Early on November 29, a porcupine that was seen wandering about the Namdapara, Third Block region of Assam’s Bongaigaon district caused quite a stir. When locals initially spotted the wild animal, they were able to catch it after a short pursuit. Locals are curious and worried by the porcupine’s sudden emergence in the inhabited neighborhood.
The journey of the porcupine from the forest to the neighbourhood remains a mystery. Forest officials were later made aware of the problem, but they have not yet arrived on the location to address it. The Asiatic golden cat (Catopuma temminckii) was confirmed to exist in Assam’s Manas National Park earlier last month, adding significantly to the state’s rich biodiversity.
A team that included representatives from the Assam Forest Department, conservationists from Aaranyak (www.aaranyak.org), the region’s premier organization for biodiversity conservation, and numerous other conservationists from various regions of India reaffirmed this important finding. Over the course of eight years, from 2011 to 2018, a rigorous annual systematic camera trapping effort totaling 39,700 trap-days was unsuccessful as no sightings were reported.
