Saranda forest is a dense forest in the hilly region of

West Singhbhum West Singhbhum or Pashchimi Singhbhum is one of the 24 districts of Jharkhand state, India. It came into existence on 16 January 1990, when the old Singhbhum district (then in Bihar) was bifurcated. Chaibasa is the district headquarters. The di ...

East Singhbhum East Singhbhum is one of the 24 districts of Jharkhand, India. It was created on 16 January 1990. More than 50% of the district is covered by dense forests and mountains, where wild animals once roamed freely. It is known for being a centre of ind ...

Saraikela Saraikela (also spelled Seraikella) is the district headquarters and a nagar panchayat in the Seraikela Sadar subdivision of the Seraikela Kharsawan district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. It was formerly the capital of the Odia Saraikela St ...

district in the

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . It ...

. This area used to be the private hunting reserve of the Singh Deo family (the erstwhile royal family of Saraikela). The forest covers an area of 820 km². Saranda (Serengda) literally means "800 hills in local language."

Ho people The Ho or Kolha people are an Austroasiatic Munda ethnic group of India. They call themselves the ''Ho'', ''Hodoko'' and ''Horo,'' which mean 'human' in their own language. Officially, however, they are mentioned in different subgroups like K ...

inhabit the area, which is dotted with

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the fo ...

mining towns including

Gua Gua may refer to: Biology * GUA, a codon for the amino acid valine * Gua or Guanine, a nucleobase found in the nucleic acids DNA and RNA Telecommunications * GUA, Global Unicast Address Languages * Gua language, a Guang language of coa ...

, Chiria, Kiriburu and

Noamundi Noamundi is a census town in West Singhbhum district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. It is also an administrative block. It is a small mining town located close to the Odisha border. It lies near Jamshedpur and from Chaibasa. Nearby towns inc ...

. Sal (Shorea robusta) is the most important tree in the area and it seems to have a preference for the rocky soil of the area. Although sal is a deciduous tree and sheds its leaves in early summer, the forest undergrowth is generally evergreen, which has such trees as

mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree ''Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South a ...

es,

jamun ''Syzygium cumini'', commonly known as Malabar plum, Java plum, black plum, jamun, jaman, jambul, or jambolan, is an evergreen tropical tree in the flowering plant family Myrtaceae, and favored for its fruit, timber, and ornamental value. It is ...

jackfruit The jackfruit (''Artocarpus heterophyllus''), also known as jack tree, is a species of tree in the fig, mulberry, and breadfruit family (Moraceae). Its origin is in the region between the Western Ghats of southern India, all of Bangladesh, ...

, and piar. Other important trees are

mahua Mahua Acharya Mahua or Mahuaa may refer to: Botany * ''Madhuca longifolia'' or mahua, a tree in the family Sapotaceae * ''Mahua'' (moss), a genus of mosses in family Hypnaceae Culture and entertainment * Mahua (snack), a Chinese fried dough twis ...

, kusum, tilai, harin hara ( Armossa rohitulea), gular (

Ficus glomerata ''Ficus racemosa'', the cluster fig, red river fig or gular, is a species of plant in the family Moraceae. It is native to Australia and tropical Asia. It is a fast-growing plant with large, very rough leaves, usually attaining the size of a la ...

), and

asan Asan () is a city in South Chungcheong Province, South Korea. It borders the Seoul Capital Area to the north. Asan has a population of approximately 300,000. Asan is known for its many hot springs and is a city of spas. Asan has grown into th ...

. The reserved forests are the haunt of many animals. Wild

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae an ...

s are common in Saranada and

Porahat Porahat is a village in West Singhbhum district of Jharkhand state in eastern India. Before Indian independence in 1947, it was the capital of a princely state of British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British Ind ...

forests. It is an important overlapping habitat of the elephants from adjacent Kedunjhar (Keonjhar) district of Orissa. Herds of sambar and

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 ...

roam about the forests.

Bison Bison are large bovines in the genus ''Bison'' (Greek: "wild ox" (bison)) within the tribe Bovini. Two extant and numerous extinct species are recognised. Of the two surviving species, the American bison, ''B. bison'', found only in North Ame ...

is still found.

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 ...

s were never numerous but they are there.

Leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus '' Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, a ...

s are more common. 1100 hectares of virgin forests of >40% canopy cover is under

mining leases. Several new aspirants for mining lease are in the waiting. The perennial rivers, Karo and Koina, pass through these forested areas supporting a diverse floral and faunal resource. However 70-80% of the forests were destroyed, trees harvested. The site is facing an

ecological crisis An ecological or environmental crises occurs when changes to the environment of a species or population destabilizes its continued survival. Some of the important causes include: * Degradation of an abiotic ecological factor (for example, increa ...

. The area was previously disturbed by Maoist and Naxal influences, but problems have subsided in recent years, and it has turned out to be a major tourist hub. There are many tourist places in the Manoharpur region. The peak season between October and March is now brimming with tourists. Thalkobad is a scenic village at a height of in the heart of the forest. Thalkobad is about from

Chakradharpur Chakradharpur is a city in West Singhbhum district in the state of Jharkhand, India. It is the railway divisional headquarters of Chakradharpur (CKP) division of the South Eastern Railway. The city stands at an elevation of 227 metres (745 fee ...

, from

Manoharpur Monoharpur is a village in Chanditala II CD Block in Srirampore subdivision of Hooghly district in the state of West Bengal, India. It was earlier recorded as a census town. Geography Manoharpur is located at . Demographics India census ...

, and about from

Jamshedpur Jamshedpur (, ) or Tatanagar is the largest and most populous city in Jharkhand and the first planned industrial city in India. It is a Notified Area Council and Municipal Corporation and also the headquarter of the East Singhbhum district. It ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saranda Forest West Singhbhum district Forests of India Geography of Jharkhand