Svensk-Bhutanesiska Föreningen

Four different types of Asiatic golden cat (catopuma temminicki) were sighted in the country on a camera trap between 2008 and 2010. A medium sized-wild cat, Asian golden cats range in body length from 30 – 41 inches with males usually larger than females. Of the four colour morphs, resembling jaguars, common morph was spotted at an altitude of 4,033m in Jigme Dorji National Park, grey morph at 3,900m in Wangduephodrang, the black or melanistic morph at 2,896m in Trongsa and the ocelot morph was sighted in the high mountains of the Jigme Singye Wangchuck national park.

From the 13 recorded Asiatic golden cats, 11 were recorded on camera traps, one detected through skin and another by direct sighting. A report on the four colour morphs published recently on CAT news of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUNC) stated the Asiatic golden cat range extends from eastern Himalayas of Nepal, Bhutan and northeast India. The cats are also sighted south of Bangladesh, east to China and south again to Southeast Asia, covering Myanmar, Lao PDR, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Penin- sular Malaysia and Indonesia.

Department of Forest and Park Services senior forest officer Karma Jigme said none of these range countries so far reported of having all varieties. “Having all the types in Bhutan signifies country’s strong conservation policy,” he said. The benefit of publishing the report in the journal would draw international attention and give room for scientists, conservationists and cat specialists to conduct study on the big cats and thus know Bhutan.

Click here to read the whole article

Inflation in 2011 averaged nine percent pushed by rising prices of food, fuel, alcohol, and narcotics.

In the first quarter of 2011 inflation touched 9.64 percent, the highest in the past decade, because of hike in prices of food items and fuel.

The year also saw alcohol prices go up by 20 percent with the government revising the excise duty on alcohol by 30 to 75 percent.

Clothing and footwear become more expensive by 16.5 percent over the past twelve months. An average Bhutanese spends as much as eight percent of his total income on clothing.

In the last quarter, inflation was mostly pushed by increase in prices of clothing and footwear, fruits, recreation and alcoholic beverages. Read more »

facebook accounts in Bhutan

Bhutan Facebook statistics: 63 940 total Facebook users (9.14% of Bhutan population). 58% are male (42% female), the largest age group is currently 18 – 24.

How we work, sleep, wind down and pray

GNH Survey 2010: Bhutanese females sleep more, on average, than male counterparts, but devote more time to work in a day, according to findings of the GNH survey 2010.

While females sleep on average 13 minutes more than males in rural areas, and 17 minutes more in the urban sphere, they spend more of their time devoted to work.

For instance, in rural Bhutan, females spend on average 524 minutes a day on work, compared to 467 for males.  In urban Bhutan, females spend 445 minutes on work, and males 424.  There are 1,440 minutes in a day. Read more »

A new hand-drawn and illustrated map of Thimphu city is now available. Click here

Almost unanimous passage of bill

A joint sitting voted ‘yes’ after about 4 hours of discourse
Child Adoption Act, 2012: A Bhutanese citizen need not be one of a married couple to adopt a child.

The Parliament yesterday resolved that any Bhutanese can apply for child adoption and passed the Child Adoption Act, 2012. Read more »

An interesting article about glacier lakes. Click here

His Holiness Dungse Thinley Norbu Rimoche, a grear teacher of the most learned Buddhist lams, has dies peacefully in New York. Read more here and here

Wishing all our readers a prosperous 2012

Double-click left to enlarge the image

_