![]() | This article contains wording that promotes the subject in a subjective manner without imparting real information.(January 2024) |
Anwaruddin Choudhury is an Indian naturalist, noted for his expertise on the fauna of North-East India. [1]
Choudhury is an ornithologist, mammalogist, artist, civil servant, photographer and author. He is recognized by many as an eminent naturalist and conservationist studying wildlife throughout North-East India and adjacent areas. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] He is a trustee and the Honorary Chief Executive of the Rhino Foundation for nature in North East India [4] [6] and was Deputy Commissioner (District Magistrate) of Baksa and Lakhimpur districts in Assam and also served as Secretary with the government of Assam. He retired as Divisional Commissioner of Barak valley, Development Commissioner for Hill Areas and Commissioner & Secretary to the Government of Assam in August 2019. Known as the "Birdman of Assam", he was the first to produce books on the birds of different northeastern states including Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram and Meghalaya. [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] His studies have contributed enormously to the conservation and awareness in North-East India. He is the author of 28 books and more than 950 articles and scientific papers. His first article, which was on birds was published in 1977. Choudhury is recognised as one of India's well known wildlife experts and conservationists. In particular he has spent four and half decades following the fortunes of North-East India's wildlife. [6]
Born in Shillong, Meghalaya in 1959 to Alauddin Choudhury and Hena Mazumder, oldest of the four siblings Shahida, Afsar and Akhtar, Choudhury had his schooling in Public High School, Hailakandi (1967), Government Boys High School at Mawkhar, Shillong (1967-1970) and Government Victoria Memorial High School, Hailakandi from where he passed matriculation in second division in 1974. He initially studied science in college but received his Bachelor of Arts degree with Honours in Geography from the B.Borooah College, Guwahati by securing 1st class 1st position in 1981, and went on to Gauhati University to obtain his Master of Arts degree in geography in 1985, also securing 1st class 1st position and gold medal. He obtained his PhD on primates of Assam in 1989 under the guidance of Mohammed Taher. [3] [4] He became only the second person to get a DSc from Gauhati University, which was on systematic review of mammals of North-east India in 2008. He married Bilkis Begum Mazumdar in 1994. A daughter, Dona, and a son, Dino, were born. His maternal grandfather Abdul Matlib Mazumder was a freedom fighter and was Cabinet Minister in Assam from 1946 to 1970 (with some gap).[ citation needed ] Choudhury took up interest in wildlife since unknown childhood and continued with his love of wildlife and nature conservation.
In 1983, Choudhury joined Assam Civil Service officer Class I (subsequently inducted to Indian Administrative Service w.e.f. 1999) holding various important posts such as EAC, Executive Magistrate, Research Officer, Sub-divisional Officer (civil), Additional Deputy Commissioner with temporary charges of District Transport Officer and Chief Executive of Fish Farmers Development, Project Director of Rural Development, Project Coordinator of Shifting Cultivation control, Joint Secretary of Environment & Forests, Tourism; Director of Tea, managing director of Assam Financial Corporation and Assam Conductors & Tubes, Secretary of the State Election Commission, Deputy Commissioner & District Magistrate, Secretary to the Government of Assam, Development Commissioner, Divisional Commissioner, and Commissioner & Secretary to the Government of Assam. The departments he worked as Deputy Secretary to Commissioner & Secretary included Cooperation, Environment & Forest, Tourism, Parliamentary Affairs, Secretariat Administration, Hill Areas, Handloom, Textiles & Sericulture, Power and Mines & Minerals. Besides Barak Valley, he also held temporary charges of Divisional Commissioner of North Assam, Lower Assam and Central Assam. He was also empaneled for the post of Vice Chancellor twice. He is (since 2021) one of the Nominees of the Governor of Assam to Bodoland University, Kokrajhar. During his service career as a bureaucrat he was posted in different districts of Assam such as undivided Kamrup, Sivasagar, Lakhimpur, Karbi Anglong, Tinsukia and Baksa. Coincidentally he held some of the founder positions, which no civil servant can predict or are very rare. These were:
He has artistic talent, which; however, was not inherited from anybody. He had his first exhibition in Guwahati in 1975 that was held jointly with noted artists Manabendra Baruah and Ajan Barua. Choudhury has published his artworks in various Indian and international journals, magazines and periodicals including a cover of the Oriental Bird Club Bulletin published from U.K. [13] He has also profusely illustrated his books with his art work.
