Sepahijala Wildlife Sanctuary is a

wildlife sanctuary A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...

Tripura Tripura (, Bengali: ) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 36.71 lakh ( 3.67 million). It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the east a ...

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 ...

, of some , about from the city centre, located in

Bishalgarh Bishalgarh is a major town located in the Indian state of Tripura & a Municipal Council in Sipahijala district. As of 2001 census Bishalgarh has a population of 23,721. 12,248 people are male. 11,473 are female. See also * List of cities and to ...

. It is a woodland with an artificial

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

and natural

botanical Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

and

zoological garden A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes. The term ''zoological garden'' refers to zool ...

s. It also has

clouded leopard The clouded leopard (''Neofelis nebulosa''), also called the mainland clouded leopard, is a wild cat inhabiting dense forests from the foothills of the Himalayas through mainland Southeast Asia into South China. In the early 19th century, a cl ...

enclosures.

History

The sanctuary was declared a Protected Area in 1987.

Wildlife

Initiated in 1972 the sanctuary has five sections: carnivores, primates, ungulates, reptiles and aviary. The aviary has 150 species of birds and in the primates section there are four species of primate, the

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 ...

pig-tailed macaque The pig-tailed macaques are two macaque sister species. They look almost identical and are best distinguished by their parapatric ranges: * Northern pig-tailed macaque, ''Macaca leonina'' (Bangladesh to Vietnam, south to northern Malaysia) * South ...

capped langur The capped langur (''Trachypithecus pileatus'') is a species of primate in the family Cercopithecidae. It is native to Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Myanmar. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests. It is threatened by habita ...

and

dusky langur The dusky leaf monkey (''Trachypithecus obscurus''), also known as the spectacled langur, or the spectacled leaf monkey is a species of primate in the family Cercopithecidae. It is found in Peninsular Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand, and can occas ...

. The sanctuary has been developed both as a wildlife sanctuary and as an academic and research centre. The terrain is green throughout the year and the weather is temperate except for the two humid summer months of March and April. There are several lakes.

Facilities

There is an accommodation at the forest in a

dak bungalow A dak bungalow, dak-house or dâk-bungalow was a government building in British India under Company rule in India, Company Rule and the British Raj, Raj. It may also refer to some similarly-built or -used structures in modern India, Bangladesh, ...

, called Abasarika, near the botanical garden, zoo and boating lake. The zoo is 3-4 km inside the sanctuary.

Location

The sanctuary is near

Agartala Agartala () is the capital city of the Indian state of Tripura, and is one of the largest cities in northeast India. The city is governed by the Agartala Municipal Corporation. The city is the seat of the Government of Tripura. It is located on ...

and is spread over an area of a little more than 13 square km.

References

Wildlife sanctuaries in Tripura Protected areas established in 1972 1972 establishments in Tripura {{Tripura-geo-stub