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. |
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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.
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 Scorpions, 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 species 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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State : Uttaranchal
Location : In Shivalik hills of Dehradun, Haridwar & Pauri Garhwal districts of Uttaranchal
Area : 820.42 Sq. Kms
Climate : Three distinct seasons; winter, summer and rainy
Altitude : 302 to 1000 mts. above MSLState |
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