Carnivores in Peril in the ‘Valley of Extinction’: A Review on Diversity, Distribution Status and Conservation in Southern Assam, India

Southern Assam (in Northeast India), also known as Barak valley, is a part of the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot. With some magnificent species already extinct from the region, and some on the verge of extinction, the valley is rightly called the ‘Valley of Extinction’. The region has two wildlife sanctuaries (WLS): Barail WLS and Barak-Bhuban WLS; one proposed WLS (Patharia), and a network of reserve forests (RF) which serve as strongholds of several wild species. However, due to rapid deforestation and decrease in their suitable habitats, encroachment into the wildlife sanctuary and RFs, depletion of prey and food trees, expansion of agriculture, changes in land use and land cover, road kills, etc., most of the wildlife are severely threatened, while others have now adapted to human dominated habitats thereby becoming pests, and vulnerable to prosecution. Moreover, research on the wildlife of the region, excluding a few species, is extremely limited, more so in the case of carnivores owing to their elusive and nocturnal behaviour. The present article focuses on the diversity, status, distribution, threats and conservation of the carnivores of southern Assam. We hereby report a total of 33 species of carnivores from the region, of which 2 are extinct, 2 are probably extinct with only stray individuals. Of the species reported hereby, three are ‘Endangered’, ten are ‘Vulnerable’, and another three are ‘Near threatened’, as enlisted by IUCN. In the beginning of the last century, most of these carnivore species were abundant in southern Assam, which is however decreasing alarmingly. Thus, strict enforcement of Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and Indian Forest Act, 1927; along with awareness campaigns, research on ecology, and population censuses of these species should be carried out to save the remaining populations in the region.