ADVENTURE & WILDLIFE
Kaziranga National Park photo credit: shikhar
Kaziranga National Park Located in the Golaghat and Nagaon districts of the state of Assam, India. The sanctuary, which hosts two-thirds of the world’ s great one-horned rhinoceroses, is a World Heritage Site. According to the census held in March 2015, jointly conducted by the Forest Department of the Government of Assam and some recognized wildlife NGOs, the rhino population in Kaziranga National Park is 2,401. It comprises 1,651 adult rhinos( 663 male, 802 are females, 186 unsexed); 294 sub-adults( 90 males, 114 females, 90 unsexed); 251 juveniles and 205 cubs.
Kaziranga is home to the highest density of tigers among protected areas in the world, and was declared a Tiger Reserve in 2006. The park is home to large breeding populations of elephants, wild water buffalo, and swamp deer. Kaziranga is recognized as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International for conservation of avifaunal species. When compared with other protected areas in India, Kaziranga has achieved notable success in wildlife conservation. Located on the edge of the Eastern Himalaya biodiversity hotspot, the park combines high species diversity and visibility.
Kaziranga is a vast expanse of tall elephant grass, marshland, and dense tropical moist broadleaf
Vol 2 | Issue 1 | Mar- May 2017 forests, criss-crossed by four major rivers, including the Brahmaputra, and the park includes numerous small bodies of water. Kaziranga has been the theme of several books, songs, and documentaries. The park celebrated its centennial in 2005 after its establishment in 1905 as a reserve forest.
History The history of Kaziranga as a protected area can be traced back to 1904, when Mary Curzon, Baroness Curzon of Kedleston, the wife of the then Viceroy of India, Lord Curzon of Kedleston, visited the area.
After failing to see a single rhinoceros, for which the area was renowned, she persuaded her husband to take urgent measures to protect the dwindling species. Lord Curzon did the same by initiating planning for their protection. And on 1st June 1905, the Kaziranga Proposed Reserve Forest was created with an area of 232 km2( 90 sq mi). Over the next three years, the park area was extended by 152 km2( 59 sq mi), to the banks of the Brahmaputra River In 1908, Kaziranga was designated a“ Reserve Forest”. In 1916, it was re-designated the“ Kaziranga Game Sanctuary” and remained so till 1938, when hunting was prohibited and visitors were permitted to enter the park.
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