Valmiki National Park
Valmiki National Park | |
---|---|
Valmiki Tiger Reserve and Wildlife Sanctuary | |
Nearest city | Bettiah |
Coordinates | 27°19′54″N 84°9′45″E / 27.33167°N 84.16250°E |
Area | 898.45 km2 (346.89 sq mi) |
Established | 1978 |
Governing body | Government of Bihar |
Website | https://www.valmikitigerreserve.com/ |
Valmiki National Park is a
History
The extensive forest area of Valmikinagar (formally known as Bhainsa Lotan)[1] was previously owned by the Bettiah Raj and Ramanagar Raj until the early 1950s.[2] It was declared a Wildlife Sanctuary in 1978. Valmiki National Park was established in the year 1990. Total area of the park is about 335.65 Km2. Valmiki Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park is the 17th Tiger Reserve of the country.[2] The Valmiki Tiger Reserve comprises the National Park and the Wildlife Sanctuary.
Location
It is located in West Champaran which derives its name from two words, Champa and Aranya, meaning forest of Champa trees. Geographically, it is situated between 83°0 50′ and 84°0 10′ E longitude and between 27°0 10′ and 27°0 03′ N latitude. Total forest area comprises about 900 square kilometres (350 sq mi), out of which the Valmiki Wildlife Sanctuary is 880 square kilometres (340 sq mi) and spread of the National Park is about 335 square kilometres (129 sq mi) area. In the north, the protected areas are bordered by Nepal's Chitwan National Park while the Indian state Uttar Pradesh bounds the sanctuary from western side. Bihar Government is turning 800 hectares of forest in VTR into Grassland making it India's biggest grassland.[3]
Geography
The landscape of Valmiki National Park encompasses foothills of the
Someshwar Hill Range and Dun Hill system with knife-edge ridges and precipitous slopes, cliffs, spurs, gorges, narrow valleys.[5]
Older
Criss-crossing and meandering rivers, streams and rivulets, man-made canals; swamps and grasslands are featured on these lands.
Fauna
Mammals
The wildlife found in the forest of VTR are the
There is site in Madanpur forest block on the main road from Madanpur to Valmikinagar where large number of Indian
Reptiles
The reptiles which are commonly found in VTR are
Birds
At present 241
Butterflies
The jungle of Valmiki National Park abounds in moths, caterpillars and butterflies, including the common Mormon, great Mormon, glassy tiger, great eggfly, club beak, grey pansy, lime butterfly and common crow.[citation needed]
Flora
As per Champion and Seth classification, there are seven forest types:
- Bhabar – Dun Sal Forest
- Dry Siwalik Sal Forest
- West Gangetic Moist Mixed Deciduous Forest
- Khair – Sissoo Forest
- Cane Brakes
- Eastern Wet Alluvial Grassland
- Barringtonia Swamp Forest
Due to diverse topographical and edaphic factors, the reserve harbors varied vegetation types. The Botanical Survey of India has categorized seven vegetation types within the limits of the national park:
- Moist mixed deciduous
- Open – land vegetation
- Sub-mountainous semi-evergreen formation
- Freshwater swamps
- Riparian fringes
- Alluvial grasslands and high hill savannah
- Wetlands
The important tree species are sal (
See also
References
- ^ "Places of Tourist and Historic Interest".
- ^ a b "History | Valmiki Tiger Reserve". www.valmikitigerreserve.com. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
- ^ "Bihar developing India's biggest grassland for Tigers". IANS. news.biharprabha.com. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
- ^ "Gorge". 21 January 2011.
- ^ "Highest mountain peak in Bihar - know about the Someshwar Hills". Testbook. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
- ^ "Landscape & Biodirversity – Valmiki Tiger Reserve". Retrieved 18 September 2023.
- ^ a b Jhala, Y. V.; Gopal, R.; Qureshi, Q., eds. (2008), Status of the Tigers, Co-predators, and Prey in India (PDF), TR 08/001, National Tiger Conservation Authority, Govt. of India, New Delhi; Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, archived from the original (PDF) on 2 June 2013
- ^ a b Jhala, Y. V., Qureshi, Q., Sinha, P. R. (Eds.) (2011). Status of tigers, co-predators and prey in India, 2010. National Tiger Conservation Authority, Govt. of India, New Delhi, and Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun. TR 2011/003 pp-302
- ^ Garshelis, David L.; Joshi, Anup R.; Smith, James L. D. & Rice, Clifford G. "Sloth Bear Conservation Action Plan" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 18 April 2011.