ADVENTURE & WILDLIFE
Clouded leopard, Barking deer and more. Birds found include White-backed vulture, Slender-billed vulture, partridge, pheasant, hornbill and more. Reptiles include rock python and King cobra. The nearest town is Silchar, which is 40 km away.
Amchang Wildlife Sanctuary
Amchang Wildlife Sanctuary is located in the extreme east of the Guwahati city in the state of Assam, North East India. The sanctuary covers an area of 78.64 square kilometer and is a perfect place for the Guwahati visitors to refresh themselves in touch with the nature. It is 15 km away from Guwahati Railway Station. It was declared as a wildlife sanctuary on 19th June, 2004 by the government of Assam. The sanctuary falls under East-Kamrup Forest division of Kamrup district.
Amchang wildlife sanctuary is famous for rare and endangered animals and birds. The most commonly found species of mammals are – Chiness pangolin, Slow Loris, Flying Fox, Assamese macaque, Rhesus macaque, Capped langur, Hoolock gibbon, Jungle cat, leopard cat, leopart, Elephant, wild pig, sambar, Barking deer, Porcupine, squirrel, Civet Cat etc. As the mighty river Brahmaputra is flowing adjacent to this sanctuary, it harbours hundreds of bird species including migratory birds. The most commonly seen birds are – Lesser Adjutant stork, Greater Adjutant Stork, white – backed vulture, Slender billed Vulture, Khaleej Pheasant, Green Imperial Pigeon, Lessar Pied Hornbill, Parakeet etc. Some reptiles like Python, Indian Cobra, Monitor Lizard can also be seen in this forest. bypass, alongside its north western boundary. PWD road skirts the northern fringe of the Rani and Garbhanga Reserve Forests on the south. The NH 37 borders the beel on the east and north-east and the Engineering College Road on the north. Also, minor roads and tracts exist in the vicinity of the beel. The beel is about 5 km from the Guwahati Airport( GNB Int. Airport). A broad gauge railway line skirts the lake.
The beel is a natural habitat to many varieties of birds. 219 species of birds including more than 70 migratory species are reported in the beel area. The largest congregations of aquatic birds can be seen, particularly in winter, with a reported recorded count of 19,000 water birds in a day. Some of the globally threatened species of birds like spotbilled pelican( Pelecanus philippensis), lesser adjutant stork( Leptoptilos javanicus), Baer’ s pochard( Aythya baeri), Pallas’ sea eagle( Haliaeetus leucogaster), greater adjutant stork( Leptoptilos dubius).
Surveys have revealed 20 amphibian, 12 lizards, 18 snakes and 6 turtle and tortoise species in the beel. Over 50 commercially viable species of fish, belonging to 19 families have been identified, which supplies stock to other nearby wetlands and rivers. The beel provides food, acts as a spawning and nursery water body; some of the species breed within the beel.
Wild Asian elephants( Elephas maximus), leopard, jungle cat and the protected barking deer, Chinese porcupine and sambar are found in the beel
Since the sanctuary is located at the heart of Guwahati, it is easily accessible from all parts of the country. Guwahati Railway Station is just 15 km away from the park whereas the international airport is about 30 kilometers away. The easiest route to the sanctuary is from Narengi through Bonda Forest office.
Dipor Bil Wildlife Sanctuary
Dipor Bil or Deepor Beel is located to the south-west of Guwahati city, in Kamrup district of Assam. It is a permanent freshwater lake, in a former channel of the Brahmaputra River, to the south of the main river.
Considered as one of the largest beels in the Brahmaputra valley of Lower Assam, it is categorised as representative of the wetland type under the Burma monsoon forest biogeographic region. It is located 13 km South West of Guwahati on the National Highway( NH. 31), on Jalukbari- Khanapara
72 Vol 2 | Issue 1 | Mar- May 2017