Rajgir Rajgir, meaning "The City of Kings," is a historic town in the district of Nalanda in Bihar, India. As the ancient seat and capital of the Haryanka dynasty, the Pradyota dynasty, the Brihadratha dynasty and the Mauryan Empire, as well as the d ...

Nalanda district Nalanda district is one of the thirty-eight districts of the state of Bihar in India. Bihar Sharif is the administrative headquarters of this district. The districts contain the ancient Nalanda Mahavihara a UNESCO World Heritage site. Nalanda is ...

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...

Nalanda Nalanda (, ) was a renowned ''mahavihara'' (Buddhist monastic university) in ancient Magadha (modern-day Bihar), India.Rajgir Hills within the South Gangetic Plain. This sanctuary lies between latitudes 24°55’ and 25°05’ N and longitude 85°6’ and 85°30’ E in

Nalanda District Nalanda district is one of the thirty-eight districts of the state of Bihar in India. Bihar Sharif is the administrative headquarters of this district. The districts contain the ancient Nalanda Mahavihara a UNESCO World Heritage site. Nalanda is ...

of

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...

and extends over an area of 3584 hectares or 35.84 sq. km. The protection this forest was notified as Pant Wildlife Sanctuary Rajgir in 1978.

Landscape

The landscape of Pant Wildlife Sanctuary is uneven terrain enclosed by five mountains – Ratnagiri, Vipulgiri, Vaibhargiri, Songiri and Udaygiri.

Flora and fauna

The forests of this sanctuary intercept rainfall and help recharge ground water aquifer, protect rivers and streams against siltation by minimising soil erosion and the sanctuary has ecologically important species of flora and fauna, with

mixed deciduous forest Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests (TSMF), also known as tropical moist forest, is a subtropical and tropical forest habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Description TSMF is generally found in large, discon ...

.

Wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...

(''Sus scrofa''),

nilgai The nilgai (''Boselaphus tragocamelus'') (, literally meaning "blue cow") is the largest Asian antelope and is ubiquitous across the northern Indian subcontinent. It is the sole member of the genus ''Boselaphus'' and was described by Peter Sim ...

(''Boselaphus tragocamelus''),

chital The chital or cheetal (''Axis axis''; ), also known as the spotted deer, chital deer, and axis deer, is a deer species native to the Indian subcontinent. It was first described and given a binomial name by German naturalist Johann Christian Po ...

(''Axis axis''),

red junglefowl The red junglefowl (''Gallus gallus'') is a tropical bird in the family Phasianidae. It ranges across much of Southeast Asia and parts of South Asia. It was formerly known as the Bankiva or Bankiva Fowl. It is the species that gave rise to the ...

(''Gallus gallus murghi''),

Indian crested porcupine The Indian crested porcupine (''Hystrix indica'') is a hystricomorph rodent species native to southern Asia and the Middle East. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. It belongs to the Old World porcupine family, Hystricidae. De ...

(''Hystrix indica''),

Indian hare The Indian hare (''Lepus nigricollis''), also known as the black-naped hare, is a common species of hare native to the Indian subcontinent, and Java. Introductions It has been introduced to Madagascar, Comoro Islands, Andaman Islands, Irian Jay ...

(''Lepus nigricollis''),

northern plains gray langur The northern plains gray langur (''Semnopithecus entellus''), also known as the sacred langur, Bengal sacred langur and Hanuman langur, is a species of primate in the family Cercopithecidae. Taxonomy The northern plains gray langur belongs to th ...

(''Semnopithecus entellus''),

rhesus macaque The rhesus macaque (''Macaca mulatta''), colloquially rhesus monkey, is a species of Old World monkey. There are between six and nine recognised subspecies that are split between two groups, the Chinese-derived and the Indian-derived. Generally b ...

(''Macaca mulatta''), and

golden jackal The golden jackal (''Canis aureus''), also called common jackal, is a wolf-like canid that is native to Southeast Europe, Southwest Asia, South Asia, and regions of Southeast Asia. The golden jackal's coat varies in color from a pale creamy y ...

(''Canis aureus'') are the species of vital importance in this sanctuary, besides some of the endangered species like

Indian python The Indian python (''Python molurus'') is a large python species native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It is also known by the common names black-tailed python, Indian rock python, and Asian r ...

(''Python molurus'') etc. are also found in the sanctuary. The sanctuary has substantial faunal diversity with 28 species of large mammals, 183 species of birds, 39 species of reptiles, 11 species of amphibians, 13 species of fish and 51 species of butterfly, many of whom are threatened.

Eco-sensitive zone

In 2015 an eco-sensitive zone was designated around the sanctuary. The eco-sensitive zone extends from 100 metres to three kilometres from the boundary of the sanctuary, covering an area 2954.5 hectares or 29.545 sq. km. The Bihar state government was directed to create a zonal master plan to document and preserve forests, water bodies, agricultural areas, and places of worship, to regulate development, land use, infrastructure, and industries, and to restore denuded areas and water catchments within the zone.

Administration

It is administered by

Nalanda Nalanda (, ) was a renowned ''mahavihara'' (Buddhist monastic university) in ancient Magadha (modern-day Bihar), India.Nalanda district Nalanda district is one of the thirty-eight districts of the state of Bihar in India. Bihar Sharif is the administrative headquarters of this district. The districts contain the ancient Nalanda Mahavihara a UNESCO World Heritage site. Nalanda is ...

Administration,

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...

.

Rajgir Zoo Safari

Rajgir Zoo Safari The Rajgir Zoo Safari or Rajgir Wildlife Safari is a Wildlife safari located in Rajgir, Bihar, India, was opened to public on 16 February 2022. The zoo safari has been developed by the Department of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Go ...

is an under construction

Safari park A safari park, sometimes known as a wildlife park, is a zoo-like commercial drive-in tourist attraction where visitors can drive their own vehicles or ride in vehicles provided by the facility to observe freely roaming animals. A safari park ...

at Rajgir in Indian state Bihar. Chief minister of Bihar

Nitish Kumar Nitish Kumar (born 1 March 1951) is an Indian politician, who is serving as Chief Minister of Bihar since 22 February 2015, having previous held the office from 2005 to 2014 and for a short period in 2000. The leader of the Janata Dal (Unite ...

laid the foundation stone on 17 January 2017. The aim was to complete it by the end of 2019. It is being built over 480 acres of land and its estimated budget is RS 177 crores. Here the animals will not be in cages but they will be free to roam over a forest area and visitors will be allowed to watch them from a secured environment-friendly vehicle. It will be located between the Vaibhgiri and Songiri mountain in the forest area, about half a kilometre from the Rajgir-Gaya road which is adjacent to the Pant Wildlife Sanctuary at the foothills of Jethian hill.

References

{{reflist Wildlife sanctuaries in Bihar Lower Gangetic Plains moist deciduous forests Tourist attractions in Nalanda district 1978 establishments in Bihar Protected areas established in 1978

Landscape

Flora and fauna

Eco-sensitive zone

Administration

Rajgir Zoo Safari

See also

References