Casual bird watching took a serious scientific approach in the early 1980s. Choudhury pioneered long-term ornithological works in North-East India, which is nearly five decades old. He started writing for popular magazines and started a regular weekly column as ‘Birds of Assam’ in an English daily The Sentinel published from Guwahati. The publications in local newspapers in 1980s brought him recognition in the field of ornithology across Assam but his writings in international scientific journals and his books brought him recognition in the field of ornithology far and wide. [1] [4] [5] Choudhury undertook systematic bird surveys in different pockets of North-East India. He rediscovered a rare galliform species, Manipur bush quail in Assam after its last record 75 years ago. [1] [5] He has made several new country records for India and Bhutan. He was Coordinator of Asian Mid-winter Waterfowl Census for Assam and is also coordinator for the North East India. [14] He is also the State Coordinator of the Indian Bird Conservation Network. [15]
He has done pioneering path-breaking studies on the endangered White-winged wood duck [16] [17] and Mrs Hume's pheasant, [18] which revealed their accurate range and status in India. He also campaigned for conservation of migratory Amur Falcons in Assam from 1994 onwards, Manipur in 2001 and in Nagaland in 2004. He carried out detailed monitoring of roosting population of this falcon in 2017–19 in Karbi Anglong, which revealed lot of new information on the species including annual fluctuation of population. [19]
Choudhury pioneered long-term primate research in North-East India since mid-1980s, nearly four decades ago. In 1986, he traveled to North Cachar Hills (renamed Dima Hasao district) to start a two-decade long research on primates that covered the entire North-East India in later years. [20] [21] [22] Little was known about the life of these simians in the wild until he started his writings on them. He has made several country records for India and Bhutan. But the most significant are discovery and description of three flying squirrels, new to science in 2007, 2009 and 2013. The tree new flying squirrel species that were described by Choudhury in 2007–2013 are: [23] [24] [25]
The holotypes of these flying squirrel species are in the collection of the Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata.
He also discovered a new species of primate but identified it as a subspecies of Macaca thibetana . [26] This was later on described by other scientists as Macaca munzala . [27] Recently he described a new subspecies of hoolock gibbon. This has been named by him Hoolock hoolock mishmiensis . [28] Describing new species and subspecies of mammals in the 21st century is undoubtedly very significant. He also revealed for the first time that the stump-tailed and pig-tailed macaques are restricted by the Brahmaputra towards west of their range. [29] His authoritative works on the wild water buffalo have been published recently as the first monograph on this endangered species. [30] His 432-page The Mammals of North East India which was launched in 2013 is the most comprehensive and authoritative such work on any part of India. [31] Choudhury's observations on capped langur revealed hitherto unrecorded differences in facial hair patterns (especially the cap) that differentiate the three subspecies, which was earlier based upon colour variations. The hair patterns have been found to be more dependable than color patterns. [32] [33]
He is the founder Chief Executive of the Rhino Foundation for nature in North East India, a leading NGO of India since 1995. This NGO was founded by some leading tea companies and its founder chairperson was Anne Wright, Anil Kumar Goswami, a leading scientist of Assam is its current chairperson. [34] His pioneering work in conservation also contributed greatly to the awareness in North East India. His stewardship of the Rhino Foundation for nature in North East India as well as his other activities was recognised and he was appointed a member of the State Board for Wildlife, the highest policy making official body on wildlife in 2003 by the Government of Assam. The Government of Assam has also made him members of two other high official bodies, the State Wetland Steering Committee in 2003 (for some a few years) and State Pollution Control Board in 2008 (till 2022)(for a few years). Prior to that the Government of India made the Rhino Foundation for nature in North East India a member of the Indian Board for Wildlife in 1999, which was headed by the then Prime Minister of India Atal Behari Bajpayee. He was one of early members of the World Wide Fund for Nature (formerly called the World Wildlife Fund), and the Bombay Natural History Society in North-East India (since 1981) and has actively contributed towards their activities in this region including wildlife surveys, awareness and identification of Important Bird Areas.
Choudhury is a member of eight IUCN/SSC/BLI Specialist Groups, which in itself is a major conservation achievement. He is a member of IUCN/SSC Asian Elephant, Asian Rhino, Asian Wild Cattle, Bear, Cat Specialist Groups, and IUCN/SSC/BLI Waterbird and Galliformes Specialist Groups. [35] [36] In addition he is a member of IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group's South Asian Network and was also with IUCN/SSC Conservation Breeding and Small Carnivore Specialist Groups. Choudhury is also member of International Asiatic Black Bear, Sun Bear and Sloth Bear Expert Groups. Among official bodies, he is a member of several Government of Assam bodies, these include the State Board for Wildlife (since 2004), Assam State Pollution Control Board (2008-2022), RhinoVision 2020 (2005-2020),Task Force for translocation of Rhinos within Assam (since 2010) and Committee on creation of Tiger Reserve/National Park, Wildlife Division, etc., in Karbi Anglong Districts (2023-) and Permanent Invitee, “Technical Committee” on scientific research in Protected Areas of Assam (since 2023). In the 1980s and 1990s, he went to the remote Himalayan region in Arunachal Pradesh and Bhutan, and to the mountainous regions of Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram, which are occupied by people of the Tibetan-Burman and Tibeto-Chinese ethnicity and who heavily supplement their income by hunting wildlife (except Bhutan). [37] Choudhury was there to study the vanishing wildlife as well as motivating the people for conservation with various amounts of success.
