Doomdooma: A scientific study conducted in Karbi Anglong district of Assam has documented 34 plant species consumed by the endangered Western Hoolock Gibbon, highlighting the importance of forest vegetation in sustaining the habitat and survival of India’s only ape.
The study identified 34 food plant species in the Marat Longri-Patradisa-Longnit Forest Complex. The research was carried out by Parag Jyoti Kashyap and Sahana Bose of Assam University’s Diphu Campus and published this year in the Asian Journal of Geographical Research.
The findings are based on field observations conducted between September 2023 and August 2024.
The recorded food plants include mango, Indian hog plum, wild nutmeg, Indian gooseberry, Indian plum, chirimpi, marking nut, beleric myrobalan, banyan, wild mango, longan, Malabar tamarind, monkey jack, wild jackfruit, gomhar or hill teak, black myrobalan, Java plum, Indian ash, Benjamin’s fig, duabanga, cowa fruit, amari, Burmese grape, carallia, neem, elephant apple, tropical almond, Indian coffee plum, Indian Garcinia, chaulmoogra, small-flowered crape myrtle, silk cotton tree, five-leaf chaste tree and hairy sterculia.
Fruits form the largest part
According to the researchers, fruits were the most frequently recorded food resource, with 23 plant species, accounting for 67.65 per cent of the total, providing fruits.
Leaves from 16 species (47.06 per cent) also formed an important part of the gibbons’ diet. Seeds and flowers from six species each accounted for 17.65 per cent, while bark from one species represented 2.94 per cent.
The study also identified seasonal variations in the availability of food plants. Winter recorded the highest diversity, accounting for 47.06 per cent of the documented species, followed by the monsoon season at 44.12 per cent.
Only one plant species was recorded as being available throughout the year, highlighting the seasonal nature of food resources in the study area.
Habitat degradation poses threat
The researchers cautioned that habitat fragmentation, shifting cultivation and logging could threaten the availability of essential food plants and, consequently, the survival of Western Hoolock Gibbons.
They emphasised the need to protect the remaining semi-evergreen and moist deciduous forests in the region while conserving plant species that provide important food resources.
Particular attention was recommended for species belonging to the Ficus, Mangifera and Terminalia genera.
The findings underline the importance of an ecosystem-based approach to gibbon conservation. Protecting the species requires more than safeguarding individual animals; it also involves preserving the diverse forest vegetation that provides their food and supports their natural habitat.