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Introduction |
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Kaziranga National Park lies on the south bank of the Brahmaputra and its boundary for the most part follows the Mora Diphlu River and runs parallel to National Highway No. 37. It covers an area of 688 sq. kilometers. The Park was first established in 1908, as a reserve forest with only about a dozen rhinos and was declared a National Park in 1974. Mihimukh is the starting area for the park and elephants can be hired from here to enter the sanctuary.
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Fauna |
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Kaziranga contains significant breeding populations of 35 mammalian species. The park has the distinction of being home to the world's largest population of the Great Indian One-Horned Rhinoceros , Wild Asiatic Water Buffalo, and Eastern Swamp Deer, elephants, gaur, sambar, Indian Muntjac, wild boar and hog deer. Indian Tigers and Leopards, Hispid Hare, Indian Gray Mongoose, Small Indian Mongooses, Large Indian Civet, Small Indian Civets, Bengal Fox, Golden Jackal, Sloth Bear, Chinese Pangolin, Indian Pangolins, Hog Badger, Chinese Ferret Badgers and Parti-colored flying squirrels, Assamese Macaque, Capped, Golden Langur. Kaziranga rivers are also home to the endangered Ganges Dolphin.
Kaziranga is home to a variety of birds such as the Lesser White-fronted Goose, Ferruginous Duck, Baer's Pochard duck, Black-necked Stork and Asian Openbill stork migrate from Central Asia to the park during winter. Riverine birds include the Blyth's Kingfisher, White-bellied Heron, Dalmatian Pelican, Spot-billed Pelican, Spotted Greenshank and Black-bellied Tern. Birds of prey include the rare Eastern Imperial, Greater Spotted, White-tailed, Pallas's Fish Eagle, Grey-headed Fish Eagle, and the Lesser Kestrel.
Two of the largest snakes in the world, the Reticulated Python and Rock Python, as well as the longest venomous snake in the world, the King Cobra, inhabit the park.
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Flora |
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Four main types of vegetation types exist in the park. These are alluvial inundated grasslands, alluvial savanna woodlands, tropical moist mixed deciduous forests and tropical semi-evergreen forests. Based on Landsat data for 1986, percent coverage by vegetation is: tall grasses 41%, short grasses 11%, open jungle 29%, swamps 4%, rivers and water bodies 8%, and sand 6%. Thick evergreen forests, near the Kanchanjhuri, Panbari and Tamulipathar blocks, contain trees such as Aphanamixis polystachya, Talauma hodgsonii, Dillenia indica, Garcinia tinctoria, Ficus rumphii, Cinnamomum bejolghota, and species of Syzygium. Tropical semi-evergreen forests are present near Baguri, Bimali and Haldibari. 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 Leea umbraculifera.
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Introduction |
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Kaziranga National Park lies on the south bank of the Brahmaputra and its boundary for the most part follows the Mora Diphlu River and runs parallel to National Highway No. 37. It covers an area of 688 sq. kilometers. The Park was first established in 1908, as a reserve forest with only about a dozen rhinos and was declared a National Park in 1974. Mihimukh is the starting area for the park and elephants can be hired from here to enter the sanctuary.
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