Trailing the Grey Ghost - in the Eastern Himalaya

Rohan Pandit shares his vivid experiences during his survey of snow leopards in Arunachal Pradesh. The surveys were designed to rely on the immense body of traditional ecological knowledge of the local communities.

- Rohan Pandit

An interesting thing in Arunachal Pradesh was the scale of cultural diversity. The same pattern also contributes to the immense biodiversity in the Eastern Himalaya. People have coexisted here with the surrounding forests and wild animals for many years. The diverse traditional knowledge and taboos have played an important role in the co-existence. Hotspots of biodiversity are often located in regions where traditional societies abound (Colding & Folke, 2001; Stevens, 2014; Toledo, 2013). Recent studies in and around the Dibang Wildlife Sanctuary in the Dibang Valley District have shown a healthy population of wild animals. The dominant tribe of the region, the Idu Mishmis traditionally have had a lot of taboos called ‘ghena’ related to hunting in general and specifically for all wild cats. Similar taboos have also been noted in other animist tribes, such as the Akas, Nyshyis, Tagins, and Adis.