Governor of Arunachal Pradesh Lt. General KT Parnaik (Retd.) inaugurated the two-day National Seminar on ‘Integrated Mithun Farming for Enhancing Farmers’ Income in the North Eastern Region of India’, held as a part of the ‘Mithun Day’ celebration in Itanagar on 1 September 2024.
- He also released status papers, leaflets, and literature on Mithun as a souvenir of the celebration and presented awards to progressive Mithun farmers on the occasion.
- ICAR-National Research Centre on Mithun, Nagaland celebrated ‘Second Mithun Day’ on 1 September 2024.
Key points
- Mithun is a semi-wild bovine creature. Among the North Eastern States, the highest Mithun population is located in Arunachal Pradesh, which stands at 89% of the total population in the whole world.
- The free-ranging mithun or gayal (Bos frontalis) is the State animal of Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland.
- It is also found in the hills of Manipur and Mizoram. According to the last livestock census conducted in 2019, there were 386,311 mithuns in the country.
- Arunachal Pradesh led the table with 350,154 followed by Nagaland with 23,123, Manipur with 9,059, and Mizoram with 3,975.
- Mithuns are prized for their meat, milk, and draught power. They play a crucial role in the socio-economic and cultural lives of many tribal communities in the northeast.
