Bandipur National Park

Bandipur National Park established in 1974 as a tiger reserve under Project Tiger, is a national park located in the south Indian state of Karnataka, which is the state with the highest tiger population in India. It is one of the premier Tiger Reserves in the country along with the adjoining Nagarhole national park. It was once a private hunting reserve for the Maharaja of the Kingdom of Mysore but has now been upgraded to Bandipur Tiger Reserve. Bandipur is known for its wildlife and has many types of biomes, but dry deciduous forest is dominant.but dry deciduous forest is dominant

The park spans an area of 874 square kilometers (337 sq mi), protecting several species of India's endangered wildlife. Together with the adjoining Nagarhole National Park (643 km² (248 sq mi)), Mudumalai National Park (320 km² (120 sq mi)) and Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (344 km² (133 sq mi)), it is part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve totaling 2,183 km² (843 sq mi) making it the largest protected area in southern India and largest habitat of wild elephants in south Asia.

History

The Maharaja of the Kingdom of Mysore created a sanctuary of 90 km² (35 sq mi) in 1931 and named it the Venugopala Wildlife Park. The Bandipur Tiger Reserve was established under Project Tiger in 1973 by adding nearly 800 km² (310 sq mi) to the Venugopala Wildlife park

Geography

Bandipur National Park located between 75° 12’ 17" E to 76° 51’ 32" E and 11° 35’ 34" N to 11° 57’ 02" N where the Deccan Plateau meets the Western Ghats and the altitude of the park ranges from 680 meters (2,230 ft) to 1,454 meters (4,770 ft). As a result, the park has a variety of biomes including dry deciduous forests, moist deciduous forestsand shrublands. The wide range of habitats help support a diverse range of organisms. The park is flanked by the Kabini river in the north and the Moyar river in the south. The Nugu river runs through the park. The highest point in the park is on a hill called Himavad Gopalaswamy Betta, where there is a Hindu temple at the summit. Bandipur has typical tropical climate with distinct wet and dry seasons. The dry and hot period usually begins in early March and can last till the arrival of the monsoon rains in June.

Biology and ecology

Bandipur National Park helps protect several species of India's endangered wildlife and also provides refuge to other threatened and vulnerable species of flora and fauna.

Flora

Bandipur supports a wide range of timber trees including: teak (Tectona grandis), rosewood (Dalbergia latifolia), sandalwood (Santalum album V), Indian-laurel (Terminalia tomentosa), Indian kino tree(Pterocarpus marsupium), giant clumping bamboo (Dendrocalamus strictus), clumping bamboo (Bambusa arundinacea) and Grewia tiliaefolia.

There are also several notable flowering and fruiting trees and shrubs including: kadam tree (Adina cordifolia), Indian gooseberry (Emblica officinalis), crape-myrtle (Lagerstroemia lanceolata), axlewood(Anogeissus latifolia), black myrobalan (Terminalia chebula), Schleichera trijuga, Odina wodiar, flame of the forest (Butea monosperma), golden shower tree (Cassia fistula), satinwood (Chloroxylon swietenia), black cutch (Acacia catechu), Shorea talura (E), indigoberry (Randia uliginosa)

Fauna

Bandipur supports a good population of endangered and vulnerable species like Indian elephants, gaurs, tigers, sloth bears, muggers, Indian rock pythons, four-horned antelopes, jackals and dholes

 species include spectacled cobra, Indian rock python, vipers, rat snake, muggers, monitor lizards, Indian chameleon, Indian pond terrapin, agamids and flying lizards.

Butterflies include common rose, crimson rose, common jay, tailed, lime butterfly, Malabar raven, common Mormon, red Helen, blue Mormon, southern birdwing, common wanderer, mottled emigrant, common grass yellow, spotless grass yellow, one spot grass yellow, Nilgiri clouded yellow, common Jezebel, Psyche, common gull, caper white or pioneer, small orange tip or lesser orange tip, white orange tip, large salmon Arab, common evening brown, great evening brown, common palmfly, common bushbrown, glad eye bushbrowm, red disk bushbrown, red eye bushbrown, Lepcha bushbrown, nigger, common threering, common fourring, common fivering, tawny coster, rustic, common leopard, Indian fritillary, common sailer, colour sergeant, chestnutstreaked sailer, grey count, red baron or baronet, angled castor, common castor, yellow pansy, lemon pansy, peacock pansy, chocolate pansy, orange pansy, blue pansy, grey pansy, blue admiral, glassy blue tiger, blue tiger, dark blue tiger, plain tiger, striped tiger/ common tiger, Danaid eggfly, great eggfly, common crow, brown king crow, common Pierrot, angled Pierrot, banded blue Pierrot, striped Pierrot, dark Pierrot, red Pierrot, lime blue, zebra blue, gram blue, common cerulean, tiny grass blue, dark grass blue, Indian cupid, large four-line blue, common silverline, plum Judy, plain scupid, pea blue, metallic cerulean, chestnut Bob, dark palm dart, brown awl ^[6]

Ant species include Anenictus sp1, Anoplolepis longipes,Camponotus parius, Crematogaster biroi, Crematogaster sp 1*, Crematogaster sp 2*, Diacamma rugosum, Lepisiota capensis,Leptogenys chinesis, Leptogenys coonorensis, Leptogenys diminuta, Lophomyrmex quadripinosus, Meranoplus bicolor, Monomorium indicum, Myrmicaria striata, Myrmicaria brunnea, Oligomyrmex wroughtonii, Pachycondyla sp1*, Paratrechina sp1*, Pheidole sharpi, Pheidole sp1*, Pheidole sp2*, Pheidologeton diverus, Polyrhachis exercita, Solenopsis geminate, Tetraponera rufonigra, Tetraponera sp1* (* New species yet to be identified.) ^[7]