Choudhury's work in conservation has resulted in the identification and subsequently protection of a large number of areas in the North-East India, more particularly Assam. Due to his work, more than 15 wildlife sanctuaries have been established, including Bordoibam-Bilmukh, Pani-Dihing, Barail, Bherjan-Borajan-Podumoni, Dihing-Patkai, Hollongapar Gibbon, Nambor-Doigrung, Nambor, East Karbi Anglong, North Karbi Anglong, Amchang, Marat Longri, Barak-Bhuban and Narpuh; and two elephant reserves, the Dhansiri-Lungding and Dihing-Patkai. He was also instrumental in upgrading Dibru-Saikhowa into a national park, inclusion of Laokhowa and Burhachapori Sanctuaries in Kaziranga Tiger Reserve and declaration of the white-winged wood duck as the state bird of Assam. He is among very few fortunate scientists who could implement their own scientific/conservation recommendations later on as a bureaucrat. Many of the above have been officially notified and gazetted by himself as the Deputy Secretary and later as Joint Secretary to the Government in Environment & Forest Department. He was also a key member of the Assam Forest Policy Drafting Committee.
His writings in the 1980s also resulted in shelving of a railway project through the southern edge of world-famous Kaziranga National Park and World Heritage Site. [38]
As a bureaucrat, Anwaruddin Choudhury was influential in ensuring a rural district of Assam to start e-governance giving transparency to the rural poor. He also took active part and partially succeeded in reducing social murders in the name of witch-hunting in remote areas such as Baksa district at the edge of Eastern Himalaya in Assam. [39] [40] Choudhury's influence helped save many protected areas in North-East India from environmentally destructive developmental projects. The diversion of a National Highway from Manas National Park and Tiger Reserve near Koklabari, construction of two wildlife-movement underpasses on the diverted portion of the highway to Nganglam (in Bhutan) near Manas in 2007-10, and a power line from Dulung Reserved Forest in Lakhimpur district in 2012-13 are recent examples. [41] He always spoken against such projects including mega dams. [42]
Anwaruddin Choudhury has written 28 books and monographs, and more than 50 technical reports on the birds and mammals of North East India based on his own studies, and supported by long-term observations (list below). He has also written more than 950 articles and scientific papers about wildlife and conservation. He has published significant number of articles and papers in prestigious journals such as 93 articles starting from 1988 in Journal of Bombay Natural History Society, 14 articles starting from 1987 in Oryx (UK), 21 articles starting from 1983 in Tigerpaper (Thailand), 19 articles starting from 1991 in Newsletter for Birdwatchers, 20 articles starting from 2006 in Indian Birds, 15 and 18 articles respectively starting from 1991 each in Forktail journal (UK) and BirdingAsia, 74 articles starting from 1996 in Journal & Newsletter of the Rhino Foundation, 22 articles starting from 2000 in Mistnet, 19 articles starting from 1982 in Sanctuary Asia, 18 articles starting from 1996 in Environ. In addition he also published in Folia Parimatologica (Switzerland), American Journal of Primatology, Primate conservation (both in USA), Journal of Tropical Ecology (UK), Primate Report (Germany), Danphe (Nepal), Pachyderm (Kenya) among others. Nearly four decades, Choudhury's field research has helped shape wildlife protection efforts in India more particularly in North-East India. Many of Choudhury's books continue to be references for the study of birds and mammals in North-East India. He is the author of:
Choudhury's honours include:
Kaziranga National Park is a national park in the Golaghat and Nagaon districts of the state of Assam, India. The park, which hosts two-thirds of the world's Indian rhinoceroses, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. According to the census held in March 2018 which was jointly conducted by the Forest Department of the Government of Assam and some recognized wildlife NGOs, the rhino population in Kaziranga National Park is 2,613. It comprises 1,641 adult rhinos ; 387 sub-adults ; and 385 calves.
