Overview
"Kaziranga National Park - The World Heritage Site"
Located on the banks of the mighty river Brahmaputra in the far northeast in Assam, Kaziranga National Park covers an area of approximately 430 sq kms. The swamps and tall thickets of elephant grass make the park a perfect Habitat for the Indian one horned Rhino. Kaziranga was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1940 due to limitless poaching of the animal. A vast stretch of coarse, tall elephant grass, marshland and dense tropical forests, the park has managed to survive urbanization. Other major wild attractions include a large population of elephant, bison, swamp deer or barasingha, hog deer, sloth bear, tiger, leopard cat, otter, hog badger, capped langur, hoolock gibbon, wild boar and other animals. Kaziranga is also a haven for birds. Today Kaziranga is one of the wildlife sanctuaries in India where it’s possible to see the rhino out in open.
The flora at the Kaziranga National Park is comprised of three types: Alluvial inundated grasslands comprising of tall thickets of elephant grass and short grass
Tropical wet evergreen forests and tropical semi-evergreen forests.
But, the main characteristics of flora in Kaziranga are the dense and tall elephant grass intermixed by small swamplands left behind by the receding floodwaters of the river Brahmaputra. The marshes of Kaziranga National Park have an abundant cover of water lilies, water hyacinth, and lotus which provide a beautiful look to the surroundings of the park.
The common trees and shrubs are Albizia procera, Duabanga grandiflora, Lagerstroemia speciosa, Crateva unilocularis, Sterculia urens, Grewia serrulata, Mallotus philippensis, Bridelia retusa, Aphania rubra, Leea indica, and Lumbraculifera
Fauna at the Kaziranga National Park
Kaziranga was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1985. It is universally acknowledged for its importance as one of the most recent intact habitats of the great Indian one-horned rhinoceros. It is just because of the efforts taken by the conservation that the park today domiciles about 1,500 rhinos. Apart from rhinos it also acts as a home to over 70 percent of the world`s swamp or wild buffalo population. The rare swamp deer are also found here in Kaziranga. According to a recent census conducted in the year 2000, it is stated that Kaziranga sustains over 1,000 wild elephants and 450 species of wetland, grassland and woodland birds, of which 18 are globally threatened. The huge and continuously growing number of rhinos in the park is a matter of concern for the conservationists; it is felt that an epidemic could smear out the entire population. They have suggested that some of the rhinos should be shifted to the other sanctuaries and parks of Assam.
The moderate climatic conditions and the availability of food resources support the growth and survival of exceptional and diverse wildlife in Kaziranga National Park. Apart from the Indian One-horned Rhinos, Kaziranga Wildlife Sanctuary also has a sizable population of the Wild Buffalos and Indian Elephants. The national park also shelters about 15 species of India’s endangered mammals. The herd of wild and untamed elephants, migrating from the Mikir hills to the bheels (marshes or ox-bow lakes) is a common sight.
Wild Life Species
Apart from the above mentioned three, the other most notable wildlife of Kaziranga National Park has been categorized into Mammals, Reptiles, and Birds.
Mammals, Reptiles, Birds