Dung beetles include Catharsius granulatus *, Copris indicus *, Oniticellus cinctus*, Onitis singhalensis *, Onthophagus beesoni*, Onthophagus ensifer *, Onthophagus rana *, Onthophagus sp.107* #, Onthophagus tarandus*, Picnopanaleus rotundus, Caccobius diminutives, Caccobius ultor, Copris furciceps, Copris sp.1#, Heliocopris dominus, Pseudonthophagus sp.2#, Sisyphus neglectus, Caccobius inermis, Caccobius meridionalis., Caccobius torticornis, Caccobius sp.1#, Copris sodalist, Onthophagus socialis, Onthophagus sp.301#, Onitis phelemon, Onthophagus furcillifer, Caccobius gallinus, Onthophagus rufulgens, Onthophagus sp.302#, Copris repertus, Pseudonthophagus sp.1#, Copris davisoni, Onitis falcatus, Onthophagus turbatus, Copris imitans, Onthophagus quadridentatus, Caccobius vulcanus, Liatongus affinis, Oniticellus spinipes, Sisyphus longipus, Onthophagus dama (* extremely rare (Represented by a single specimen in the collection), # New species yet to be identified.^[7][8]

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Dudhwa National Park

Dudhwa Nal Parkation

The Dudhwa National Park is a national park in the Terai of Uttar Pradesh, India, and covers an area of 490.3 km² (189.3 sq mi), with a buffer zone of 190 km² (73 sq mi). It is part of the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve.
It is located on the Indo-Nepal border in the Lakhimpur Kheri District, and has buffer of reserved forest areas on the northern and southern sides. It represents one of the few remaining examples of a highly diverse and productive Terai ecosystem, supporting a large number of endangered species, obligate species of tall wet grasslands and species of restricted distribution

History

The area was established in 1958 as a wildlife sanctuary for swamp deer. Thanks to the efforts of Billy Arjan Singh the area was notified as a national park in January 1977. In 1987, the park was declared a tiger reserve and brought under the purview of the ‘Project Tiger’. Together with the Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary and the Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary it forms the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve

Climate

ike most of northern India, Dudhwa has an extreme humid subtropical with dry winters (CWa) type of climate. Summers are hot with temperatures rising up to 40 °C (104 °F). During winters from mid-October to mid-March, temperatures hover between 20 and 30 °C (68 and 86 °F). The months of February to April are ideal for visiting the park.

Prevalent winds are westerly. The hot wind Loo blows strongly from mid-April up to end of May. Monsoon starting in mid-June and lasting up to September accounts for 90% of the rainfall of 150 cm (59 in). Temperatures range from between a minimum of9 °C (48 °F) in winter to a maximum of up to 45 °C (113 °F) in peak summer.

Habitat

The area of the park falls within the Upper Gangetic plains and is a vast alluvial plain ranging in altitude from 150 m (490 ft) in the farthest southeast to 182 metres (597 ft) in the extreme north. The park's mosaic of high forest interspersed with grasslands is characteristic of the Terai ecosystems in India and the area is, probably, the last prominent remnant of this type of ecosystem. The forests, especially the sal forests, have always been very dense and can be categorized into northern tropical semi-evergreen forest, northern Indian moist deciduous forest, tropical seasonal swamp forest and northern tropical dry deciduous forest. The main flora comprises sal, asna, shisham, jamun, gular, sehore and bahera.

Fauna

Major attractions of Dudhwa National Park are the tigers (population 98 in 1995) and swamp deer (population over 1,600). Billy Arjan Singh successfully hand-reared and reintroduced zoo-born tigers and leopards into the wilds of Dudhwa. Some rare species inhabit the park. Hispid hare, earlier thought to have become extinct, was rediscovered here in 1984.

In March, 1984 Indian rhinoceros was reintroduced into Dudhwa from Pobitora Sanctuary in Assam and Nepal. 

The other animals to be seen here include swamp deer, sambar deer, barking deer, spotted deer, hog deer, sloth bear, ratel, jackal, civets, jungle cat, fishing cat, leopard cat.

Dudhwa National Park is a stronghold of the barasingha. Around half of the world's barasinghas are present in Dudhwa National Park. Smaller than the sambar deer, the barasinghas have 12 antlers that collectively measure up to 100 cm (39 in). One can spot herd of these rare animals passing through open grasslands. Around half of the surviving population of Barasinghas is found in the park. These animals are smaller than sambar deer and weigh around 180 kg. Due to their slightly woolly, dark brown to pale yellow cloak, the grasslands acts as the perfect camouflage.

Birds

The park has rich bird life, with over 350 species, including the swamp francolin, great slaty woodpecker and Bengal florican. Dudhwa also boasts a range of migratory birds that settle here during winters. It includes among others, painted storks, black and white necked storks, sarus cranes, woodpeckers, barbets, kingfishers, minivets, bee-eaters, bulbuls and varied night birds of prey.

There are also drongos, barbets, cormorants, ducks, geese, hornbills, bulbuls, teal, woodpeckers, heron, bee-eaters, minivets, kingfishers, egrets, orioles, painted storks, owls.

Dudhwa's birds in particular are a delight for any avid bird watcher where bengal florican is most popular between bird watchers. The marshlands are habitat for about 400 species of resident and migratory birds including the swamp francolin, great slaty woodpecker, Bengal florican, plenty of painted stork, sarus crane, several species of owl, Asian barbet, woodpecker and minivets. Much of the park’s avian fauna is aquatic in nature and found around Dudhwa’s lakes such as Banke Tal.

The endangered white-rumped vulture has been sighted in a group of 115 individuals.

Dudhwa National Park