Pangalokha Wildlife Sanctuary

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Context

• A Royal Bengal Tiger was spotted in Pangalokha Wildlife Sanctuary in Sikkim.

Pangalokha Wildlife Sanctuary

• The Pangalokha Wildlife Sanctuary is located at the tri-junction of Sikkim, Bengal and Bhutan.
• It is the largest wildlife sanctuary in Sikkim.
• This wildlife sanctuary is linked to the forests of Neora Valley National Park of West Bengal as well as forests of Samtse, Bhutan and Haa district Bhutan.
• The sanctuary is home to a diverse range of species, including red pandas, snow leopards, Himalayan musk deer, Himalayan goral, and Himalayan black bears.
• Pangolakha range in the east separates Sikkim from its eastern neighboring country Bhutan, whereas it is linked through forest patches to the south with Neora Valley National Park in West Bengal.
• Some high-altitude lakes are present there, including Lake Tsongmo, which acts as a biodiversity hotspot for migratory birds.
• Rangpo River and Jaldhaka River are the major rivers originating from the nearby lakes, which occur in this sanctuary.
• This wildlife sanctuary supports a large variety of species since it falls at the junction of the Palearctic realm and the Indomalayan realm.
• The sanctuary is home to a diverse range of species, including red pandas, snow leopards, Himalayan musk deer, Himalayan goral, and Himalayan black bears.

Ecoregions and biomes

Inside this wildlife sanctuary, the primary ecoregions and their corresponding biomes are:

• Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands of the tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome,
• Eastern Himalayan broadleaf forests of the tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests biome,
• Himalayan subtropical pine forests of the tropical and subtropical coniferous forests biome,
• Eastern Himalayan subalpine conifer forests of the temperate coniferous forests biome, and
• Eastern Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows of the montane grasslands and shrublands biome
• All of these are typical of the Bhutan - Nepal - India hilly region.