PHOTO: SABIT HASAN

MINTU DESHWARA, Moulvibazar

Lawachara National Park, a protected forest spanning 1,250 hectares in Moulvibazar district, is home to rich biodiversity and is one of the last remaining strongholds of the critically endangered hoolock gibbons in the country.

In 1996, the government officially declared Lawachara forest a national park under the Wildlife Act of 1974, recognising its immense ecological value.

The forest currently hosts 460 species of flora and fauna, including 167 species of plants, four amphibians, six reptiles, 246 birds, and 20 mammals.

The park has garnered international attention for the critically endangered primates thriving there, particularly the hoolock gibbons.

Once widespread in the country’s natural forests, the hoolock gibbon population plummeted by around 80 percent, from over 3,000 to approximately 400, due to deforestation and habitat loss over the past 30 years, according to Forest Department sources.

A recent study by researchers from Jagannath University found that 13 hoolock gibbon families, comprising approximately 48 primates, are currently thriving in the forest. More hoolock gibbon families have been identified in the adjacent Kalachara and Chautali forests.

“My latest survey found 48 primates from 13 gibbon families in the Lawachara forest. Still, there is room for more gibbons to thrive in Lawachara. Proper habitat management initiatives are urgent for gibbons in this semi-evergreen habitat,” said Sabit Hasan, a researcher.

Although the population density of gibbons in Lawachara is higher than in other forests, their habitat is still facing anthropogenic pressure from habitat destruction, he added.

“Hoolock gibbons closely resemble monkeys but are distinguished by their tailless bodies, long limbs, and

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