The hoolock gibbons are three primate species of genus Hoolock in the gibbon family, Hylobatidae, native to eastern Bangladesh, Northeast India, Myanmar, and Southwest China.
Dibang Valley (Pron:/dɪˈbæŋ/) is a district of Arunachal Pradesh named after the Dibang River or the Talon as the Mishmis call it. It is the least populated district in India and has an area of 9,129 square kilometres (3,525 sq mi).
West Siang district is an administrative district in the state of Arunachal Pradesh in India.
Walong is an administrative town and the headquarters of eponymous circle in the Anjaw district in eastern-most part of Arunachal Pradesh state in India. It also has a small cantonment of the Indian Army. Walong is on banks of Lohit River, which enters India 35 km north of Walong at India-China LAC at Kaho pass.
Dibru-Saikhowa National Park is a national park located in Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts, Assam, India. It was designated a Biosphere Reserve in July 1997 with an area of 765 km2 (295 sq mi), including a core area of 340 km2 (130 sq mi) and a buffer zone of 425 km2 (164 sq mi).
Anjaw District (Pron:/ˈændʒɔ:/) is an administrative district in the state of Arunachal Pradesh in north-east India. It was created district in 2004, by splitting off from the Lohit district under the Arunachal Pradesh Re-organization of Districts Amendment Act. The district borders China on the north. Hawai, at an altitude of 1296 m above sea level, is the district headquarters, located on the banks of the Lohit River, a tributary of the Brahmaputra River. It is the easternmost district in India. The furthest villages towards the border with China are Dong, Walong, Kibithu and Kaho.
The Lower Dibang Valley district (Pron:/dɪˈbæŋ/) is an administrative district in the state of Arunachal Pradesh in northeastern India. It is the tenth least populous district in the country.
The biodiversity of Assam, a state in North-East India, makes it a biological hotspot with many rare and endemic plant and animal species. The greatest success in recent years has been the conservation of the Indian rhinoceros at the Kaziranga National Park, but a rapid increase in human population in Assam threatens many plants and animals and their natural habitats.
Eaglenest or Eagle's Nest Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected area of India in the Himalayan foothills of West Kameng District, Arunachal Pradesh. It conjoins Sessa Orchid Sanctuary to the northeast and Pakhui Tiger Reserve across the Kameng river to the east. Altitude ranges are extreme: from 500 metres (1,640 ft) to 3,250 metres (10,663 ft). It is a part of the Kameng Elephant Reserve.
Balpakram is located in South Garo Hills district in Meghalaya, India.
Dihang-Dibang or Dehang-Debang is a biosphere reserve constituted in 1998. It is in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. The Mouling National Park and the Dibang Wildlife Sanctuary are located fully or partly within this biosphere reserve. The reserve spreads over three districts: Dibang Valley, Upper Siang, and West Siang. It covers high mountains of Eastern Himalaya and Mishmi Hills. The elevation in the reserve ranges up to more than 5,000 metres (16,000 ft) above sea level. An important fact relating to this Biosphere reserve is that it has natural vegetation stretching in an unbroken sequence from the tropics to mountain tundra. The type of vegetation found in this biosphere reserve can be grouped as 1. Sub-tropical broad leafed forests, 2. Sub tropical pine forest, 3. Temperate broad leafed forests, 4. Temperate conifer, 5. Sub-alpine woody shrub, 6. Alpine meadow( mountain Tundra), 7. Bamboo brakes, 8. Grassland. The habitat in Dihang-Dibang ranges from tropical wet evergreen in the river gorges to subtropical, temperate, alpine and permanent snow.
The Dibang Wildlife Sanctuary is one of the eight wildlife sanctuaries of Arunachal Pradesh, India.
Dehing Patkai National Park is located in the Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts of Assam and covers an area of 231.65 km2 (89.44 sq mi) rainforest. It was declared a wildlife sanctuary on 13 June 2004. On 13 December 2020 Government of Assam upgraded it into a national park. On 9 June 2021 Forest Department of Assam officially notified it as a national park. It is located in the Dehing Patkai Landscape which is a dipterocarp-dominated lowland rainforest. The rainforest stretches for more than 575 km2 (222 sq mi) in the districts of Dibrugarh, Tinsukia and Charaideo. The forest further spreads over in the Tirap and Changlang districts of Arunachal Pradesh. Dehing Patkai National Park harbours the largest stretch of lowland rainforests in India. Dehing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary was declared as Dehing Patkai Elephant Reserve under Project Elephant. Dehing-Patkai as a potential wildlife sanctuary was identified in late 1980s during a primate survey as "Upper Dehing Wildlife Sanctuary". Subsequently during a study on white-winged wood duck in early 1990s, it was discovered as a globally important site for this duck and recommended to be upgraded to "Upper Dehing National Park".
