Eastern Himalayas

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Eastern Himalayas
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• The Eastern Himalayas comprise the tracts of the
  Darjeeling Hills or North Bengal, Sikkim,
  Arunachal Pradesh, and eastern Bhutan.
• The region is drained by the Brahmaputra river
  and its tributaries the Teesta drains Sikkim and
  the Darjeeling areas, and the Manas drains part
  of Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh.
• The Kamang and the Subansiri are the other
  important rivers that drain the eastern
  Himalayas.

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• The Eastern Himalayas can be divided into the
  following climatic regions arctic, sub-arctic,
  temperate, subtropical, and warm tropical.
• The forests are moist, dense, evergreen,
  semi-evergreen, or temperate.
• Precipitation is very high and the forest region
  is very humid.
• Sal forests and evergreen trees are found
  extensively all along the foothills of the
  Eastern Himalayas.
• Subtropical forests cover the hills up to an
  elevation of about 2000 m.

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The temperate mixed forests

• The temperate mixed forests are found up to a
  height of about 3000 m followed by the alpine
  forests, which consist mainly of fir, juniper,
  and rhododendron .
• This region is the home of a large variety of
  animals and birds including slow loris,
  rhinoceros, the golden languar, tiger, the Indian
  civet, clouded leopard, the golden cat.
• The birds include heron, the white-winged wood
  duck, and the snow cock.

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• A number of wildlife sanctuaries and biosphere
  reserves have been set up in this region to
  protect the species from poachers and human
  encroachments.
• Jaldapara, in the Bhutan foothills of Bengal, is
  famous for the one-horned rhinoceros, hog deer,
  and tiger floricans.
• Buxa Sanctuary at the junction of Assam, northern
  West Bengal, and Bhutan is a tiger reserve under
  the Project Tiger and serves as a vital corridor
  for the elephants migrating between the forests
  of Assam and Bhutan.
• It has dense deciduous forest and is the home of
  the swamp deer, and leopard and many species of
  birds.

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The Kangchendzonga national park

• The Kangchendzonga national park in Sikkim is the
  home of many high-altitude mammals and birds such
  as the clouded leopard, red panda, musk deer,
  snow cock, and pheasants.
• The principal forest types found here are the
  coniferous and Alpine scrub.

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The Manas sanctuary

• The Manas sanctuary, which lies on either side of
  the Manas river in Bhutan and Assam has very
  dense semi-evergreen and deciduous forests and
  swamps and marshes.
• It is famous for the golden languar which is
  found only in this area.
• Other animals found here include the barking
  deer, sambar, and golden cat. It is also a tiger
  reserve under the Project Tiger.

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The Namdapa national reserve

• The Namdapa national reserve in Arunachal Pradesh
  is perhaps the only protected area where all the
  four major predators of the Himalayas, namely the
  tiger, leopard, clouded leopard, and the snow
  leopard are found.
• It has a wide variety of flora and fauna as the
  altitude ranges from 200 m to 4500 m.
• There are evergreen, sal, deciduous, oak,
  coniferous and sub-alpine forests.
• It is the home of the slow loris, leopard, red
  panda, hoolock, musk deer, and hornbilled duck.

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• The Namdapa biosphere reserve, located in the
  Lohit and Tirap districts in south-eastern
  Arunachal Pradesh, is considered one of the
  richest biotic areas in India.
• It is partly drained by the Brahmaputra river
  system and has a typical tropical to subtropical
  monsoon climate receiving very heavy rainfall.
• The vegetation consists of moist mixed deciduous
  forests, subtropical wet hill forests, wet
  temperate forests, and alpine forests.
• There are a very large variety of animals and
  birds such as the tiger, leopard, civet, red
  panda, heron, hornbill, and thrush.