Rajaji National Park

Rajaji National Park
IUCN Category II (National Park)
Rajaji National Park, Uttarakhand
Location	Uttarakhand, India
Nearest city	Haridwar and Dehra Dun
Coordinates	30°03′29″N 78°10′22″E
Area	202,630 acres (820 km²)
Established	1983
Governing body	Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Uttarakhand

Rajaji National Park is an Indian national park that encompasses the Shivaliks, near the foothills of the Himalayas. It is spread over 820 km²., and three districts of Uttarakhand: Haridwar, Dehradun and Pauri Garhwal. In 1983, three wildlife sanctuaries in the area namely, Chilla, Motichur and Rajaji sanctuaries were merged into one .

Rajaji National Park has been named after C. Rajagopalachari (Rajaji), a prominent leader of the Freedom Struggle, the second and last Governor-General of independent India and one of the first recipients of India's highest civilian award Bharat Ratna (in 1954).

Flora

Rajaji National Park contains tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, in particular those of the Upper Gangetic Plains moist deciduous forests ecoregion. The forest ecosystems of the Rajaji National Park are quite varied and diverse. A general survey of the forests reveals some important types of plant associations: Shorea, Mallotus and Adina community; Shorea, Terminalia and Bridelia community; Dalbergia, Acacia community; Syzygium, Phoebe and Drypetes community. The tropical forest ecosystems of the park have many unique characteristics, which have both scientific as well as practical significance for development. Based on the physiognomy and floristic composition, the permanent vegetation of the park can be grouped into following six types: 1. Sal forest 2. Mixed forest 3. Riverine forest 4. Scrub forest 5. Grassland 6. Sub-tropical pine forest

Fauna

Inhabiting the dense green jungles that form the park are an impressive array of creatures - 23 species of mammals - including tigers, leopards, elephants, deer, jungle cat, wild boar and sloth bear - and 315 species of birds are found in Rajaji . The most prominent avian species include pea fowl, woodpeckers, pheasants, kingfishers and barbets, supplemented by a number of migratory species during the winter months. Besides that, the rivers which flow through the park harbour fish such as trout and mahseer.

The park has the largest population of Elephants in Uttarakhand. It also has a good number of Tigers and Leopards. Both elephants and tiger are here, at the North-Western limit of their distribution in India. Wild animal species found in Rajaji National Park include:

• Asian Elephant
• Bengal Tiger
• Leopard
• Jungle Cat
• Striped Hyena
• The Goat-like Goral
• Himalayan yellow throated marten
• Indian Hare
• Sloth Bear
• Himalayan Black Bear
• King Cobra
• Jackal
• Barking Deer
• Sambhar
• Wild boar
• Rhesus macaque
• Indian langur
• Indian Porcupine
• Monitor lizard
• Python

The park also houses over four hundred bird species including the Great Pied Hornbill, Himalayan Pied Kingfisher and the fire tailed sunbird. This area is the first staging ground after the migratory birds cross over the Himalayas into the Indian subcontinent.

Access

Rajaji Park, which has several gates, is accessible from Dehradun, Kotdwar and Haridwar: the Ramgarh Gate and Mohand Gate are within 25 km of Dehradun; the Motichur, Ranipur and Chilla Gates are about 9 km from Haridwar; Kunao Gate is 6 km from Rishikesh; and Laldhang gate is 25 km from Kotdwar. Saharanpur, which is conveniently linked by train to other parts of India, is another attractive point to reach the Mohand area of the Park, in nearly an hour by road.

Incidents

Rajaji National Park was in the news in April 2010, when a forest fire which started on the fringes of the park, spread out over a large area and threatened the Chandi Devi Temple.

External links

• Rajaji National Park Website