Butterflies of Tale Wildlife Sanctuary

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This book covers 285 species of butterflies that have been T recorded in Tale Wildlife Sanctuary and is based on butterfly surveys conducted by the authors in the landscape. The book contains photographs of each of the butterfly species and provides key features to identifying them. A listing of some of the butterfly species that can be found in Tale, as an attraction to visitors, is provided. Short notes on the natural history, the butterfly species/subspecies and their distributions in India, their protection status based on their inclusion in the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and finally, a complete checklist of butterflies recorded at Tale are also included.

Arunachal Pradesh, with more than 60% of the geographical area recorded under forests, is one of the most bio-diverse states in india. Its protected area network is home to numerous endemic flora and fauna. Tale Wild life Sanctuary is one of the better-known protected areas of the state and several research studies have been conducted with a spate of discoveries. It is well known for the sighting of one of the most beautiful of Indian butterflies, the Kaiser-e-hind.

While good amount of time and resources are spent on large vertebrates, the importance of smaller creatures like the bees and butterflies cannot be overlooked and is required to be emphasized. Butterflies are important pollinators and play a pivotal role in preserving the indigenous plant species. They are excellent indicators of the health of an ecosystem and are widely used by ecologists to study the impacts of climate change, habitat loss and fragmentation.

I congratulate the authors for their commendable efforts. This book covers more than 285 species of butterflies recorded in the sanctuary and its surrounding areas, with two species reported as new records for the country.

I am glad to know that the proceeds from the sale of the books will be contributed to the Tale Eco development committee. This will also help incentivize the community efforts to protect the forests and go a long way in boosting butterfly tourism in the sanctuary.

The Ziro butterfly meet is conducted annually by a local NGO, Ngunu Ziro in the Tale Wildlife Sanctuary for the last six years, which has made butterfly watching very popular amongst the local community and visitors. I hope this book inspire the readers to explore the biodiversity of the area and spur more research and butterfly surveys in Tale.

Arunachal Pradesh, formerly established as North East Frontier Agency (NEFA), became a Union Territory in 1972 and a full-fledged State Lin 1987. With an area of 83,743 sq km, it is largest amongst the north east- ern states and with 79.63% forest cover; it occupies a large portion of the East- ern Himalayas. The state is uniquely situated in the transition zone between the Himalayan and Indo-Burmese regions, being recognized as one of the 25 mega biodiversity hotspots of the world. Arunachal Pradesh is also prevalently known as "cradle of all flowering plants" and "paradise of the botanists" as it contains nearly 50% of the total flowering plant species (about 5000 spp. of angiosperms) in India.

Tale Wildlife Sanctuary is located at a distance of about 120 km from the State capital, Itanagar and 14 km north-east of Ziro, the headquarters of Lower Subansiri district in Arunachal Pradesh. The sanctuary was established on 14 June 1995 by carving out an area of 337 sq km from Tale Reserved Forests, which was notified in 15 May 1979.It is flanked by the Pange River in the west, Sipu River in the south and densely forested hillock & various streams in the East & North, with altitudes ranging between 133 m to 2835 m elevation.

The sanctuary has two forest camps; Pange and Tale. The Pange camp is the western gateway to the sanctuary located at a distance of 14 km from Ziro. The Forest Department has developed the Wild Orchid Conservation trail and Bird- Butterfly trail at Pange. Tale valley is in the core of the sanctuary and at a distance of 15 km from the Pange camp. The name of the sanctuary has been adopted after the plant 'Tale' which is abundantly found in thevalley.