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Site description (2004 baseline):

Pulie Badze Wildlife Sanctuary (923 ha) is an important catchment area of Kohima town. The high hills of the Sanctuary overlook Kohima. Dzukou valley (10,000 ha) and Japfu peak, two important features in the area are located adjacent to the Sanctuary, and have been included in this IBA. The Japfu (Japvo) peak rises to about 3,048 m and is the second highest peak after the Saramati at 3,826 m. The Khonoma Nature Conservation and Tragopan Sanctuary, another important community protected area (also on IBA), is adjacent to this IBA. All these four sites form a single large continuous area of 20,000 ha or more, and are very important for avifauna conservation in southern Nagaland. Being close to the state capital, Pulie Badze is witness to extensive anthropogenic pressure in the form of land grabbing, grazing cattle, firewood collection and hunting. Dzukou valley is covered with bamboo and other grass species. The valley harbours many species of flowering plants including the endemic Dzukou Lily Lilium chitrangadae. The valley receives a tremendous influx of local tourists during the flowering season. Unfortunately, the valley is a source of conflict for ownership between local tribes and the state governments of Manipur/Nagaland. The lower reaches of the hills in these environs still hold good subtropical broadleaf forest and a good population of Blyth’s Tragopan Tragopan blythii. Dark-rumped or Khasi Hills Swift Apus acuticauda is an important discovery (Ahmed et al. 2003). Khonoma and other areas in this valley are likely to hold some populations of this Swift.

AVIFAUNA: The bird diversity of the area has not been evaluated yet. Pulie Badze Wildlife Sanctuary, Dzukuo-Japfu Area, and Khonoma Nature Conservation and Tragopan Sanctuary, share the same habitat and environment, therefore the avifauna is similar (A. U. Choudhury pers. comm. 2003). Blyth’s Tragopan, a globally threatened species, is found here (A. U. Choudhury pers. comm. 2003), along with theDark-rumped Swift. The Eastern Himalayas Endemic Bird Area is one of the major hotspots for bird diversity. In this EBA, 21 restricted range species have been identified, of which 7 have been found at Pulie Badze and nearby areas. However, once detailed studies are conducted, more restricted range species are likely to be found. This IBA appears to be important for biome restricted species also. Due to its high altitudinal variation from 1600 m to more than 3,000 m, two biomes occur in this site: Sino-Himalayan Temperate Forest (Biome-7), and Sino-Himalayan Subtropical Forest (Biome-8). About 207 species of birds are listed in these two biomes. Many of these are listed by Choudhury (2001) in his Nagaland checklist, but we do not know how many occur in Pulie Badze WLS, Dzukuo and Japfu area. The Biome species recorded from nearby Khonoma Nature Conservation and Tragopan Sanctuary are: Rufous-breasted Accentor Prunella strophiata, Stripe-throated Yuhina Yuhina gularis, Rufous-bellied Niltava Niltava sundara, Mountain Bamboo Partridge Bambusicola fytchii, Blue-throated Barbet Megalaima asiatica, Mountain Bulbul Hypsipetes mcclellandii, Maroon Oriole Oriolus traillii, Small Minivet Pericrocotus cinnamomeus, and Fire-tailed Sunbird Aethopyga ignicauda.

OTHER KEY FAUNA: No detailed work has been done on the mammalian fauna but the following have been recorded: Clouded leopard Neofelis nebulosa, Leopard Panthera pardus, Serow Nemorhaedus sumatraensis, Barking Deer Muntiacus muntjak, Wild Boar Sus scrofa, Stumptailed macaque Macaca arctoides, Slow Loris Nycticebus coucang, and Hoolock Gibbon Hylobates hoolock (A. Choudhury pers. comm. 2003). The wild Asian Elephant Elephas maximus used to visit Dzukou valley at 2400 m every summer, but now this movement has become occassional (Choudhury 1999).

MAIN THREATS: Hunting; Unregulated tourism; Encroachment.

The Pulie Badze WLS adjoins Kohima town and is protected as a catchment area. Conservation of the forest in this hill area ensures sustained water supply to the thickly populated town, which is currently facing a severe water crisis. Moreover, Dzukou Valley is an important tourist spot. The government plans to pump out water for the town, which needs careful examination. The conflict between communities living around Dzukou seems very high and is a delicate issue. The needs and interests of the local communities must be taken into account before implementing development or conservation programmes in the area. It would be wise to motivate the local community to declare the entire area as a biosphere reserve, which would serve as an important place for bird diversity conservation in southern Nagaland. Dzukou Valley is visited by a large number of tourists, resulting in the accumulation of huge amounts of non-degradable garbage. Many tourists often collect the endemic Dzukou Lily Lilium sp. which is confined to this small valley. They should be strictly prohibited. Like Khonoma, the rest of Dzukou as well as Japfu can also be declared as a ‘Community Reserve’.

Key contributors: Khekiho Shohe, Thomas Kent, Kulojyoti Lahkar, Firoz Ahmed and Anwaruddin Choudhury.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Puliebadze-Dzukou-Zapfu (India). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/puliebadze-dzukou-zapfu-iba-india on 22/11/2024.