India’s least-studied large mammal lives here
Arunachal Pradesh: Far in Arunachal Pradesh’s eastern Himalayas, dense forests give way to bamboo and rhododendron at higher elevations, before opening into patches of mountain grassland.
This is Mishmi takin country. With its heavy body, curved horns, shaggy coat and broad, Roman-shaped nose, the Mishmi takin (Budorcas taxicolor taxicolor) looks like a cross between a goat and a wild ox.
Found across the Mishmi Hills of Arunachal Pradesh and parts of neighbouring China and Myanmar, it is one of the least-studied large mammals of the region.
For a winter traveller, the search begins in Dibang Valley, where the district headquarters Anini sits at about 1,970 metres. The larger Dibang Wildlife Sanctuary covers 4,149 sq km and stretches from 1,800 to 5,000 metres in elevation, encompassing temperate forests, alpine habitats and high mountain terrain.
But finding a takin is not as simple as arriving at a viewpoint and waiting. The official Dibang Valley tourism guide describes the Mishmi takin as one of the elusive large mammals of the Mishmi Hills. Its suggested takin trek follows the Dree River from Damben, about 25 km from Anini, towards the upper reaches of the valley.
The route takes 14 days, including nine days of walking through terrain with swamps and bamboo thickets. The district administration says takins are seen in larger numbers during the rainy months of June and July, although smaller herds may be found along the fringes at other times.
Winter, therefore, is less about expecting a sighting and more about understanding where the animal moves.
A 2015 account of the species in Mammals of South Asia notes that takins use steep mountain forests, with bamboo-rhododendron-conifer forests particularly important at higher elevations. Historical records also place them in open grass patches between 3,000 and 4,000 metres. The species moves between elevations with the seasons, reaching subalpine and alpine areas in summer.
For all its distinctive features, the Mishmi takin remains poorly studied in India. A Wildlife Institute of India research project led by G V Gopi set out to understand the species’ distribution, habitat and threats by combining field surveys with knowledge held by Indigenous communities.
That approach has now produced a new set of insights. A study by Gaurav Pariyal Jagannatha, Sirumai Khusiali Kri and G V Gopi, published in Frontiers in Conservation Science in September 2026, combined traditional ecological knowledge gathered from Indigenous communities between 2021 and 2023 with camera-trap surveys and field observations.
The researchers analysed more than 17,000 independent camera-trap captures. Information from local communities helped them understand seasonal movement, habitat use, group behaviour, congregation sites and perceived threats.
Together, the findings offer a more detailed picture of how the animal uses its mountain habitat. The takin is not simply an animal that lives “up in the mountains”. Its movements are linked to season, elevation, food and the availability of suitable habitat.
A separate 2024 study published in the Records of the Zoological Survey of India surveyed Mishmi takins around Mehao Wildlife Sanctuary in Lower Dibang Valley between July 2018 and March 2019. Using camera traps and foot surveys, researchers identified at least 27 individuals from 198 photographs — 12 adults, seven sub-adults, four juveniles and four calves.
That study identified bushmeat hunting as a major threat and called for more extensive research. That lack of information matters. Without knowing where takins move, where they gather and which habitats they depend on, it becomes harder to protect the species across its range.
A journey through Dibang Valley, then, is not only a search for an unusual Himalayan herbivore. It is also a journey through the connected habitats that allow the Mishmi takin to survive — forests where it can shelter, bamboo-rich areas where it can feed, and open mountain grasslands where the forest gives way to the high Himalayas.
