A rare white-cheeked macaque has been spotted at West Kameng district in Arunachal Pradesh.
This was for the second time that the white-cheeked macaque was spotted in Arunachal Pradesh.
It was first spotted in Anjaw district by scientists of the zoological survey of India (ZSI) earlier this year.
It was informed by divisional forest officer (DFO) of West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh – Chukhu Loma on Sunday.
“Not many days after its discovery in Anjaw, a white-cheeked macaque was captured in a camera trap in Bishum Phudung in Dirang,” Loma said.
He added: “This is an exceptional discovery, given how rare it is.”
Also read: Heavy rains to lash Assam, Meghalaya & Arunachal as inclement weather forecast across Northeast
Prior to this, the white-cheeked macaque was found in Modog in Tibet region of China in 2015.
Chukhu Loma said: “Now we need to carry out an in-depth scientific study of the animal.”
“Arunachal Pradesh has made a place for itself as the ‘Botanical Paradise of India’, where almost every day a new species of flora and fauna is discovered,” the forest official said.
White-cheeked macaque is a species of macaque found only in Mêdog county in Tibet of China and Arunachal Pradesh in Northeast India.
The white-cheeked macaque lives in forest habitats, from tropical forests to primary and secondary evergreen broad-leaved forests and mixed broadleaf-conifer forests.