Why is it in the News?

Recently a Royal Bengal Tiger was spotted in Pangalokha Wildlife Sanctuary in Sikkim at an altitude of 3,640 metres.

Context

•  Royal Bengal Tiger has been sighted in the Pangalokha Wildlife Sanctuary in Sikkim roaming at an altitude of 3,640 meters.
• The Royal Bengal Tiger was captured by trap cameras of a team of the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) which is conducting a study in the sanctuary in collaboration with the Sikkim Forest Department.
• It was under a larger project called "Conservation and Use of Five Wetlands in three Himalayan States to Secure Habitats of Birds Migrating within the Central Asian Flyway (CAF)."
• This project was sanctioned under the National Mission on Himalayan Studies (NMHS), and aims to protect and conserve wetland sites in Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, and Sikkim.

About Pangalokha Wildlife Sanctuary:

• The Pangalokha Wildlife Sanctuary is located at the tri-junction of Sikkim, Bengal and Bhutan and is spread over 128 square kilometres.
• The sanctuary is strategically located in the East Sikkim district, connecting the forests of Bhutan and the Neora Valley National Park in West Bengal.
• It is the largest wildlife sanctuary in Sikkim.
• Vegetation: The Sanctuary has typical alpine-temperate-subtropical vegetation with high-altitude lakes around Jelep La.
• Flora: Rhododendron, Silver Fir, Juniper forest and associated ground flora, moss-filled oak forests with dense bamboo thickets etc.
• Fauna: It is home to various species, including red pandas, snow leopards, Himalayan musk deer, Himalayan goral, and Himalayan black bears.