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National Parks in News ...... 2 About ...... 4 Kudremukh National Park ...... 4 Nagarhole National Park ...... 4 Rajaji National Park ...... 4 Dibru-Saikhowa National Park ...... 5 Guru Ghasidas National Park ...... 5 Madhav National Park ...... 5 Gorumara National Park ...... 5 Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve ...... 6 Gir National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary ...... 6 Bhitarkanika National Park ...... 6 Kanha National park and Tiger Reserve ...... 6 Mount Harriet National Park ...... 6 Namdapha National Park ...... 7 Sultanpur National Park ...... 8 Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, National Park, Wildlife Sanctuary ...... 8

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National Parks in News

About  An area, whether within a sanctuary or not, can be notified by the state government to be constituted as a National Park, by reason of its ecological, faunal, floral, geomorphological, or zoological association or importance, needed to for the purpose of protecting & propagating or developing wildlife therein or its environment.  There are 101 existing national parks in India covering an area of 40,564.00 km2, which is 1.23% of the geographical area of the country (National Wildlife Database, December, 2019).  India's first national park was Hailey National Park, now Jim Corbett National Park, established in 1936  What is allowed and what is not allowed inside National Parks: • Here, no human activity is allowed. • Grazing of livestock and private tenurial rights are not permitted here. • Species mentioned in the Schedules of the Wildlife Act are not allowed to be hunted or captured. • No person shall destroy, remove, or exploit any wildlife from a National Park or destroy or damage the habitat of any wild animal or deprive any wild animal of its habitat within a national park. • They cannot be downgraded to the status of a ‘sanctuary’.  Declaration of National Parks: • National parks can be declared both by the Central Government and State governments. No alteration of the boundaries of a national park shall be made except on a resolution passed by the State Legislature.

Kudremukh National Park  Recently, the Karnataka administration has said that declaring areas within 1 km from the border of Kudremukh National Park as Eco Sensitive Zone (ESZ) will not affect the life of residents inside the identified areas.  It began its existence as a Reserved Forest in the year of 1916, and was declared as a National Park in the year of 1987.  Three important rivers i.e. the Tunga, the Bhadra and the Nethravathi are said to have their origin in the park.  Fauna: There are highly dense forests rich in varieties of wild life like as tiger, leopard, wild dog, Malabar giant squirrel, common langur, sloth bear, gaur, sambar, spotted deer, barking deer and the sloth bear.  Ranges: The Park is divided into four ranges i.e. Kudremukh, Kerekatte, Kalasa and Shimoga.  The Kadambi Waterfalls lies in the Kudremukh National Park.

Nagarhole National Park  Recently, the Karnataka Forest Department has decided to put in place a traffic monitoring mechanism along the roads adjacent to Nagarahole National Park.  It is also known as ‘Rajiv Gandhi National Park.  It was established as a wildlife sanctuary in 1955 and was upgraded into a national park in 1988. It was declared as the 37th Tiger reserve under Project Tiger in 1999.  The Park lies in the Western Ghats and is a part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve.  The Nagarahole River flows through the park, which joins the Kabini River which also is a boundary between Nagarahole and Bandipur National Park.  Flora: The vegetation consists mainly of moist deciduous forests with predominating trees of teak and rosewood.  Fauna: Asian elephants, chital (spotted deer), Indian mouse deer, gaur, stripe-necked and ruddy mongooses, grey langur, bonnet macaque, Asian wild dog, leopard, tiger, sloth bear among others.

Rajaji National Park  Recently, a clash took place between Van Gujjars and the Uttarakhand forest officials in the Rajaji National Park.

 Location: Haridwar (Uttarakhand), along the foothills of the Shivalik range, spans 820 square kilometres.  This area is the North Western Limit of habitat of Asian elephants.  Forest types: include sal forests, riverine forests, broad–leaved mixed forests, scrubland and grassy.  Species: It possesses as many as 23 species of mammals and 315 bird species such as elephants, tigers, leopards, deers and ghorals, etc.  It was declared a Tiger Reserve in 2015.  It is home to the Van Gujjars in the winters.

Dibru-Saikhowa National Park  The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change(MoEFCC) has given environmental clearance to Oil India to drill in Dibru-Saikhowa National Park from outside.  Dibru-Saikhowa is a National Park as well as a Biosphere Reserve.  It is situated in the south bank of the river Brahmaputra in the extreme east of Assam state in India.  The park is bounded by the Brahmaputra and Lohit Rivers in the north and Dibru river in the south.  Vegetation: Moist mixed semi-evergreen forests, moist mixed deciduous forests, canebrakes and grasslands. It is also the largest salix swamp forest in north-eastern India.  Famed for Ferral horses, a total 36 species of mammals and above 400 species of birds have so far been recorded from the Dibru-Saikhowa National Park.  Fauna: 36 species of mammals have so far been recorded- Tiger, Elephant, Leopard, Jungle Cat, Bears, Small Indian Civet, Squirrels, Gangetic Dolphin, Slow Loris, Assamese Macague, Rhesus Macaque, Capped Langur, Hoolock Gibbon, Wild Pigs, Sambar, Barking Deer, Water Buffalo, Feral Horses etc.

