It’s a search that must extend higher into the peaks, as lynxes, blue sheep and the Shaan or ghost of the mountains battle an unseasonably warm March.

IMPHAL – In the misty hill districts of Manipur, far from the clamour of cities, looms hum quietly in village courtyards. Here, in places like Tamenglong and Ukhrul, the Nagas—Manipur’s third-largest ...