Royal Bengal Tiger Photographed in Arunachal Sanctuary After 20 Years

A Royal Bengal Tiger has been photographed in the D Ering Memorial Wildlife Sanctuary in Arunachal Pradesh for the first time in nearly 20 years, following a camera trap survey conducted with technical support from the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE). The last confirmed evidence of a tiger in the sanctuary dates back to 2005, with no verified records until now.

The sanctuary, located 13 kilometres from Pasighat in East Siang district, spans 190 square kilometres and is bordered by the Siang and Sibya rivers. Previous surveys, including a 2014 World Wide Fund for Nature baseline study, found no tiger pugmarks or photographic evidence, attributing their absence to rampant poaching. Signs of tiger presence re-emerged in January 2026, when foresters in Assam's Jonai forest range recorded pugmarks near the border.

Divisional Forest Officer Kempi Ete credited frontline forest staff, Eco-Development Committees, and local communities for the sanctuary's ecological recovery. The survey also documented the critically endangered Chinese Pangolin and the rare Hispid Hare, underscoring the site's biodiversity value as the only riparian grassland ecosystem in Arunachal's protected areas.

Officials said indirect signs of tiger movement had been observed over the past year, but photographic confirmation was only recently achieved. Environmentalists welcomed the sighting, noting its potential to boost ecotourism. The forest department plans to expand monitoring and strengthen protection measures in the sanctuary.