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

An article published on the website of the National Informatics Centre, Sikkim under the topic of Mammals of Sikkim in 2009 mentioned the possibility of Gangetic Dolphin at the river belt of Singtam – Rangpo. The report read - Distribution in Sikkim: May exist at Singtam, Rangpo and Melli (the confluence of Teesta and Rangeet). Size: Generally 2 m in length.  Gangetic Dolphin will not exactly be out of its range if is found to exist in our state. It is a creature found in the Ganges, the Brahmaputra and their larger tributaries to the bases of the hills. Their migratory behaviour, however, makes their presence possible here, particularly during the summer months.   I do not exactly know the further development of that suggested research but the river Teesta does surprises you with its secrets deep within. Since the construction of dams in neighbouring states those fishes that used to migrate for freshwater to lay their eggs are no more to be found.  I do remem...

The  Indian mottled eel,  locally known as Raj Bam,   was recovered from the Singtam River at Golitar this early morning.  The snake-like fish weighed around 7 kg and was four feet long. The local people said that they had never seen this species for so long. Such mysterious-looking marine fish are also sighted from time to time on the river banks, local people added.

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 ...