• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Map
• Reference and further resources

Site description (2004 baseline):

A portion of the Taley Valley Reserved Forest in Lower Subansiri district of Arunachal Pradesh with an area of 337 sq. km. was declared as a wildlife sanctuary on July 14, 1995. The area of the Reserve Forest is c. 51,587 ha. We have considered the whole Reserve Forest and the Wildlife Sanctuary as an IBA.The Valley proper lies about 30 km away from the district headquarters, Hapoli.The area lies between the Subansiri, Supu and Pange rivers.It is surrounded by gentle sloping hills, clothed densely with thick vegetation. There are two main valleys: the Pange Valley and the Taley Valley. Small rivers, flowing through these valleys, have formed deep gorges and rapid waterfalls. The smaller streams drain into the Subansiri river which ultimately joins the mighty Brahmaputra. The hills are gently sloping, except for a few peaks that are very steep. The following forest types are found in Taley Valley area: East Himalayan Subtropical Forest, East Himalayan Wet Temperate Forest, Lauraceae Forest, Oak Forest, High-level Oak Forest and East Himalayan Mixed Coniferous Forest (Haridasan et al. 1999). The site is a refuge to a few rare and endangered plants, and abounds with economically important plants. Tale Valley is also known for dense growth of bamboo. Five species of bamboo are recorded of which Pleioblastus simonii is known in India only from here (Haridasan et al.1999). Taxus baccata, the Yew tree, that has come under increasing pressure from illegal collectors due to its medicinal property is still seen in Taley Valley. Taley Valley shows some very interesting phenomena as far as vegetation is concerned. Normally, in altitudinal succession of vegetation types, coniferous forest appears above the broadleaf type. Here, it is the reverse. The coniferous forest appears in the valleys, while broadleaf trees are seen on the hilltops. Some plants found in the area are extremely rare and highly endangered. Some like Paphiopedilum wardii are believed to be extinct. Yet others are known only from restricted localities in Arunachal Pradesh, that too only for a limited time. Some species, that are locally abundant, are rare at the national or global level. In such instances, we need to make greater efforts to conserve the plants for the benefit of mankind (Haridasan et al. 1999).

AVIFAUNA: About 159 bird species have been recorded in Taley Valley WLS so far (Singh 1994). Most of these species breed here, enhancing the importance of this IBA site. The only globally threatened species confirmed from this area is the Rufous-necked Hornbill Aceros nipalensis. Presence of Blyth’s Tragopan Tragopan blythii, another threatened species, has yet to be confirmed, though the related, Temminck’s Tragopan Tragopan temminckii is reported. A few notable bird records from this IBA site are the Purple Cochoa Cochoa purpurea, the only record of the species from Arunachal Pradesh (Singh 1994). This rare species is reported to breed in Taley Valley forests. A record of Yellow-rumped Honeyguide Indicator xanthonotus is the second record of the species from the state.

The Eurasian Tree-creeper Certhia familiaris, a bird of the Western Himalaya, was first noted by Singh (1994) from Taley Valley, which is a considerable eastward extension of its range in the Himalaya. Another first record from Arunachal Pradesh is that of the Silver-backed Needletail Hirundapus cochinchinensis. It was seen by Singh (1994) in March 1994 at an elevation of 2,400 m.

Of the 21 species recorded in India in the Eastern Himalayas EBA (Stattersfield et al. 1998) 10 have been reported from this IBA. There are not many IBAs in this EBA where so many Restricted Range species are found

Due to altitudinal variation from 120 m to 3,000 m, this site represents three biomes: Biome-7 (Sino-Himalayan Temperate Forest), Biome-8 (Sino-Himalayan Subtropical Forest) and Biome-9 (Indo-Chinese Tropical Moist Forest). A total of 58 biome species are found in this IBA but they are too many to list here. Some of the interesting species seen here are Common Hill-Partridge Arborophila torqueola, Striated Laughingthrush Garrulax striatus, Slender-billed Scimitar-babbler Xiphirhynchus superciliaris, Rusty-flanked Tree-creeper Certhia nipalensis, Crimson-browed Finch Pinicola subhimachala, Brown Bullfinch Pyrrhula nipalensis, Rusty-fronted Barwing Actinodura egertoni, Red-headed Tit Aegithalos concinnus, Black-spotted Yellow Tit Parus spilonotus and Black-throated Sunbird Aethopyga saturata.

OTHER KEY FAUNA: The Taley valley is famous for rare and elusive cats such as the Clouded leopard Neofelis nebulosa and Golden Cat Catopuma temmincki. Some other mammals found in the area are Tiger Panthera tigris, Leopard P. pardus, Leopard Cat Prionailurus bengalensis, Capped Langur Trachypithecus pileatus, Asiatic Black Bear Ursus thibetanus and Chinese pangolin Manis crassicaudata.

MAIN THREATS: The Lower Subansiri hydroelectric project.

In India, Taley Valley is one of the few examples of undisturbed pristine climax vegetation. Though the forests in the Sanctuary are intact, the surrounding hills are almost barren.

Taley Valley Wildlife Sanctuary and Reserve Forest is in great danger of being irreversibly damaged if the Lower Subansiri hydroelectric project is completed (Vagholikar and Ahmed 2003). Intended to generate 2,000 MW of electricity, the dam would submerge 3,436 ha of forest. The Environmental Impact Assessment Report that has been submitted by the project authorities has glaring errors in the biodiversity and wildlife components. The project has been cleared by the Central Government despite the violations by the project under the Environment Protection Act and the Forest Conservation Act. The downstream impacts of such a large project on fisheries, rice cultivation and endangered species such as the Gangetic Dolphin Platanista gangetica have not been considered. Moreover, the area is prone to earthquakes and landslides, a fact that appears to have been glossed over by the project authorities.

The Taley Valley and adjoining areas is the land of Apatani tribe, which is well known for its conservation ethics and sustainable practices.

Key contributors: B. B. Bhatt, K. Haridasan, P. Singh, R. Suresh Kumar, Bikul Goswami and Manju Menon.

---

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Taley Valley Wildlife Sanctuary (India). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/taley-valley-wildlife-sanctuary-iba-india on 22/12/2024.