Kaziranga National Park Assam, India
Applauded for its greater one-horned rhinoceros conservation efforts, Kaziranga National Park is located in the Golaghat and Nagaon district of Assam. The popular national park is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site and houses two-third of the total world population of greater one-horned rhinoceros. Apart from the one-horned rhinos, the national park that sprawls in an area of 430 sq km also boasts high density of tigers, and a large breeding ground for elephants, swamp deer, and wild water buffaloes. The national park is also recognized an Important Bird Area (IBA) making it not only an ideal wildlife sighting destination in India but a birdwatcher’s paradise as well.
History of Kaziranga National Park
The history of Kaziranga takes us back to the year 1904 when the Viceroy of India, Lord Curzon along with his wife, Mary Curzon went on an excursion to this region. To their surprise they found no signs of the rhinos. Mary Curzon persuaded her husband to take measures to protect the one-horned rhinoceros whose population was decreasing at an alarming rate. Resultant, in 1905 an area of 232 sq km of Kaziranga was declared a Proposed Reserve Forest. Later in 1908, with an addition of 152 sq km more, Kaziranga was declared a reserve forest.
In 1916, it was redesignated as Kaziranga Game Sanctuary and in 1950, it was renamed as Kaziranga Wildlife Sanctuary. It was not until 1968, Kaziranga was designated as a national park when the area was expanded to 430 sq km. Kaziranga National Park was recognized by UNESCO as the World Heritage Site in the year 1985
Flora in Kaziranga National Park
The flora of Kaziranga National Park is categorized into three types – alluvial inundated grasslands; tropical wet evergreen forests; and tropical semi-evergreen forests. The national park is primarily popular for its dense and tall elephant grasses intermixed by small swamplands which are left behind by the receding floodwaters of the river Brahmaputra.
In addition to grasses and forests, Kaziranga Park includes abundant cover of water lilies, water hyacinth and lotus brining a beautiful scenario to the surroundings. Rattan Cane, which is a type of climbing palm, also adds to the beauty of Kaziranga wildlife sanctuary.
Fauna in Kaziranga National Park
The land of Kaziranga boasts the largest population of greater one-horned rhinos and wild water buffaloes. Apart from them, the national park is home to Royal Bengal Tigers, swap deer, Asian elephants which along with one-horned rhinos and wild water buffaloes form the Big Five. Kaziranga is also inhabited by 30+ mammalian species out of which 15 species of animals come under the threatened category. The national park is also rich in the population of avifauna.
Popular Species of Mammals Found in Kaziranga
- Indian wild boar (sus scrofa)
- Eastern mole (talpa micrura)
- Pangolin (manis crassicaudata)
- Indian gaur (bos gaurus)
- Sambar (cervus unicolor)
- Barking deer (muntiacus muntjak)
- White browed gibbon (hylobates hoolock)
- Hog deer (axis porcinus)
- Capped langur or leaf monkey (presbytis pileatus)
- Assamese macaque (macaca assamensis)
- Rhesus macaque (macaca mulatto)
- Leopard (panthera pardus)
- Golden jackal (canis aureus)
- Sloth bear (melursus ursinus)
- Fishing cat (felis viverrina)
- Jungle cat (felis chaus)
- Large indian civet (viverra zibetha)
- Small indian civet (viverricula indica)
- Indian gray mongoose (herpestes edwardsi)
- Small Indian mongoose (herpestus auropunctatus)
- Bengal fox (vulpes bengalensis)
- Common otter (lutra lutra)
- Chinese ferret badger (melogale moschata)
- Hog badger (arctonyx collaris)
- Ganges and Indus river dolphin (platanista gangetica)
- Asiatic black bear
- Swamp deer (cervus duvauceli)
- Indian porcupine (hystrix indica)
- Orange-bellied Himalayan squirrel (dremomys lokriah)
Popular Species of Reptiles Found in Kaziranga
- Snakes
- Lizards
- Tortoises
- Alligator (Gharial)
- Crocodile
Suggested reading >>> World Heritage site in India
Best Time to Visit Kaziranga National Park
Kaziranga National Park is best visited between the months of November and April. The park closes earlier for monsoon than the other major national parks in India for safety reasons. Therefore, the period between November and April is the best time to visit Kaziranga tiger reserve.
How to Reach Kaziranga?
By Air : Guwahati being located at around 200km from the park serves as the nearest airport to reach Kaziranga. The other airport is located at Jorhat, around 100 km from Kaziranga.
By Train : The nearest railhead is at the distance of 200 kms from the Kaziranga National Park in Guwahati. Cabs are readily available from Guwahati to Kaziranga.
By Road : Kohara, located on NH-37 is the main gate to reach the Kaziranga National Park. ASTC and private buses are easily available for Kohara from Guwahati, Tezpur and upper regions of Assam.
