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Royal Chitwan National Park |
 Royal Chitwan National
Park
The Roayal Chitwan
National Park in southern Nepal is the richest wildlife reserve in Asia
with an area of 932 sq,km. Easy access in 5-6 hours by bus riding or 35 minute
short flight from Kathmandu or Pokhara. The
home of the indigenous people, the Tharu, and the home of the unique one-
horned rhino, majestic Royal Bengal Tiger, Wild Asian elephant, Many species of
deer, and the largest number of zoological species of local and migrated birds
more than 450, Crocodile family with the rare species of Marshmugger, Gharial
and numerous flora & Fauna to be discovered. Elephant riding and walking
through the woods makes the unique experience of a safari interesting.
The Chitwan region has had a long
history of conservation. For many years it was the Royal hunting grounds for
the Kings and dignitaries of Nepal
and therefore was not hunted by the general public. Since 1963 wildlife
populations and ecosystems have been rebounding. In 1973 Chitwan became Nepal’s first
National Park. The relatively pristine state of the modern park and its unique
ecosystems prompted UNESCO to declare the park a World Heritage site in 1984.
Predictably, this park draws the maximum number of tourists and tourist lodges
and restaurants, complete with all jungle package programmers, are concentrated
here.
Vegetation and Animals:
·
The Chitwan valley is characterized by tropical
to subtropical forest. 70% of park vegetation is predominantly Sal ( Shorea
robusta ) forest, a moist deciduous climax vegetation type of the Terai region.
The remaining vegetation types include grassland (20%), riverine forest (7%)
and Sal with Chirpine ( Pinus roxburghii ) (3%), the latter occurring at the
top of the Churia range. The riverine forests mainly consists of khair, sissoo
and simal. The simal is with spiny bark when young and develops buttress at the
bottom in older stage. The grasslands form a diverse and complex community with
over 50 species. The Sacchrum species, often called elephant-grass can reach 8
m in height. The shorter grasses such as Imperata is useful for thatch roofs.
·
There are more than 43 species of mammals in the
park. The park is specially renowned for the protection of the endangered
one-horned rhinoceros, tiger, gharial crocodile along with many other common
species of wild animals. The estimated population of endangered species of
animals such as gaur, wild elephant, four horned antelope, striped hyena,
pangolin, gangetic dolphin, monitor lizard and python, etc.
·
Some of the other animals found in the park are
samber, chital, hog deer, barking deer, sloth bear, common leopard, ratel, palm
civet, wild dog, langur, rhesus monkey, etc.
·
There are over 450 species of birds in the park.
Among the endangered birds found in the park are Bengal florican, giant hornbill,
lesser florican, black stork and white stork, Few of the common birds seen are
peafowl, red jungle fowl, and different species of egrets, herons, kingfishers,
flycatchers and woodpeckers. The best time for bird watching is March and
December.
·
More than 45 species of amphibians and reptiles
occur in the park and some of which are marsh mugger crocodile, cobra, green
pit viper and various species of frogs and tortoises.
·
The park is actively engaged in the scientific
studies of several species of wild flora and fauna.
Seasons:
·
The park is under the tropical monsoon climate
with relatively high humidity. The winter, spring and monsoon are the three
main seasons. The cool winter season occurs from October to February. The
spring begins in March and is soon followed by summer that ends in early June.
The summer days are typically hot with 30 C on average day temperature. The
monsoon usually begins at the end of June and continues until September. The
mean annual rainfall is about 2150 mm and during this time of the year rivers
are flooded and most of the roads are virtually closed.
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