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Namdapha Flying Squirrel Spotted in Arunachal Pradesh After 42 Years

One of ten expedition teams from Aaranyak, a biodiversity conservation group based in Assam, recently spotted the Namdapha flying squirrel in Arunachal Pradesh.
Sputnik
The Namdapha flying squired has been rediscovered by an expedition team belonging to the Assam-based biodiversity conversation group, Aaranyak, in Arunachal Pradesh after 42 years.
The team led by conversation biologist Firoz Ahmed, consisted of field researcher Sourav Gupta and volunteer Sourav Mardi. Together, they successfully rediscovered the elusive nocturnal flying squirrel. They received assistance from the research office with the Arunachal Pradesh Forest Department Tajum Yomcha.
The last known description of this mammal dates back to 1981, when one single squirrel was discovered in the Namdapha Tiger Reserve in the Changlang district of Arunachal Pradesh.
Ahmed, who was leading one of the ten expedition teams from Aaranyak, visited several potential sites near a river at night in search of the mammal.
The team had launched the expedition in 2021 and finally sighted the flying squirrel in April 2022. However, the media only disclosed this revelation on Friday.
According to Ahmed, the team spotted a small reddish and grizzled furry mammal perched high up in a tree.
“After months of scrutiny of the photographic evidence we gathered, experts are pretty much sure that the animal is the Namdapha flying squirrel,” reports further quoting Ahmed stated.
Based on media reports, is designing a study to collect DNA samples of the squirrel in the field. The purpose is to compare the genetic material with the DNA of the one collected in 1981 and currently stored at the Zoological Survey of India in Kolkata.
Ahmed said that if the animal sighted during their last expedition is established as the Namdapha flying squirrel, it will be a powerful flagship for conservation for both the tiger reserve and other wildlife species.
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