Tripura - Flora and Fauna

Flora and Fauna

State symbols of Tripura
State animal Phayre's Langur
State bird Green imperial pigeon
State tree Agar
State flower Nagesar

Tripura, like most of the Indian subcontinent, lies within the Indomalaya ecozone. According to the Biogeographic classification of India, the state is in the "North-East" biogeographic zone. As of 2011, forests cover 57.73% area of the state. Tripura hosts three different types of ecosystems: mountain, forest and freshwater. The evergreen forests on the hill slopes and the sandy river banks are dominated by species such as Dipterocarpus, Artocarpus, Amoora, Elaeocarpus, Syzygium and Eugenia. Major forest areas in the state are covered by two types of moist deciduous forests: moist deciduous mixed forest and Sal (Shorea robusta) predominant forest. The interspersion of bamboo and cane forests with deciduous and evergreen flora is a peculiarity of Tripura's flora. Grasslands and swamps are also present, particularly in the plains. Herbaceous plants, shrubs, and trees such as Albizia, Barringtonia, Lagerstroemia, Macaranga flourish in the swamps of Tripura. Shrubs and grasses include Schumannianthus dichotoma (shitalpati), Phragmites and Saccharum (sugarcane).

According to a survey in 1989–90, Tripura hosts 90 land mammal species from 65 genera and 10 orders. The main extant land mammal species in the state include elephant (Elephas maximus), bear (Melursus ursinus), binturong (Arctictis binturong), wild dog (Cuon alpinus), porcupine (Artherurus assamensis), barking deer (Muntiacus muntajak), sambar (Cervus unicolor), wild boar (Sus scrofa), gaur (Bos gaurus), leopard (Panthera pardus), clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa), and many species of small cats and primates. Out of 15 free ranging primates of India, 7 are found in Tripura; this is the highest number of primate species found in any Indian state. There are nearly 300 species of birds in the state.

Wildlife sanctuaries of the state are Sipahijola, Gumti, Rowa and Trishna wildlife sanctuaries. National parks of the state are Clouded Leopard National Park and Rajbari National Park. These protected areas cover a total of 566.93 km2 (218.89 sq mi). Gumti is also an Important Bird Area. In winter, thousands of migratory waterfowl throng Gumti and Rudrasagar lakes.

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