Ferret-badger records from Mizoram, Meghalaya and Nagaland, India

This note finds place in JBNHS 111(1), Jan - Apr 2014. 

FERRET-BADGER RECORDS FROM MIZORAM, MEGHALAYA AND NAGALAND, INDIA

Nimesh Ved¹ and Laltlanhlua Zathang²

¹Srinivas Nagar, Padmarao Nagar, Secunderabad , Telangana, 500 061, India. Email: Nimesh.ved@gmail.com

²Tuikal South, Aizawl, Mizoram 796 001, India. Email: Tlana_z@yahoo.com

 Introduction

In India ferret-badgers are restricted to the tropical and subtropical forests and grasslands of northeast India (Datta 2008). This region, comprising the states of Assam, Aru­nachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, and Tripura, forms a part of the biodiversity “hotspots” of the world (My­ers et al. 2000; Ved and Lalramnuna 2008).

Ferret-badgers are nocturnal, usually active at dusk. Like most badgers they live in holes dug by themselves or in burrows of other animals, and in rock crevices. They are good climbers and often sleep on the branches of trees. They are omnivorous and known to feed on small animals, insects, earthworms, and fruits. They prey upon insect pests such as cockroaches, and therefore, the locals like Lepchas and Bhotias encourage them to enter into their huts (Prater 1980).Their young are born during May and June. Their litter size ranges from 1 to 3, the usual number of individuals in a litter being three. They are born blind, and show the same pattern of colouration as of adults (O Donel 1916). 

In the paper, we give an account of the morphology and distribution of the Burmese and Chinese ferret-badgers species occurring in northeast India, and discuss the records of their occurrences based on specimens in museums, our records, and records by other workers.

Morphology and Distribution Range

The Burmese and Chinese ferret-badgers look extremely similar. The main identification character is the size of molar teeth, which is difficult to observe unless caught or examined in a dead animal (Choudhury 1999). The Burmese Ferret-badger is also known as Large-toothed Ferret-badger due to its massive and wide-crowned molars. The Chinese Ferret-badger, because of its small and narrow-crowned molars, is also known as Small-toothed Ferret-badger (Datta 1999; Prater 1980).  Due to the difficulties in differentiating between the two species based on external characters, there remains confusion over the range boundaries of both these species in mainland Asia (Schank et al. 2009).

State Museum - Aizawl, Mizoram, Image: LZ

Burmese Ferret-badger Melogale personata I. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1831.

In India, the Burmese Ferret-badger is distributed from Nepal eastwards to West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, and Arunachal Pradesh (Chakraborty and Bhattacharya 1999;Datta 1999; Hussain 1999; Pocock 1941; Ramakantha 1992).  It weighs around 1–3 kg, has a head–body length of 33–45 cm while the tail length is 12–23 cm (Mudappa 2013).  It is listed as Data Deficient on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (Duckworth et al. 2008a).

Chinese Ferret-badger  Melogale moschata (Gray, 1831)

In India, the Chinese Ferret-badger is distributed throughout northeast India, from West Bengal eastwards to Assam, Manipur, Nagaland, and Arunachal Pradesh (Choudhury 1997; Datta 1999; Hussain 1999; Pocock 1941; Ramakantha 1992). It weighs around 1–3 kg, has a head–body length of 33–43 cm while the tail length is 14–23 cm (Mudappa 2013). It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (Duckworth et al. 2008b). It is reported to feed on earthworm, insects, and amphibians (Chuang and Lee 1997).

Museum Records

Burmese Ferret-badger: The Field Museum of Natural History (FMNH) has a specimen (FMNH Mammals 75851) from Mawphlang in Khasi Hills, Meghalaya collected by W.N. Koelz on December 31, 1952 (Anon. (a) n.d.). There is a specimen from Shillong, East Khasi Hills district (Meghalaya) in ZSI (Choudhury 2013), a specimen from Laitkynsao, Meghalaya (Choudhury 2013; Hinton and Lindsday 1926), a specimen from ‘Tipperah Hills’ in the Indian Museum, Kolkata (Sclater 1891), and one in ZSI from Tripura district of Bengal (probably Comilla district of Bangladesh) collected by F. Skipuith in 1845 (Choudhury 2013).

