Kaziranga National Park

Kaziranga National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that is situated in the Golaghat and Nagaon districts of Assam. In this article, you will get information Kaziranga National Park, animals found in kaziranga national park, flora, administration, geography, climate, conservation management, kaziranga national park map, providing key insights for GS Paper-III Environment and Ecology section of UPSC IAS Exam.

Table of Content

• What is Kaziranga National Park?             
• Overview of Kaziranga National Park
• Kaziranga landscape       
• History of Kaziranga National Park
• Threats to Kaziranga National Park
• Geography
• Climate and Weather
• Fauna
• Flora
• Administration   
• Conservation management          
• Conclusion          
• Frequently Asked Questions        
• Reference           

What is Kaziranga National Park?

• Kaziranga National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that is situated in the Golaghat and Nagaon districts of Assam.
• The park forms the part of Eastern Himalaya biodiversity hotspot due to remarkable species diversity and visibility.

Overview of Kaziranga National Park:

• Kaziranga National Park is famous for its Indian rhinoceroses, accounting for two-thirds of the world’s total.
• The Kaziranga National Park was also designated as a Tiger Reserve in 2006.
• This park serves as a sanctuary for populations of elephants, wild water buffalo, and swamp deer.
• It is also recognized as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International, highlighting its commitment to preserve avifaunal species.

Map of Kaziranga national park:

Kaziranga landscape

• The landscape of Kaziranga contains vast expanses of tall elephant grass, marshlands, and dense tropical moist broadleaf forests.
• The park is intersected by four major rivers, including the Brahmaputra along with other numerous small water bodies.
• The park is bordered by the Brahmaputra River to the north and east, and the Mora Diphlu and Diphlu rivers form the southern boundaries.
• The landscape has fertile alluvial soil, formed by erosion and silt deposition from the Brahmaputra River.
• The landscape also includes sandbars, riverine flood–formed lakes known as “beels,” and elevated regions called “chapories,”.
  • The elevated regions provide shelters to wildlife during floods.

History of Kaziranga National Park:

• In 1904 Mary Curzon, wife of Viceroy Lord Curzon has visited the area and expressed concern on the one–horned rhinoceros.
• This resulted in the establishment of the Kaziranga Proposed Reserve Forest on June 1905, covering an area of 232 square kilometers.
• The park area was later expanded to the banks of the Brahmaputra River, ultimately reaching a total size of 384 square kilometers.
• In 1916, it was renamed as the “Kaziranga Game Sanctuary” and later became the “Kaziranga Wildlife Sanctuary” in 1950 to remove any sort of hunting associations.
• The government of Assam has also passed the Assam (Rhinoceros) Bill in 1954 to deter poaching of one–horned rhinoceros.
• In 1968, Kaziranga was declared a national park under the Assam National Park Act.
• It received official recognition from the central government in 1974
• The park was designated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1985 due to its unique natural environment.

Threats to Kaziranga National Park:

• Kaziranga has faced various challenges in recent years, including natural disasters such as floods caused by the Brahmaputra River.
  • This hasresulted in the loss of animal life.
• The encroachment along the park’s periphery has led to a reduction in forest cover and habitat loss.
• The park has remained unaffected by the separatist movement in Assam caused by the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA).

Geography:

• Kaziranga National Park is situated in three districts of Assam, India- Nagaon, Karbi Anglong, and Golaghat.
• The Kaziranga is located in the sub-Himalayan region.
• It falls within the Brahmaputra Valley semi–evergreen forests and Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands ecoregions.
• The Kaziranga has total area of 378 square kilometers, with erosion causing a loss of about 51.14 square kilometers.
• For the conservation of the wildlifepopulation and providing a safe passage for animals, additional 429 square kilometers have been added along the park’s boundary.
  • This area was designated as a separate national park areas.
• The Indian Army has assisted in building artificial chapories for the safety of animals.
• The park is surrounded by green tea plantations that contribute to the economy of Assam.

Climate and Weather:

• Kaziranga National Park experiences three distinct seasons: summer, monsoon, and winter.
• The winter months occurs from November to February and are mild and dry.
• The summer months occurs from March to May and are hot.
• The monsoon months occurs from June to September and brings the majority of the park’s annual rainfall.
• In July and August, the water level of the Brahmaputra rises so much that it submerges approximately three-fourths of the western region of the park.
  • Many animals, including rhinos and hog deer migrates to higher areas outside the park’s southern border such as the Mikir hills.

Fauna:

Keystone species:

• Kaziranga has populations of 35 mammalian species, out of which 15 are considered threatened according to the IUCN.
• The park houses “Big Five” species, including the Indian rhinoceros, royal Bengal tiger, Asian elephant, wild water buffalo, and swamp deer.
  • The park has the highest density of tigers worldwide.
• The park has world’s largest population of Indian rhinoceros, wild water buffalo and eastern swamp deer.
• The large herbivores include gaur and sambar.
• The smaller herbivores include chital, Indian muntjac, Indian boar, and Indian hog deer.