Guru Ghasidas National Park  Chhattisgarh state is set to have Guru Ghasidas National Park in Kotiya district as its fourth ‘tiger reserve’. The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) had approved to declare Guru Ghasidas National Park as a tiger reserve in 2014.  Emphasis was laid on increasing number of tigers in Chhattisgarh and their safety measures like radio collaring system for tiger safety as well as resettlement of more cheetahs from Barnavapara Sanctuary to Guru GhasiDas National Park and Udanti-Sitanadi Tiger Reserve.  Drafting of action plans for conservation of wild buffalo (wild animal of Chhattisgarh), hill myna (state bird of Chhattisgarh) and vultures. At least 5 species of vultures are found in Achanakmar tiger reserve, Guru Ghasidas National Park and Mainpat in Surguja.  The decision was also taken to develop water sources for wild animals in the state’s forests, construction of large ponds in the forest villages and plantation of fruits and vegetables especially Narwali vegetables, plantation of bamboo and banana so that these wild animals won’t have to wander here and there for food and fodder.

Madhav National Park  Located in Madhya Pradesh.  It was named after Madho Rao Scindia, the Maharaja of Gwalior belonging to the Scindia dynasty of the Marathas.  It is a combination of dry deciduous & dry thorn forests.  It makeshome for different variety of antelopes like Nilgai, Chinkara, and Deer, and carnivours such as leopard, wolf, jackal, fox, wild pig, etc.

Gorumara National Park  It is situated at the foothills of Eastern Himalaya in Terai region in West Bengal.  Jaldhaka, a tributary of Brahmaputra River, flows beside the Gorumara National Park.  Gorumara was declared a reserve forest in 1895, a wildlife sanctuary in 1949 and a national park in 1994.  It is famous for its vast population of one-horned rhinoceros.  The Chapramari Wildlife Sanctuary is located on the northern side of Gorumara National Park.

Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve  It is a national park in Assam.  Formed in 1908 on the recommendation of Mary Curzon, the park is located in the edge of the Eastern Himalayan biodiversity hotspots – Golaghat and Nagaon district.  Kaziranga was declared a Tiger Reserve in 2006.  Kaziranga records 96 species of wetland birds  It hosts two-thirds of the world’s great one-horned rhinoceroses.  It is a World Heritage Site.  It is also recognized as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International for the conservation of avifaunal species.  Much of the focus of conservation efforts in Kaziranga are focused on the 'big four' species— Rhino, Elephant, Royal Bengal tiger and Asiatic water buffalo.  Kaziranga is crisscrossed by four main rivers — Brahmaputra, Diphlu, Mora Diphlu and Mora Dhansiri.  Fauna: It is the home of the world's most one-horned rhinos. The park is home to large breeding populations of elephants, wild water buffalo, and swamp deer. • Muchof the focus of conservation efforts in Kaziranga are focused on the 'big four' species— Rhino, Elephant, Royal Bengal tiger and Asiatic water buffalo.  Flora: Kaziranga is a vast expanse of tall elephant grass, marshland, and dense tropical moist broadleaf forests, criss-crossed by four major rivers, including the Brahmaputra, and the park includes numerous small bodies of water.

Gir National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary  It is situated in the Saurashtra region of Gujarat which was established in 1965.  It is part of the Kathiawar-Gir dry deciduous forests Ecoregion  The major perennial rivers are Datardi, Shingoda, Hiran, Shetrunji, Machhundri, Godavari and Raval.

Bhitarkanika National Park  According to official estimates, the population of the saltwater or estuarine crocodile has increased in the water bodies of Odisha’s Bhitarkanika National Park to 1,757.  It is located in Kendrapara district of Odisha.  It is inundated by the rivers Brahmani, Baitarani, Dhamra, Pathsala.  It is the second-largest mangrove ecosystem in India, the first being Sundarbans (West Bengal).  It has been designated as a Ramsar Site.  There are three species of crocodilians—saltwater, Mugger and Gharial.

Kanha National park and Tiger Reserve  It is located on the Maikal range of the Satpura hills, and is spread over Mandla and Balaghat districts of Madhya Pradesh.  It is first tiger reserve in India to officially introduce a mascot, Bhoorsingh the Barasingha  The swamp deer is endemic to KNPTR.

Mount Harriet National Park  Location: It is located in the south of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.  Mount Harriet: is the third-highest peak in the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago next to Saddle Peak in North Andaman and Mount Thuillier in Great Nicobar. • The park is covered with evergreen forest pockets.  Flora and faunal species: Andaman wild pigs, saltwater crocodiles, butterflies and palm trees.

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Namdapha National Park  It lies at the international border between India and Myanmar within Changlang District in the state of Arunachal Pradesh.  It is only park in the World to have the four Feline species of big cat namely the- Tiger (Panthera Tigris), Leopard (Panthera Pardus), Snow Leopard (Panthera Uncia), Clouded Leopard (NeofelisNebulosa).  Hoolock Gibbons, the only ‘ape’ species found in India is found in this National Park.

Sultanpur National Park  Situated in Gurgaon district of Haryana  It is a bird paradise for bird watchers. It is famous for its migratory as well as resident birds.  Mammals: Blackbuck, Nilgai, Hog deer, Sambar, Leopard etc.  Birds: Siberian Cranes, Greater Flamingo, Demoiselle Crane etc.

Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, National Park, Wildlife Sanctuary  It lies on the north-western side of the Nilgiri Hills (Blue Mountains), in Nilgiri District.  It shares its boundaries with the states of Karnataka and Kerala.  Vegetation: tropical moist deciduous, tropical dry deciduous forest, tropical dry thorn forests are in the east  Major Fauna: Indian elephant, Bengal tiger, gaur, Indian leopard, golden jackal, gray langur (Hanuman langur), bonnet macaque, sloth bear, sambar deer, Indian muntjac, Indian giant squirrel, red giant flying squirrel, etc  Avian Major Fauna: Indian white-rumped vulture (CR) and India Vulture (CR).  Threats: Tourism and invasive species such as lantana.