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Places in News: Kaziranga National Park
Listening to birds, counting them too: Kaziranga census that PM mentioned
Context: Kaziranga National Park has become India’s third-highest tiger density hotspot with 148 tigers (18.65/100 sq km) in 2024, aided by expanded monitoring and new sampling zones. It also conducted India’s first Grassland Bird Census, identifying 43 species, including the Critically Endangered Bengal Florican.
About Kaziranga National Park
- Established as a World Heritage Site in 1985.
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Topography and Geographical Landscape:
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- Covers 378 sq km (core area), with additional buffer zones.
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Terrain includes:
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- Flat alluvial floodplains
- Tall elephant grasslands
- Marshes and beels (oxbow lakes)
- Chapories (elevated refuges during floods)
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- The Brahmaputra River forms the northern and eastern boundary of Kaziranga, while rivers like Diphlu, Mora Diphlu, and Mora Dhansiri flow through it, shaping its dynamic ecosystem and sustaining rich aquatic biodiversity.
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Prominent Species Found:
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- Kaziranga is famed for its “Big Five”: Great Indian One-Horned Rhino, Asian Elephant, Royal Bengal Tiger, Asiatic Water Buffalo, Swamp Deer (Barasingha).
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Other notable fauna:
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- Gangetic River Dolphin
- Hoolock Gibbon (India’s only ape)
- Migratory birds: Ferruginous Duck, Baer’s Pochard, Greater Adjutant
- Reptiles: King Cobra, Reticulated Python, Gharial
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Type of Forest:
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- Alluvial Inundated Grasslands (41%) – dominated by tall elephant grass
- Tropical Moist Mixed Deciduous Forests (29%)
- Tropical Semi-Evergreen Forests
- Swamplands and Wetlands – rich in aquatic plants like water lilies and hyacinths.