Nambor Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected area located in Karbi Anglong district of Assam in India. This wildlife sanctuary covers an area of 37 km2. The area was declared as a sanctuary on 27 July 2000. It is located 25 km from Golaghat district and 65 km from the Kaziranga National Park. Together with Garampani Wildlife Sanctuary of Karbi Anglong and Nambor-Doigrung Wildlife Sanctuary of Golaghat distrcit it forms a larger complex of wilderness. The proposal for this sanctuary was made in 1993.
Pani-Dihing Bird Sanctuary is a 33.93-square-kilometre (13.10 sq mi) bird sanctuary located in Sivasagar district, Assam. It is 22 km (14 mi) away from Sivasagar town. This protected area was established as a Bird Sanctuary in August 1996 by the Government of Assam. It was identified as a potential bird sanctuary in late 1980s. The first systematic ornithological surveys in the area was conducted by noted conservationist Dr Anwaruddin Choudhury in 1987-88. Pani-Dihing is a complex of grassland and wetland. Some of the wetlands including channels or beels include Tokia, Jarjaria, Boloma, Dighali, Singorajan, Sagunpora, Kandhulijan, Fulai and Gaiguma. A detailed background of Pani-Dihing has also been published. Pani-Dihing and adjacent areas is on the global map being an Important Bird & Biodiversity Area
BARAIL Wildlife Sanctuary is located in the southern part of Assam, India, in Cachar district and lies between 24°55΄53΄΄-25°05΄52΄΄ N latitude and 92°27΄40΄΄-93°04΄30΄΄ E longitude. The Dima Hasao part of Barail is not part of this sanctuary. The altitude ranges between 55–1500 m above mean sea level. It spreads over 326.24 km2. The annual average rainfall and temperature range from 2500–4000 mm and 9.2 °C to 36.2 °C respectively; the Humidity varies from 62% to 83%. Field works in Barail area proposed as a national park/sanctuary in 1980s.
Assam – 16th largest, 15th most populous and 26th most literate state of the 28 states of the democratic Republic of India. Assam is at 14th position in life expectancy and 8th in female-to-male sex ratio. Assam is the 21st most media exposed states in India. The Economy of Assam is largely agriculture based with 69% of the population engaged in it. Growth rate of Assam's income has not kept pace with that of India's during the Post-British Era; differences increased rapidly since the 1970s. While the Indian economy grew at 6 percent per annum over the period of 1981 to 2000, the same of Assam's grew only by 3.3 percent.
The Amchang Wildlife Sanctuary is a wildlife sanctuary located on the eastern fringe of Guwahati, Assam, India. The sanctuary is known for hosting rare and endangered birds and animals. Amchang's habitat is dominated by tropical moist deciduous forest with semi-evergreen forest in depressions and river-valleys. It is known for its elephants which have become isolated with no movement with other elephant-populations. The first published information of these elephants was found in 1985 There were depredations in the fringe areas, which are part of Guwahati city, the capital of Assam. It was acute as the pachyderms were confined to an isolated forest not very large. Hence, a protected area was mooted. The wild elephants from Amchang often enter parts of Guwahati City but on a few occasions they travelled to the heart of the city. The sanctuary has other mammals such as Chinese pangolin, slow loris, Assamese macaque, rhesus monkey, hoolock gibbon, leopard, leopard cat, jungle cat, sambar, barking deer, red serow, Malayan giant squirrel, crestless Himalayan porcupine. However, it is the presence of an isolated population of gaur or Indian "bison" that has added significance to Amchang. This bovid is also confined to this sanctuary with no links to other areas. Amchang is an Important Bird & Biodiversity Area. The sanctuary has a diverse birdlife. Some noteworthy species found includes White-backed vulture, Slender-billed vulture, White-cheeked hill partridges, Grey peacock pheasant, Kaleej pheasant, Greater adjutant stork mostly in flight, Great pied hornbill, Oriental pied hornbill and Green imperial pigeon among many others. Prior to 2004, the area was made up of three individual reserved forests, the Amchang reserved forest, South Amchang reserved forest and Khanapara reserved forest. These three forests were combined in 2004 by the Assam government to form the sanctuary as it exists today. It is spread over in an area of 78.64 square kilometre
Raimona National Park is located in extreme western part of Assam, India. It is spread across Gossaigaon and Kokrajhar subdivisions of Kokrajhar district of Bodoland Territorial Region.