| Blessed with an amazing variety of
flora and fauna, 67% of the geographical area of Manipur is hill tract
covered forests. Depending on the altitude of hill ranges, the climatic
condition varies from tropical to sub-alpine. The wet forests and the pine
forests occur between 900-2700 m above MSL and they together sustain a
host of rare and endemic plant and animal life.Coveted the world over as
some of the most beautiful and precious blooms, orchids have an aura of
exotic, mysteries about them.
In Manipur, they are abound in their natural habitat growing in soil or
on trees and shrubs speaking their beauty and colour, stunning the eye
that is not used to seeing them. in such profusion. There are 500
varieties of orchids which grow in Manipur of which 472 have been
identified
In addition to 'Siroi Lily' which is the only terrestrial lily grown on
the hill tops of Siroi hill, Ukhrul, the Hoolock Gibbon, the Sloe Loris,
the Clauded Leopard, the Spotted Linshang, Mrs. Hume's Barbacked Pheasant,
Blyths Tragopan, Burmese Pea-Fowl, four different species of Hornbills
etc. form only a part of the rich natural fauna of Manipur. However, the
most unique is the Sangai the dancing deer. The floating mass of
vegetation on the Loktak Lake sustains small herds of this endemic deer
which unfortunately has the dubious distinction of being the most
threatened Cervid (known as Phumdi) in the World. Other mentionable fauna
is Salamander known as 'Lengwa' found at the foothill of Siroi in Ukhrul.
|
