HORNBILLS / PAKKE TIGER RESERVE

Recent study:

• The study was carried out by researchers from Nature Conservation Foundation, Mysore.
  
  
• Among the different bird species, hornbills were found to be the most effective seed dispersers. They were found to swallow and disperse most of the fruits they handled. They also removed maximum number of fruits — and therefore seeds — in every visit to a fruiting tree.
  
  
• They swallow the fruit as a whole causing no damage to the seed. They are known to disperse seeds far away from the parent plant (up to 13 km).
  
  
• Plants depend on frugivore birds to disperse the seeds at favourable sites, which have low competition and predation pressures, to expand their geographic range. And so the decline of frugivores could severely affect the ecosystem.
  
  

Pakke Tiger Reserve: 

• Names: Pakke Tiger Reserve, also known as Pakhui Tiger Reserve, is a Project Tiger reserve.
  
  
• Location: It is located in the East Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh.
  
  
• Neighbouring areas and rivers: Towards the south and south-east, the sanctuary adjoins Nameri National Park of Assam. To the east lies the Pakke River and to the west, the park is bounded by the Bhareli or Kameng River.