Tibetan brown bear

1. Rare Tibetan brown bear captured on camera for the first time in India.
2. Sikkim Forest Department and WWF-India collaborated to record the elusive species using camera traps in North Sikkim’s high altitudes.
3. Indian Forest Service officer Parveen Kaswan shared two captivating pictures of the bear on social media.

Gangtok, Jan 15: The elusive Tibetan brown bear has been captured on camera for the first time in India. The Sikkim Forest Department, in collaboration with WWF-India, successfully recorded the presence of this rare species through strategically placed camera traps in the high altitudes of North Sikkim.

Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer Parveen Kaswan, known for sharing captivating wildlife insights, took to social media to showcase two remarkable pictures of the bear.

In his post, Kaswan wrote, ”You are seeing the first-ever picture of a rare Tibetan Brown Bear from #India. With this, one more sub-species is added to the Indian #biodiversity. This rare animal is documented in higher reaches of Sikkim with the joint effort of #Sikkim FD and WWF. So much India yet to be explored.”

The post highlights the collaborative effort that contributed to this significant addition to India’s rich biodiversity.

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Distinguished from the more commonly found Himalayan black bear by its unique appearance, habitat, and behavior, the Tibetan brown bear is an omnivore that thrives in high-altitude alpine forests, meadows, and steppe regions above 4000 meters.

Its diet primarily consists of marmots and alpine vegetation, making its ecological role crucial to the delicate balance of the ecosystem in which it resides.

The Tibetan brown bear also referred to as the Tibetan blue bear, stands out as one of the rarest subspecies globally and is seldom sighted in the wild. Before this discovery in Sikkim, only a handful of sightings had been reported in Nepal, Bhutan, and the Tibetan plateau.

This newfound evidence of the bear’s presence in India adds a valuable puzzle piece to the understanding of its distribution and habitat range.

The news of this extraordinary discovery has sparked enthusiasm among wildlife enthusiasts and the online community.

One user expressed awe, stating, ”Oh wow. Awesome, and its fur coat is so nice and thick. Super sighting.” Another comment reflected the sentiment of many, saying, ”So much of nature is yet unexplored.”

The rarity of the Tibetan brown bear and the significance of its sighting in the Indian context underscores the importance of ongoing conservation efforts and heightened awareness to protect these unique and vulnerable species.

As the story unfolds, the revelation of the Tibetan brown bear’s presence in the Indian wilderness invites exploration, study, and a renewed commitment to safeguarding the diverse wildlife that calls the country home.