Feline and Mammals:

• Feline includes jungle cat, fishing cat, and leopard cat.
• Kaziranga is the only place in India and the world where a Golden tiger has been spotted in the wild.
• Mammals: rare hispid hare, Indian gray mongoose, small Indian mongooses, large Indian civet, small Indian civets, Bengal fox, golden jackal, sloth bear, Chinese pangolin, Indian pangolins, hog badger, Chinese ferret-badger, and particolored flying squirrel.
• Out of the 14 primate species found in India, nine can be found in Kaziranga such as Assamese macaque, capped and golden langur, and the hoolock gibbon.
• The park’s rivers contain the endangered Ganges dolphin.

Bird sanctuary:

Birds like the lesser white-fronted goose, ferruginous duck, Baer’s pochard duck, lesser adjutant, greater adjutant, black-necked stork, Hodgson’s bushchat, the bristled grassbird and Asian openbill stork.

• Riverine birds such as the Blyth’s kingfisher, white-bellied heron, Dalmatian pelican, spot-billed pelican, Nordmann’s greenshank, and black-bellied tern.
• Birds of prey include rare species like the eastern imperial, greater spotted, white-tailed, Pallas’s fish eagle, grey-headed fish eagle, and the lesser kestrel.
• Vultures present– the Indian vulture, slender-billed vulture, and white-rumped vulture.
•  The park is also known for its game birds, including the swamp francolin, Bengal florican, and pale-capped pigeon.
• Hornbills: great pied hornbill and wreathed hornbill
• Babblers: Old World babblers like Jerdon’s and marsh babblers
• Weaver birds: common baya weaver and threatened Finn’s weavers
• Threatened species: the black-breasted parrotbill and the rufous-vented grass babbler.

Reptiles:

• The park’s aquatic habitats harbours 42 fish species, including the Tetraodon.
• World’s largest snakes: the reticulated python and Indian rock python, king cobra.
• Other snakes: Indian cobra, monocled cobra, Russell’s viper, and the common krait.
• Monitor lizard species like the Bengal monitor and Asian water monitor
• The endemic Assam roofed turtle, and the brown tortoise.

Flora:

• 4 main types of vegetation: alluvial inundated grasslands, alluvial savanna woodlands, tropical moist mixed deciduous forests, and tropical semi-evergreen forests.
• The park exhibits varying altitudes between its eastern and western areas, with the western side being at a lower elevation.
• The grasslands dominate the western regions, where tall elephant grass grows on higher ground, while short grasses cover the areas of beels.
• Trees: kumbhi, Indian gooseberry, cotton tree, and elephant apple.
• Thick evergreen forests houses trees such as Aphanamixis polystachya, Talauma hodgsonii, Dillenia indica, Garcinia tinctoria, Ficus rumphii, Cinnamomum bejolghota, and various species of Syzygium.
• Tropical semi-evergreen forests include Albizia procera, Duabanga grandiflora, Lagerstroemia speciosa, Crateva unilocularis, Sterculia urens, Grewia serrulata, Mallotus philippensis, Bridelia retusa, Aphania rubra, Leea indica, and Leea umbraculifera.

Administration

• The Kaziranga forest is managed and administered by the Wildlife wing of the forest department of the Government of Assam.
• The park is overseen by the Director, who holds the position of Chief Conservator of Forests.
• Financial support for the park is provided by the State Government and the Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change of the Government of India.
• The park receives funding under the Project Elephant from the Central Government.
• In 1997–1998, the World Heritage Fund has granted fund under the Technical Co-operation for Security Reinforcement scheme.

Conservation management

• In 2005, Kaziranga staff, aided by the Wildlife Trust of India has cleared invasive species- Mimosa invisa.
• Laws governing the park includes- the Assam Forest Regulation of 1891, the Biodiversity Conservation Act of 2002.
• Since 2013, the park has utilized drone-mounted cameras monitored by security guards to protect rhinos from armed poachers.
• To mitigate the losses caused by flooding, authorities have increased patrols, acquired additional speedboats for patrolling, and created artificial highlands for shelter.
• Grassland management techniques, including controlled burning, are implemented annually to prevent forest fires.
• Conclusion
• The Kaziranga National Park stands as a symbol of India’s commitment to preserve its rich natural heritage. The park’s conservation efforts have been successful in protecting endangered species and promoting their population growth, including tigers, elephants, and various bird species. The Kaziranga National Park also plays a vital role in promoting environmental education and raising awareness about the importance of conservation.

Conclusion

The Kaziranga National Park stands as a symbol of India’s commitment to preserve its rich natural heritage. The park’s conservation efforts have been successful in protecting endangered species and promoting their population growth, including tigers, elephants, and various bird species. The Kaziranga National Park also plays a vital role in promoting environmental education and raising awareness about the importance of conservation.

Ref: Source-1

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