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Site description (2004 baseline):

Langting-Mupa is a large forested area in the northern part of North Cachar Hills district in central Assam. The topography of the area varies from undulating plains to low hills, which are part of an Archaean plateau. Judging from topographical and floral criteria, it may be placed in the Eastern Himalayas Endemic Bird Area (Stattersfield et al. 1998). The Diyung, Lungding and Langting are the main rivers. The average elevation of the larger part of this IBA is 150-200 m above msl. Most of the smaller nullahs become dry during winter as the area is in a low rainfall zone (rain shadow area). The forest type is Tropical Moist Deciduous with Tropical Semievergreen along the nullahs. Abandoned jhums (slash-and-burn shifting cultivations) are covered with various grasses. The site has some linkage with three other IBAs, Dhansiri, Lumding-Marat Longri and Barail Range. It is also a part of the Dhansiri-Lungding Elephant Reserve that was notified in 2003.

AVIFAUNA: A rich and diverse bird life exists in the area. More than 180 species have been recorded, while there may be more than 250 altogether (A. U. Choudhury pers. comm. 2003). The globally threatened Green Peafowl Pavo muticus, which used to occur in North Cachar Hills (Ali and Ripley 1987), is now locally extinct. In North Cachar Hills, Langting-Mupa Reserve was the key area for this species. The White-winged Duck Cairina scutulata has been reported from the pools in the north and southeast parts of the reserve. There was a record from Dihangi area, southwest of this IBA (Green 1992). Four species of hornbills - Oriental Pied Anthracoceros albirostris, Wreathed Aceros undulatus, Great Pied Buceros bicornis and the Brown Hornbill Anorrhinus tickelli - occur here. The last two species are considered Near Threatened by BirdLife International (2001). The Rufous-necked Hornbill Aceros nipalensis has been recorded sporadically from the southeastern corner, just north of Barail Range (Choudhury 2000). Galliformes such as the Red Junglefowl Gallus gallus and Kaleej Pheasant Lophura leucomelana are abundant in Langting-Mupa, while the Grey Peacock Pheasant Polyplectron bicalcaratum and Mountain Bamboo-Partridge Bambusicola fytchii are also common. In winter, the abundance of birds increases to a great extent with the arrival of altitudinal migrants. The list is too long to mention here. As the forest is still intact in many areas, the bird life is very rich.

OTHER KEY FAUNA: The region is exceptionally rich in mammals, with seven species of primates including the Hoolock gibbon Hylobates hoolock, possibly three species of bear including the Sun Bear Ursus malayanus, and the Asian Elephant Elephas maximus and Tiger Panthera tigris (A. U. Choudhury pers. comm. 2003). The Gaur Bos frontalis in this IBA had among the most majestic heads in the country (Stracey 1963). This IBA is also known for its rich turtle fauna (Bhupathy and Choudhury 1992) and a wetland known as Turtle Lake.

MAIN THREATS: Illegal felling of trees; Encroachment; Poaching; Insurgency.

Felling of trees and encroachment are the two major issues in this IBA, apart from poaching. In recent years, insurgency has become common in the area.

Key contributor: Anwaruddin Choudhury.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Langting-Mupa Reserve Forest (India). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/langting-mupa-reserve-forest-iba-india on 23/12/2024.