In a remarkable discovery, India reported its first-ever confirmed record of a rare Tibetan Brown Bear in the higher regions of Sikkim.
The bear was spotted in high altitudes of Northern Sikkim thanks to the camera traps installed by the Sikkim Forest Department and WWF-India.
With this discovery, the nation’s animal diversity has increased by one subspecies.
An image of this Tibetan Brown Bear was shared on Instagram by All India Radio News.
In the caption of their post, the news agency informed, “The camera traps that recorded the bear were placed by Phuchung Lachenpa, Tashi Palden Lachenpa and Palden Lepcha in the high altitudes of Mangan district and caught this elusive bear in December 2023. These photos highlight the characteristic yellowish scarf-like collar of this bear that broadens from the shoulders to the chest.” They also shared two pictures of the Tibetian brown bear.
This rare bear is very different from the more commonly found Himalayan black bear in terms of its appearance, habitat, and behaviour, officials said. The omnivore lives in high-altitude alpine forests, meadows, and steppe above 4000 m and feeds on marmots and alpine vegetation.
The Tibetan brown bear, also known as the Tibetan blue bear, is one of the rarest subspecies of bears in the world and is rarely sighted in the wild. Only a few were sighted from Nepal, Bhutan, and the Tibetan plateau.
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