Context: Recently, People in Manipur are protesting against the decision taken by the state government to shift Keibul Lamjao National Park in Bishnupur district.

• Activists surrounding the park have now taken up the cudgels to ensure that the government does not shift the proposed heritage park from the approved site.

Keibul Lamjao National Park (KLNP)

• The KLNP is a national park in the Bishnupur district of the state of Manipur in India.
• It is 40 km2 in area, the only floating park in the world, located in North East India, and an integral part of Loktak Lake.
• The national park is characterized by floating decomposed plant material locally called Phumdi at the south–eastern side of the Loktak Lake, which has been declared a Ramsar site.
• It was created in 1966 as a wildlife sanctuary to preserve the natural habitat of the endangered Eld’s deer.
• In 1977, it was gazetted as national park.

Topography

• It is a swamp with several floating masses of vegetation.
• They are formed by an accumulation of organic dump and biomass creating solid floating mass called ‘Phumdis’ in the lake.
• These masses float in the Loktak Lake.
• Flora: moist semi–evergreen forests.
• Fauna: wild boar, large Indian civet, common otter fox, jungle cat, tortoise, viper, water cobra etc.
• Prominent bird species: East Himalayan pied kingfisher, black kite, lesser sky-lark, northern hill myna, Indian pied myna etc.

Sangai Deer

• It is an endemic and endangered subspecies of Eld's deer found only in Manipur, India.
• It is also the state animal of Manipur.
• Its original habitat is the floating marshy grasslands of the Keibul Lamjao National Park.

Characteristics

• Sangai is a medium-sized deer, with uniquely distinctive antlers, long brow tine.
• The sexes are dimorphic in body size and weight.
• The tail is short.
• It has a dark reddish brown winter coat, which turns paler in summer.

Major Threats

• Sangai faces threat from steadily degenerating habitat of phumdi.
• Invasion of non-native plants like Paragrass.
• Diseases from the livestock, inbreeding depression and poaching.
• Conservation Status: IUCN Red List: Endangered