FAUNAL DIVERSITY OF KITCHEN GARDENS OF SIKKIMAranya Jha, Sangeeta Jha and Ajeya JhaAbstract What is the faunal richness of rural kitchen gardens of Sikkim? This was the research question investigated in this study. Kitchen gardens have recently been recognized as important entities for biodiversity conservations. This recognition needs to be backed by surveys in various regions of the world. Sikkim, a Himalayan state of India, in this respect, is important, primarily because it is one of the top 10 biodiversity hot-spots globally. Also because ecologically it is a fragile region. Methodology is based on a survey of 67 kitchen gardens in Sikkim and collecting relevant data. The study concludes that in all 80 (tropical), 74 (temperate) and 17 (sub-alpine) avian species have been reported from the kitchen gardens of Sikkim. For mammals these numbers are 20 (tropical) and 9 (temperate). These numbers are indicative and not exhaustive. |