Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund

Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund is a global program that provides provides funding and technical assistance to nongovernmental organizations and other private sector partners to protect critical ecosystems. They focus on biodiversity hotspots, the Earth's biologically richest yet most...

 (CEPF), a consortium of major international and
regional organizations, has identified the Eastern Himalayan region around Arunachal Pradesh
(Nepal, Bhutan and all of North-East India) as a critical global biodiversity rich area
deserving of conservation focus. They identified the North-Bank Landscape (i.e. north bank of Brahmaputra, extending up the Eaglenest slopes) and the Tawang region as worthy of particular focus.

Eaglenest is within the Conservation International

Conservation International

Conservation International is a nonprofit organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, which seeks to ensure the health of humanity by protecting Earth's ecosystems and biodiversity. CI’s work focuses on six key initiatives that affect human well-being: climate, food security, freshwater...

 Himalaya Biodiversity Hotspot

Biodiversity hotspot

A biodiversity hotspot is a biogeographic region with a significant reservoir of biodiversity that is under threat from humans.The concept of biodiversity hotspots was originated by Norman Myers in two articles in “The Environmentalist” , revised after thorough analysis by Myers and others in...

 area.

Birdlife International

BirdLife International

BirdLife International is a global Partnership of conservation organisations that strives to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources...

 has designated Eaglenest and Sessa Sanctuaries as an Important Bird Area (IBA IN344), with Blyth's Tragopan

Blyth's Tragopan

Blyth’s Tragopan or the Grey-bellied Tragopan is a pheasant that is a vulnerable species.-Distribution and Population:...

 identified as a vulnerable species

Vulnerable species

On 30 January 2010, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species identified 9694 Vulnerable species, subspecies and varieties, stocks and sub-populations.-References:...

 of the area.

This area is extremely important for the continued well-being of the Asian Elephant

Asian Elephant

The Asian or Asiatic elephant is the only living species of the genus Elephas and distributed in Southeast Asia from India in the west to Borneo in the east. Three subspecies are recognized — Elephas maximus maximus from Sri Lanka, the Indian elephant or E. m. indicus from mainland Asia, and E. m....

.
Elephants regularly move up from the Assam plains to the Eaglenest ridge at 3250 m in
summer, perhaps the highest altitude that elephants reach in India. Extensive clearing of forests
through illegal encroachments in Assam adjacent to Eaglenest has exacerbated elephant-man
conflict in the plains; it has also meant that elephants now have to stay longer in the Eaglenest area
and may lead to depletion of their food resource by dominating the rate of regeneration.

History of name

Eaglenest apparently derives its name from Red Eagle Division of the Indian army

Indian Army

The Indian Army is the land based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. With about 1,100,000 soldiers in active service and about 1,150,000 reserve troops, the Indian Army is the world's largest standing volunteer army...

which was posted in the area in the 1950s.

External sources

Butterflies from Eaglenest-Sessa-Pakke 72 photographs

Pictures from Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary - Wildlife Photographs