Banke National Park is located in the
Lumbini Province
Lumbini Province ( ne, लुम्बिनी प्रदेश, Lumbinī pradēśa) is a province in western Nepal. It borders Gandaki Province and Karnali Province to the north, Sudurpashchim Province to the west, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar o ...
and was established in 2010 as
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
’s tenth national park after its recognition as a "Gift to the Earth".
[DNPWC (2010)]
''Banke National Park''
Government of Nepal, Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation, Department of National Parks and Soil Conservation The protected area covers an area of with most parts falling on the
Churia range. The park is surrounded by a buffer zone of in the districts of
Banke,
Salyan and
Dang.
[Bhushal, R.P. (2010)]
''Nod to Banke National Park.''
The Himalayan Times, 13 May 2010
Together with the neighboring
Bardia National Park
;
, iucn_category = II
, photo = Bardiya_02.jpg
, photo_caption =
, photo_alt=
, map_image =
, map_caption = Location in Nepal
, location = Nepal
, map = Nepal
, relief = 1
, coordinates =
, area_km2 = 968
, established = 1988
, gov ...
, the coherent protected area of represents the ''Tiger Conservation Unit (TCU) Bardia-Banke''.
Vegetation
The vegetation in Banke National Park is composed of at least 113 tree species, 107 herbal species and 85 shrub and climber species. Common species include
sal,
axlewood, ''
Semecarpus anacardium
''Semecarpus anacardium'', commonly known as the marking nut tree, phobi nut tree and varnish tree, is a native of India, found in the outer Himalayas to the Coromandel Coast. It is closely related to the cashew.
Etymology
''Semecarpus anacardi ...
'',
khair
Khair is a town and a municipal board in Aligarh district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
Khair is the biggest town of Aligarh district. It is situated around 27 km from Aligarh, 114 km from Delhi and 60 km from Mathura.
Histo ...
, and''Terminalia alata''.
Fauna
The protected area holds
tiger
The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus '' Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on u ...
and
four-horned antelope
The four-horned antelope (''Tetracerus quadricornis''), or ''chousingha'', is a small antelope found in India and Nepal. Its four horns distinguish it from most other bovids, which have two horns (with a few exceptions, such as the Jacob sheep) ...
. In 2014, a
ruddy mongoose
The ruddy mongoose (''Urva smithii'') is a mongoose species native to hill forests in India and Sri Lanka.
Description
The ruddy mongoose's fur is brownish and coarse, long in hindquarters, but short in other parts of the body. Its head to body ...
was recorded for the first time in the protected area.
[Subba, S.A., Malla, S., Dhakal, M., Thapa, B.B., Bahadur, L., Bhandari, K.O. and Bajracharya, P. (2014). Ruddy Mongoose ''Herpestes smithii'': a new species for Nepal. Small Carnivore Conservation 51: 88–89.]
References
National parks of Nepal
Protected areas established in 2010
2010 establishments in Nepal
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