Htamanthi Wildlife Sanctuary is a large

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

in northern

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

. It was established in 1974 in the

Sagaing Region Sagaing Region (, ; formerly Sagaing Division) is an administrative divisions of Myanmar, administrative region of Myanmar, located in the north-western part of the country between latitude 21° 30' north and longitude 94° 97' east. It is border ...

. It is located between the

Chindwin River The Chindwin River (), also known as the Ningthi River (), is a river in Myanmar and is the largest tributary of the Irrawaddy River. Sources The Chindwin originates in the broad Hukawng Valley of Kachin State of Burma, roughly , where the Tanai, ...

Hkamti District Hkamti District or Khamti District (sometimes formerly Naga Hills District) is a district in northern Sagaing Region of Myanmar (Burma). Its administrative center is the town of Hkamti. Townships The District only contains one township - Hkamt ...

and the

Uyu River The Uyu River, also pronounced Uru River (''Uyu Chaung'' in Burmese), is a river in northern Myanmar, formerly Burma. It is a major tributary of the Chindwin River, itself the largest tributary of the country's chief river, the Ayeyarwady. Its s ...

, with of the area in

Homalin Township Homalin Township ( ) is the only township of Homalin District () in the Sagaing Region of Myanmar (Burma). In 2022, the township was split out from Hkamti District to form the new Homalin District. The principal town is Homalin.Hkamti Township Hkamti Township ( ) is the only township of Hkamti District in the Sagaing Region of Myanmar.

Biodiversity

Htamanthi Wildlife Sanctuary provides habitat for over 30

mammal A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three ...

s including

Asian elephant The Asian elephant (''Elephas maximus''), also known as the Asiatic elephant, is the only living ''Elephas'' species. It is the largest living land animal in Asia and the second largest living Elephantidae, elephantid in the world. It is char ...

(''Elephas maximus''),

gaur The gaur (''Bos gaurus''; ) is a large bovine native to the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia, and has been listed as Vulnerable species, Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1986. The global population was estimated at a maximum of 21,000 ...

(''Bos gaurus''),

mainland serow The mainland serow (''Capricornis sumatraensis'') is a species of serow native to the Himalayas, Southeast Asia and China. The mainland serow is related closely to the red serow. Taxonomy In 1831, Brian Houghton Hodgson first described a go ...

(''Capricornis milneedwardsii''),

Asiatic black bear The Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), also known as the Asiatic black bear, moon bear and white-chested bear, is a medium-sized bear species native to Asia that is largely adapted to an arboreal lifestyle. It is distributed from southeast ...

(''Ursus thibetanus'') and

Indochinese leopard The Indochinese leopard (''Panthera pardus delacouri'') is a leopard subspecies native to mainland Southeast Asia and southern China. In Indochina, leopards are rare outside protected areas and threatened by habitat loss due to deforestation as w ...

(''Panthera pardus delacouri''). Formerly it was also home of the Northern Sumatran rhinoceros (''Didermocherus sumatrensis lasiotis'') and the

Javan rhinoceros The Javan rhinoceros (''Rhinoceros sondaicus''), Javan rhino, Sunda rhinoceros or lesser one-horned rhinoceros is a critically endangered member of the genus ''Rhinoceros'', of the rhinoceros family Rhinocerotidae, and one of the five remainin ...

(''Rhinoceros sondaicus''), which have become extinct in the area in the 1980s, though some reports suggest that the former still persists in the park.

Tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large Felidae, cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is ...

(''Panthera tigris''),

clouded leopard The clouded leopard (''Neofelis nebulosa''), also called mainland clouded leopard, is a wild cat inhabiting dense forests from the foothills of the Himalayas through Northeast India and Bhutan to mainland Southeast Asia into South China. It w ...

(''Neofelis nebulosa''),

Asiatic golden cat The Asian golden cat (''Catopuma temminckii'') is a medium-sized wild cat native to the northeastern Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and China. It has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 2025, and is threatened by poaching ...

(''Catopuma temminckii''),

leopard cat The leopard cat (''Prionailurus bengalensis'') is a Felinae, small wild cat native to continental South Asia, South, Southeast Asia, Southeast, and East Asia. Since 2002 it has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List as it is widely di ...

(''Prionailurus bengalensis''),

large Indian civet The large Indian civet (''Viverra zibetha'') is a viverrid native to South and Southeast Asia. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. The global population is thought to be decreasing due to hunting and trapping driven by the deman ...

(''Viverra zibetha''),

hog badger Hog badgers are three species of mustelid in the genus ''Arctonyx''. They represent one of the two genera in the subfamily Melinae, alongside the true badgers (genus ''Meles''). Taxonomy ''Arctonyx'' was formerly considered a monotypic gen ...

(''Arctonyx collaris''),

Asian palm civet The Asian palm civet (''Paradoxurus hermaphroditus''), also called common palm civet, toddy cat and musang, is a viverrid native to South and Southeast Asia. Since 2008, it is IUCN Red Listed as Least Concern as it accommodates to a broad range o ...

(''Paradoxurus hermaphroditus''),

binturong The binturong (''Arctictis binturong'') (, ), also known as the bearcat, is a viverridae, viverrid native to South Asia, South and Southeast Asia. It is uncommon in much of its range, and has been assessed as Vulnerable species, Vulnerable on th ...

(''Arctictis binturong''),

masked palm civet The masked palm civet (''Paguma larvata''), also called the gem-faced civet or Himalayan palm civet, is a viverrid species native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It has been listed as least concern on the IUCN Red List since 2008 ...

(''Paguma larvata'') were recorded during a

camera trap A camera trap is a camera that is automatically triggered by motion in its vicinity, like the presence of an animal or a human being. It is typically equipped with a motion sensor—usually a passive infrared (PIR) sensor or an active infrared ...

survey in 1999. The clouded leopard and marbled cat populations were studied more detailed between December 2014 and March 2016. An

Asian water monitor The Asian water monitor (''Varanus salvator'') is a large Varanidae, varanid lizard native to South Asia, South and Southeast Asia. It is widely considered to be the List of largest extant lizards, second-largest lizard species, after the Komodo ...

(''Varanus salvator'') was recorded in 2016 along one of the streams flowing through the sanctuary. Among the many birds found in the reserve are the

white-winged duck The white-winged duck or white-winged wood duck (''Asarcornis scutulata'') is a large species of duck, formerly placed in the genus ''Cairina'' with the Muscovy duck (''Cairina moschata'') and allied with the dabbling ducks. However, mtDNA cyto ...

(''Asarcornis scutulata'') and the

masked finfoot The masked finfoot or Asian finfoot (''Heliopais personatus'') is a highly endangered aquatic bird that was formerly distributed throughout the fresh and brackish wetlands of the eastern Indian subcontinent, Indochina, Malaysia and Indonesia. Lik ...

(''Heliopais personatus'').

References

External links

* Protected areas of Myanmar Important Bird Areas of Myanmar Protected areas established in 1974 {{Burma-geo-stub