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About Rajaji National
Park
Rajaji National Park is situated along the hills and foothills of
Shiwalik ranges in the Himalayan foothills and represents the Shiwalik
eco-system. On the map it is located between Haridwar (Latitude 290
56’ 40”) and Dehradun (Latitude 300 20’ North) and 790 80’ E Longitude
(Dehradun 780 01’ 15” E (Ramgarh), Chillawali- 770 54’ 30” East).
Rajaji National park is accessible from many directions by road, rail
and air. Bus services and overnight trains are available for Dehradun
and Haridwar from Delhi and Lucknow. It is very well connected by road
from Saharanpur which in turn is very well connected by rail to Delhi,
Lucknow, Amritsar, Jammu Tawi and Calcutta. Jolly Grant Airport which
is only a few kilometers away from the Northern Boundary of the Park
has a daily 50 minutes flight from Delhi.
Rajaji National Park is distinct for its pristine scenic beauty and
rich bio- diversity. A paradise for nature lovers and wildlife
enthusiasts, the wildlife of the park is blessed with elephants,
tigers, leopards, deer and ghorals as its best known life forms.
Spread over an area of 820.42 sq Kms., Rajaji is a magni- ficient
ecosystem nestled in the Shivalik ranges and the beginning of the vast
Indo – Gangetic plains, thus representing vegetationof several
distinct zones and forest types like Sal forests, Reverine
forests, Board –leaved mixed forests, Scrubland and grassy. It posses
as many as 23 species of mammals and 315 birds species.
The abundance of nature’s bounties heaped in and around this park, are
bound to attract a large number of wildlife conservationists, nature
lovers and eco-friends to visit this most breathtaking wilderness
area.
FAUNA
The Rajaji National Park is rich in faunal wealth because of the
varied types of ecological niches existing in the reserve. The main
groups occur are mammals, birds, reptiles (snakes and lizards),
amphibians (frogs & toads) butterflies and fishes, and chiefly the
invertebrate groups are, the Sco rpions,
Centipedes, Odonata (dragon & damselflies), Hymenoptera (wasps, bees,
etc.) Isoptera (termites) and Lepidoptera which comprises more than 60
species. Our National Bird Peacock is found here in abundance.
Several important herbivores like Asian elephants, spotted deer,
sambhar, barking Deer, goral, blue bull (Neel Gai), hog deer, wild
boar, Rhesus monkey and common langur occur in the park. Among the
important carnivores areTiger and Leopard,
the smaller carnivores as copredators are Leopard cat, Jungle cat ,
Civet cat and Yellow Throated Martin. Besides, other mammals like
hyaena, jackal and bengal fox are not an uncommon sight and work as
scavangers in the park.
In all 49 species of mammals belonging to 42 genera, in 21 families
and nine orders have been recorded. According to census done in 1999
there are 445 elephants, 32 tigers and 177 leopards, besides thousands
of other wild animals in the park.
315 species of birds are reported to occur in the park. Birds like
ducks, teals, cormorants, egrets, lapwing, pond herons, pea fowl,
jungle fowl, various species of partridges and pheasants, drongo,
crows, owlets and nightjars, birds of prey, etc, are quite common.
Twenty eight species of snakes, 12 species of turtles & tortoises and
9 species of lizards among Reptilia are being recorded from the park.
Ten spe cies
under six genera and four families belonging to order Anura (toads &
frogs) with their developmental stages have been recorded from the
Park. Uperodon systoma, Polypedates maculatus and Rana crassa are
recorded for the first time from the park. Besides, an interesting
phenomenon of breeding of Bufonids was observed, which showed that B.
stomaticus & B.melanostictus breeds during July-August on the northern
slope of Siwalik ,whereas the same species breeds up to November on
the southern slope. Polypedates maculatus, which inhabits the live
tree-holes, breeds only in July.
As many as 49 species of fish fauna have been recorded from from the
wetlands of the Park, including a small loach Nemacheilus doonensis as
new to the park, and another species Berilius dimorphicus as new to
science(ZSI,1995) .
Hymenopterous insects mainly refer to the Scolid wasps of the Park and
as many as 13 species have been recorded. Out of these, five species
are not only new to the area, but to the whole of the U.P(ZSI,lc).
The butterfly fauna of the Park is very rich and repersented by as
many as 60 species under eight families, out of the known nine
families of the Butterflies known from the adjoining ares chiefly
Garhwal And Kumaon hills of the Himalaya |
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Attractions Within The Park:
If you are looking for an adventure of a lifetime then Rajaji
National Park is just the place to check ou t.
Watch a herd of Elephants roaming majestically in the jungle or even a
Tiger picking its way through the tall grass or may find oneself
excited by wildlife of many kinds including Leopard, Jungle Cat,
Himalayan yellow throated Marten, Sambar, Cheetal, Barking Deer, Wild
Boar, Sloth Bear, Langoor, Ghoral, Monitor Lizard, Python, Civet and
even king-cobra and a vast variety of winged delights; Pea Fowl,
Jungle Fowl, Kaleej Pheasant, Hornbil, Woodpecker, Thrushes,
Kingfishers, Parakeets, Warbler, Barbet, Finch, Indian Roller, Oriola
and the list is endless.
In winters, becomes a bigger attractions as far as the avifauna is
concerned with a large variety of fascinating migratory birds play in
the azure waters of the River Ganga, which flows through the park.
Both the rivers of the area, Ganga and Song sheltered various species
of fish like Mahaseer, Kalabanse, Goonch, Chilwa and Trout.
Jungle Safari Trips :
Uttaranchal Forest Development Corporation organises a wide
range of Jungle Safaris in the high passes of Uttaranchal.
These have a wild thrilling experience you can't get anywhere. So
enjoy rides on elephants and get within heart-stopping handshaking
distance of Tigers, making you feel like a character out of Rudyard
Kipling's 'The Jungle Book'. All you have to do is enter the amazing
reserve forests of Uttaranchal. Come and become part of nature. |
