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Site description (2004 baseline)
Straddling the Yumthang river, the Sanctuary which lies beyond the frontier village of Lachung in North Sikkim, is characterized by Temperate Silver Fir - Rhododendron forest at the head of the narrow Lachung Valley surrounded by towering snowy mountains. Rhododendron trees laden with trailing lichens provide good habitat for avifauna and flora. Shingba Rhododendron Sanctuary is home to the endemic Rhododendron niveum, the State Tree. Yumthang meadows adjacent to Yumthang-Lachung river provide shingle beds for Ibisbill Ibidorhyncha struthersii, meadows for Yak and feeding areas for wagtails, pipits, larks, Grandala Grandala coelicolor and other species. Abies densa, Picea, Rhododendron, Juniperus, Acer spp. and ground flora such as Primula, Potentilla, Aconitum spp. and other alpine herbs are seen. The earlier dense stands of firs and rhododendron were worked for timber and removed for firewood. After the area was declared protected, much of the fallen material was left as such providing good habitat for wildlife. Today young firs inside the protected area show good natural regeneration.

Key biodiversity

AVIFAUNA: Not much information is available on the general bird life of this site, except for opportunistic observations. The globally threatened Wood Snipe Gallinago nemoricola is occasionally seen in the Rhododendron-Fir forest of Shingba, and Ibisbill breeds on the shingle beds of the Yumthang Chu in small numbers, usually not more than two pairs. Grandala, a local altitudinal migrant, is seen sometimes in apparently all-female flocks. Blood Pheasant Ithaginis cruentus and Himalayan Monal Lophophorus impejanus breed in the higher reaches of the Sanctuary while the Himalayan Griffon Gyps himalayensis is a resident of the cold desert. Gould’s Shortwing Brachypteryx stellata, Rufous-bellied Crested Tit Parus rubidiventris and the restricted range Hoary-throated Barwing Actinodura nipalensis are common in forest patches. The Firetailed Sunbird Aethopyga ignicauda is conspicuous when Rhododendrons are in bloom. Rufous-bellied Eagle Hieraaetus kienerii was sighted in Yumthang in June 1984. Jungle Crows are now resident at this altitude of c. 4,000 m with increasing tourist pressure (U. Lachungpa pers. comm. 2003). This IBA lies at the interface of Biome-5 (Eurasian High Montane: Alpine and Tibetan) and Biome-7 (Sino-Himalayan Temperate Forest). Therefore, species of both biomes are represented. It has alpine meadows and scrubs, so we get Tibetan Partridge Perdix hodgsoniae, Tibetan Snowcock Tetraogallus tibetanus and Hume’s Short-toed Lark Calandrella acutirostris, while at slightly lower altitude where Montane Broadleaf Evergreen and Mixed Broadleaf–Coniferous Forest are found, species representing Biome-7 predominate. BirdLife International (undated) has listed 48 species in Biome-5, out of which 19 have been seen in this IBA. The Biome-7 has a long list of 112 species, of which 19 are found here. Looking at the intact habitat and the fact that no one has conducted detailed study on the avifauna of this site, more species of this biome are likely to be found here. Interestingly, two species of Biome-8 (Sino- Himalayan Subtropical Forest) have also been reported from this site: Short-billed Minivet Pericrocotus brevirostris and Rufouschinned Laughingthrush Garrulax rufogularis (U. Ganguli- Lachungpa, pers. comm. 2002). This is not unusual as there is a very diffuse borderline between biomes, and secondly, birds of the Himalayas, like any mountain region in the world, show seasonal altitudinal movements.

OTHER KEY FAUNA: Notable mammals include Red Panda Ailurus fulgens, Musk Deer Moschus chrysogaster, Yellow-throated Marten Martes flavigula, Himalayan Weasel Mustela sibirica, Himalayan Mouse-Hare Ochotona roylei, Long-eared Bat Plecotus auritus, Himalayan (Nepal) Langur Semnopithecus schistaceus and other typical temperate species. The enigmatic Caterpillar-Fungus Cordyceps sinensis which is a highly prized species found in very restricted patches at the upper limits of the Sanctuary, but yet to be recognized as a forest produce by the State Forest Department. In the river, the exotic fish Brown Trout Salmo trutta was introduced by the State Forest Department in the 1980s, while suitable sheltered waterbodies harbour the Sikkim Snow Toad Scutiger sp. (Anon. 2003).

Acknowledgements
Key contributor: Usha Lachungpa.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Yumthang - Shingba Rhododendron Wildlife Sanctuary (India). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/yumthang--shingba-rhododendron-wildlife-sanctuary-iba-india on 23/12/2024.