Rajaji National Park
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| Rajaji National Park | |
|---|---|
| IUCN Category II (National Park) | |
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| Location | Uttarakhand, India |
| Nearest city | Haridwar and Dehra Dun |
| Coordinates | |
| Area | 202,630 acres (820 km²) |
| Established | 1983 |
| Governing body | Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Uttarakhand |
Rajaji National Park is an Indian national park that encompasses the Shivaliks, near the foothills of the Himalayas. It is spread over 820 sq. km.[1], and three districts of Uttarakhand: Haridwar, Dehradun and Pauri Garhwal. In 1983, three wildlife sanctuaries in the area namely, Chilla, Motichur and Rajaji sanctuaries were merged into one [1].
Rajaji National Park has been named after C. Rajagopalachari (Rajaji), a prominent leader of the Freedom Struggle, the second and last Governor-General of independent India and one of the first recipients of India's highest civilian award Bharat Ratna (in 1954).
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[edit] Flora & Fauna of Rajaji National Park
[edit] Flora
The forest eco - systems of the Rajaji National Park are quite varied and diverse. A general survey of the forests reveals some important types of plant association like Shorea, Mallotus and Adina community,Shorea,Terminalia and Bridelia community, Dalbergia, Acacia community, Syzygium, Phoebe and Drypetes community etc. The tropical forest ecosystems of the park have many unique characteristics, which have both scientific as well as practical significance for development. Based on the physiognomy and floristic composition, the permanent vegetation of the park may be classified under the Northern Tropical Moist Deciduous Forests and can be grouped into following six types:
1. Sal forest
2. Mixed forest
3. Riverine forest
4. Scrub forest
5. Grassland
6. Sub-tropical pine forest
[edit] Fauna
Inhabiting the dense green jungles that form the park are an impressive array of creatures - 23 species of mammals - including tigers, leopards, elephants, deer, jungle cat, wild boar and sloth bear - and 315 species of birds are found in Rajaji [1]. The most prominent avian species include pea fowl, woodpeckers, pheasants, kingfishers and barbets, supplemented by a number of migratory species during the winter months. Besides that, the rivers which flow through the park harbour fish such as trout and mahseer.
The park has the largest population of Elephants in Uttarakhand. It also has a good number of Tigers and Leopards. Both elephants and tiger are here, at the North-Western limit of their distribution in india. Wild animal species found in Rajaji National Park include:
- Asian Elephant
- Bengal Tiger
- Leopard
- Jungle Cat
- The Goat-like Goral
- Himalayan yellow throated marten
- Indian Hare
- Sloth Bear
- Himalayan Black Bear
- King Cobra
- Jackal
- Barking Deer
- Sambhar
- Wild boar
- Rhesus macaque
- Indian langur
- Indian Porcupine
- Monitor lizard
- Python
The park also houses over four hundred bird species including the Great Pied Hornbill, Himalayan Pied Kingfisher and the fire tailed sunbird. This area is the first staging ground after the migratory birds cross over the Himalayas into the Indian subcontinent.
[edit] Access
Rajaji Park, which has several gates, is accessable from Dehradun, Kotdwar and Haridwar: the Ramgarh Gate and Mohand Gate are within 25 km of Dehradun; the Motichur, Ranipur and Chilla Gates are about 9 km from Haridwar; Kunao Gate is 6 km from Rishikesh; and Laldhang gate is 25 km from Kotdwar. Saharanpur, which is conveniently linked by train to other parts of India, is another attractive point to reach the Mohand area of the Park, in nearly an hour by road.
