AA CAVE, Hee Gyathang R.F.

Herbert Daniel Gebauer - 06/01/2018

At least one, if not several yet undiscovered caves, so far only indicated by the presence of habitual cave dwelling bats (note 1), have not been searched for or found in the Hee Gyathang Reserve Forest. SITUATION: About 17 km along the road approximately west-southwest of Mangan (note 2), the district headquarters of North Sikkim, and somewhere in the vicinity of Teen-ku- Pokhari, which is a hill stream pool in the Hee Gyathang Reserve Forest on the east-facing slope above the right (west) bank of the river Tista. CAVE LIFE: GHOSE & GHOSAL (1994) reported to have collected in a mist net at Teen-ku-Pokhari two individuals of the Fulvous Fruit Bat, (Chiroptera: Rousettus leschenaulti Desmarest 1820), a habitual cave dwelling species. The stomachs of the usually vegetarian bat contained undigested bone pieces and muscle fibres of fish, which was caught from the surface of a pool full of small fish and tadpole.At least one, if not several yet undiscovered caves, so far only indicated by the presence of habitual cave dwelling bats (note 1), have not been searched for or found in the Hee Gyathang Reserve Forest. SITUATION: About 17 km along the road approximately west-southwest of Mangan (note 2), the district headquarters of North Sikkim, and somewhere in the vicinity of Teen-ku- Pokhari, which is a hill stream pool in the Hee Gyathang Reserve Forest on the east-facing slope above the right (west) bank of the river Tista. CAVE LIFE: GHOSE & GHOSAL (1994) reported to have collected in a mist net at Teen-ku-Pokhari two individuals of the Fulvous Fruit Bat, (Chiroptera: Rousettus leschenaulti Desmarest 1820), a habitual cave dwelling species. The stomachs of the usually vegetarian bat contained undigested bone pieces and muscle fibres of fish, which was caught from the surface of a pool full of small fish and tadpole.