Forest officials, students trained on monitoring techniques for Asiatic black bears

Staff Reporter

SEIJOSA, 26 Aug: A one-day event on Asiatic black bear monitoring was organized in Pakke Kessang district by the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) and the Centre for Bear Rehabilitation and Conservation (CBRC), in collaboration with Pakke Tiger Reserve and the department of environment, forest, and climate change, Arunachal Pradesh.

The workshop aimed to enhance the capacity of biologists to apply monitoring techniques for Asiatic black bears in the tropical forests of Northeast India.

Satyaprakash Singh, DFO of Pakke Tiger Reserve, inaugurated the program, which was led by a team of experts including Chandan Ri, biologist at Pakke Tiger Reserve; Dr. Panjit Basumatary, manager & head of CBRC; Subhasish Arandhara, ecologist at CBRC; Dr. Samrat Sengupta, assistant professor at DR College, Golaghat; Dr. Dipankar Borah, assistant professor at Kaliabor College; Ajit Malik and Jehuwa Natung, animal keepers at CBRC.

Participants explored ecological research principles and gained a thorough understanding of occupancy modeling. The program covered data collection, analysis, interpretation, and management, with a focus on using key software for occupancy studies.

 Thirty participants attended the event including forest range officer, biologists, field assistants and data operators from Arunachal Pradesh, as well as students from Guwahati University, Cotton University, Arunachal University, Assam Don Bosco University, Koiliabor College, DR College, and Bodoland University.

DFO Singh praised the officials of WTI and the range officer for organizing the workshop, noting that it would help participants understand the ecology and distribution of Asiatic black bears in Pakke and its adjoining landscape. He encouraged participants to interact actively with resource persons to maximize their benefit from the workshop.

Dr. Panjit Basumatary, manager & head of CBRC, said, “This program aims to inspire the younger generation to study these species more deeply and understand their vital role in our ecosystem.”

The CBRC is the only facility in India dedicated to hand-raising and rehabilitating orphaned bear cubs.

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