Chinese Ferret-badger: The FMNH, Chicago, USA has a specimen (FMNH Mammals 75850) from Cherrapunji in Khasi Hills, Meghalaya collected by W.N. Koelz on June 05, 1952. (Anon. (b) n.d.).  During the mammal survey of BNHS (see Mills 1923), specimens were obtained from Mokokchung (Nagaland), 1,500 m (5,000 ft) (Choudhury 2013).

Dampa TR, Mizoram, Image: Mizoram Forest Department

Our Records

Mizoram

1.      NV and LZ came across a specimen of a ferret-badger at the Mizoram State Museum at Aizawl, referred to as “Mizoram Ferret-badger” (specimen number 2008/7). It was procured from Mr. Lalrinmawia of Aizawl on April 24, 2008, but the exact site from where it was obtained is unclear. A Forest Department publication (Anon. 2006) gives the Mizo name of the species as Sahmaitha.

2.      In the late evening on August 19, 2006, two ferret-badgers were sighted among squash vines Cucurbita maxima by locals of Tuikual South locality of Aizawl (23º 43' N; 92º 44' E). One was killed, and the other caught. On August 20, 2006, LZ was called for the help in identification of the captured individual, and the animal was released in the nearby forest after photographing it.

3.      LZ, during his tenure as the Field Director of the Dampa Tiger Reserve was able to obtain an image of ferret-badger through camera traps in September 2011 in Dampa Tiger Reserve.

Nagaland

On October 18, 2011 at around 10:30 hrs, NV saw a ferret-badger being sold at  Benbenzhu (25º 52' N; 94º 10' E; 1,360 m), Kohima district, while driving from Kohima to Mokokchung. It is known there as Nkie (Rengma dialect), and the locals said that it is nocturnal, feeds on earthworms; occurs in rocky areas, and was a rare species. NV noticed that the tail tip of the individual was white. The face was darker than the ears with long whiskers-almost reaching to the ears. The dorsal side was darker than the belly. Nails were present on all the toes. Despite these details, he was unable to identify the species.

Meghalaya

Samrakshan Trust’s Wildlife Distribution Survey taken up in the South Garo Hills showed that 3 and 34 (i.e. 1% and 10% respectively) of the 334 respondents said that they had seen the Burmese Ferret-badger and Chinese Ferret-badger in their areas during the last five years (Ved and Sangma 2007). However, it is most likely that the respondents may not have been able to distinguish between the two Ferret-badger species.

  

Nagaland, Image: Chiden Yadein

Recent records by other workers

Ferret-badgers have been frequently recorded in various localities in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, and Meghalaya (Choudhury 2003), but no further information is provided on these reports (Datta 2008). A stuffed specimen of the Burmese Ferret-badger was recovered from a local tribal in Seijusa, Pakhui WLS (Datta 1999). Two specimens of the Chinese Ferret-badger were examined in Namdapha NP and one specimen of Burmese Ferret-badger was recorded near Roing, Dibang Valley district (Chakraborty and Sen 1991; Choudhury 2003). Choudhury (2009) reported ferret-badgers on a number of occasions at Karbi Anglong, Assam, during 1991–92, but did not identify the species. A killed specimen that seemed to be the Burmese Ferret-badger was on sale at Kohima in 1997 (Choudhury 2000). Besides this, two shot animals that appeared to be Chinese Ferret-badger were recorded for sale at the Kohima market in 1997 (Choudhury 2000). A ferret-badger pair was captured from sub-tropical pine forests (1,200–1,500 m ASL) of Chandel district, Manipur (Ramakantha 1992).  Several live animals were observed in the wild in Barak valley districts (mainly in Inner Line RF) and Karbi Anglong (mainly in Dhansiri RF) district, which could be either of the two species. (Choudhury  2013).  Dutta (2008) obtained camera-trap records for the ferret-badgers (species unknown) from Namdapha NP (Arunachal Pradesh), which are the first photographic evidence of ferret-badgers in the wild from India. They were taken during October 2006 – January 2007, and it took on an average 384 camera-trap nights to get each of these images (total effort of 1,537 camera trap–nights).

Acknowledgements

The authors express their heartfelt gratitude to Mizoram Forest Department, Mizoram State Museum – Aizawl, Will Duckworth, Chiden Yadein, Bensen Sangma, Samrakshan Trust, Foundation for Ecological Security (FES), Nagaland Empowerment of People through Economic Development (NEPED), Kashmira Kakati, and two anonymous reviewers.

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Many thanks to BNHS and Sonali.