Proud to be a Sikkimese: Sikkim Travel, Culture & Local Heritage

SINGTAM, MARCH 21:   The students and teachers observed World Sparrow Day at its school building on March 20. The day marked with an awareness workshop followed by competitions on activities related to preservation and conservation of birds. Santosh Sharma (pursuing PhD on Avian diversity of Sikkim, Gurukula Kangri University, Haridwar) and Krishna Prasad Dahal, (pursuing M.Sc on Forestry, NERIST, Arunachal Pradesh) were the speakers of the day. Mahesh Dahal, Headmaster, Chisopani JHS and his staff were present on the occasion. More than hundred students attended the programme. The best part of the day was when a few students submitted their catapults to the school and vowed not to shoot the birds in the near future. Altogether 8 catapults were received by the school. Competitions were held for the students that included nest making, treehouse making, placards, and short speeches on the importance of birds. More than 40 students had participated on the competitions. Following wer...

In my little knowledge, there are two instances that a tortoise was ever recorded in Sikkim, on both occasions the tortoise was reported to be Indotestudo elongata .     * The first recorded instance was during the last week of July 2008 a little yellow tortoise was found by two labours working at the site of a Rock Garden construction, at the base of nearby Tarey Bhir (South Sikkim) on the bank of a seasonal rivulet called Khanni Khola. that was later identified by Usha Lachungpa Sr. Research Officer (WL), she identified it as a male Sal Forest Tortoise Indotestudo elongata (Blyth) of the Family Testudinidae. * The second finding was from Chalamthang near Rhenock (East Sikkim) on June 27, 2011 . The yellowish color tortoise weighed around 3.5 to 4 Kg. It was later taken to Kitam Bird Sanctuary. It was rescued by Mani Kumar Pradhan, resident of Chalamthang. The department confirmed the species as Indotestudo elongata , an endangered species. This cold-bloo...

This is a caterpillar of Melanitis leda bankia. It was one of the wonderful finds for me. This small creature is green in colour with a white spot. It has a fascinating pair of black horns and a pair of horns towards its lower end. It is commonly known as Evening Brown Butterfly.

Never seen a praying mantis in this colour before.......

A baby spider is called a spiderling (since they hatch from eggs, they are also hatchlings )  

I found these photographs in one of the website and was interested enough to share with my readers. Since i am teaching about the different stages of a birth of a butterfly these days. So the pic was more than a fun for me.

Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Lepidoptera Family: Sphingidae Genus: Theretra Species: T. oldenlandiae

A beautiful insect that visited my room tonight

An owl visited me this early morning at around 2.30 am. The little bird did scared me off. It entered my room from the open window.  After half an hour it went off.

30 kg  fish caught at the  Singtam River I do not know how factual it is, but I have come across an article (could have been written a few years back) that says there is or was a suggested possibility of the existence of some kind of riverine mammals, like the fantasy of mermaids , or it could even be a Gangetic Dolphin in the regions from Rangpo and Singtam . I am from Singtam , but I have never heard of such a strange story apart from the  30 kg fish  that was caught at the bank of the  Singtam River last year. Thou sound fascinating, but I would love to read more about it. The information provided is from the desk of a WWF-India-Department of Science and Technology, Sikkim Project , and the researchers are Dr. Ajeya Jha , Sikkim Manipal Institute of Technology , and Dr. R.K. Avasthe , Indian Council for Agricultural Research . The complete article is found on the website of the National Informatics Center, Sikkim , under the topic of Mammals of Sikkim ...

Gangtok, Aug. 11: Two months after a Himalayan serow, a threatened species of mountain goat, was found dead at the Teesta Stage III project site in North Sikkim, Affected Citizens of Teesta (ACT) has questioned the alleged inaction of the government in bringing the construction company to book. The chief coordinator of ACT, Tseten Lepcha, said except for an FIR, no proper action had been taken. “The forest department has been dragging its feet ostensibly to secure local witnesses, which is not possible as the project site is overrun with labourers and company employees, none of whom are residents of Sikkim,” Lepcha said. The FIR lodged by the forest department after the serow’s death mentioned that the animal was found with a broken horn and there was blood all around it. Lepcha said the post mortem findings of the veterinary do...

{ If there is heaven on earth then it could be none other than Kashmir wrote one of the noted poets of India but he might have mistakenly, he never visited Sikkim . Sikkim may never be as Kashmir but you need to set foot in this mystic land to discover the pleasure of a lifetime. Sikkim is home to adventure, trekking, and sightseeing. For the readers of Illumine here comes an opportunity to understand this very beautiful state } An Introduction of Sikkim State The small state of Sikkim in the Indian Union is known throughout the globe for its beautiful floras, majestic Mt Kanchenjunga, and path-breaking panoramic view of the green lush valley. Prior to its merger with India on May 16, 1975, this state was a small Himalayan kingdom ruled by the Namgyal Dynasty. The end of 300 years of the monarchial system led to the move of the democratic system in Sikkim with Lendup Dorji Khangserpa becoming the first Chief Minister of Sikkim . Today Sikkim is looked upon for a ...

Multiple varieties of fish are one of the major attractions for which Sikkim is popular among ichthyologists, says PK Ghosh The Lepchas have named Sikkim as Nye-mae-el. The land provides tourists with a panorama of pleasant surprises. The state, bounded by Bhutan and West Bengal on the east, Nepal on the west, West Bengal on the south, and Tibet on the north, has a population of 5,50,000. Sikkim is blessed with beautiful and luxuriant natural resources both fauna and flora from water and jungle. Among all these fishes have been well documented for 150 years by the authors/taxonomists namely McClelland (1845) who had described three local species of fishes. Similarly, other ichthyologists like Gunther (1868), Day (1878), Hora (1923), Raj Tilak (1972), and Puspa Tamang (1992) of recent time have described and reported 48 species of fish from this Himalayan region. There is a variety of fishes found in the Himalayan belt that have encouraged many ichthyologists over the years to extend ...