Valmiki National Park is a Tiger Reserve in the

West Champaran District West Champaran is an administrative district in the state of Bihar in India, located just west of Birgunj. It is the largest district in Bihar with an area of 5,228 km²(2,019sq mi). It is a part of Tirhut Division. The district headquarte ...

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 ...

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 ...

. It is the only national park in Bihar. Valmiki Tiger Reserve covers , which is 17.4% of the total geographical area of the district. As of 2018, there were 40 tigers in the Reserve.

History

The extensive forest area of Valmikinagar (formally known as Bhainsa Lotan) was previously owned by the Bettiah Raj and Ramanagar Raj until the early 1950s. It was declared a Wildlife Sanctuary in 1978. Valmiki National Park was established in the year 1990. Total area of the park is about 335.65 Km2. Valmiki Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park is the 18th Tiger Reserve of the country. The Valmiki Tiger Reserve comprises the National Park and the Wildlife Sanctuary.

Location

It is located in

West Champaran West Champaran is an administrative district in the Indian state, state of Bihar in India, located just west of Birgunj. It is the largest district in Bihar with an area of 5,228 km²(2,019sq mi). It is a part of Tirhut Division. The distri ...

which derives its name from two words, Champa and Aranya, meaning forest of Champa trees. Geographically, it is situated between 83°0 50′ and 84°0 10′ E longitude and between 27°0 10′ and 27°0 03′ N latitude. Total forest area comprises about , out of which the Valmiki Wildlife Sanctuary is and spread of the National Park is about area. In the north, the protected areas are bordered by Nepal's

Chitwan National Park , iucn_category = II , location = Central Terai of Nepal , established = 1973 , nearest_city = Bharatpur , map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#India#South Asia , relief = 1 , label = Chitwan National Park , label_position = top , coordina ...

while the Indian state

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

bounds the sanctuary from western side. Bihar Government is turning 800 hectares of forest in VTR into Grassland making it India's biggest grassland.

Landscape

Himalayan Foot Hills, Valmikinagar, Bihar, India

The landscape of VTR encompasses foothills ranges of Himalayan Sivaliks with mosaic of the

cliffs In geography and geology, a cliff is an area of rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. Cliffs are common on co ...

ridges A ridge or a mountain ridge is a geographical feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous elevated crest for an extended distance. The sides of the ridge slope away from the narrow top on either side. The line ...

, gorges,

hills A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit. Terminology The distinction between a hill and a mountain is unclear and largely subjective, but a hill is universally considered to be not as ...

streams A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream ...

and

valleys A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...

; dense forests, open woodlands, grasslands, swamps and riverine fringe. Situated in

Gangetic plains The Indo-Gangetic Plain, also known as the North Indian River Plain, is a fertile plain encompassing northern regions of the Indian subcontinent, including most of northern and eastern India, around half of Pakistan, virtually all of Ba ...

bio-geographic zone of the Country, the forest has combination of bhabar and terai tracts. Boulder and pebble deposits by the Himalayan rivers in foothills characterized the Bhabar tract while the finer sediments deposits feature Terai lands.

Foothills of Himalayan Terai outliers - a continuation of Shivaliks

Someshwar Hill Someshwara or its variant spellings ''Someshwar'', ''Someshvara'' and ''Someshvar'' may refer to: * Soma (deity), a Vedic Hindu deity * Shiva, a Hindu deity People * Someshvara I, 11th century Indian king from the Western Chalukya dynasty * Some ...

Range and Dun Hill system with knife-edge ridges and precipitous slopes, cliffs, spurs, gorges, narrow valleys.

Bhabar - Dun tract

Older

alluvium Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluv ...

with sandy soil with variegated clay and loose boulder deposits and artesian flows;

lateritic Laterite is both a soil and a rock type rich in iron and aluminium and is commonly considered to have formed in hot and wet tropical areas. Nearly all laterites are of rusty-red coloration, because of high iron oxide content. They develop by ...

formations on higher

contours Contour may refer to: * Contour (linguistics), a phonetic sound * Pitch contour * Contour (camera system), a 3D digital camera system * Contour, the KDE Plasma 4 interface for tablet devices * Contour line, a curve along which the function has a ...

and newer Alluvium on southern parts with reissuing springs akin to artesian flows.

Flood plains of Gandak and Burhi Gandak and their tributaries

Criss-crossing and meandering rivers, streams and rivulets, man-made canals; Swamps and Grasslands.

River Gandak A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wat ...

forms the western boundary of Valmiki wildlife sanctuary. It enters in India at Valmikinagar(formally known as BHAINSA LOTAN), where two rivulets Sonha and Pachnad joins it, forming a holy confluence ‘Triveni’. The river is called ‘Narayani’ in Nepal. Harha – Masan River system originates from the Valmiki Forests and forms

Burhi Gandak River The Burhi Gandak River is a tributary of the Ganges. It is known as Narayani in its upper reaches. The Burhi (“Old”) Gandak flows parallel to and east of the Gandak River in an old channel. Course The Burhi Gandak originates from Chautarwa ...

down south. River Pandai flows into Bihar (India) from Nepal in the eastern end of the Sanctuary and meets Masan. All these rivers with their precursor and tributaries namely Rohua, Kotrahia, Manor, Bhapsa, Koshil, Singha, Dhonghi, Ganguli, Dhoram are full of youth and verve. Their cascades in wanton and wayward playfulness while descending from hills ridges and gorges are enchanting. Meeting the planes they slowly mature to serene grandeur.

Fauna

Mammals

The wildlife found in the forest of VTR are the

Bengal tiger The Bengal tiger is a population of the ''Panthera tigris tigris'' subspecies. It ranks among the biggest wild cats alive today. It is considered to belong to the world's charismatic megafauna. The tiger is estimated to have been present in ...

Jhala Jhala (Hindi: झाला, ) is a term in Hindustani classical music which denotes the fast-paced conclusions of classical compositions or raga A ''raga'' or ''raag'' (; also ''raaga'' or ''ragam''; ) is a melodic framework for improvisatio ...

, Y. V., Qureshi, Q., Sinha, P. R. (Eds.) (2011)
''Status of tigers, co-predators and prey in India, 2010.''
National Tiger Conservation Authority, Govt. of India, New Delhi, and Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun. TR 2011/003 pp-302

Indian rhinoceros } The Indian rhinoceros (''Rhinoceros unicornis''), also called the Indian rhino, greater one-horned rhinoceros or great Indian rhinoceros, is a rhinoceros species native to the Indian subcontinent. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red Li ...

Asiatic black bear The Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), also known as the Asiatic black bear, moon bear and white-chested bear, is a medium-sized bear species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an or ...

, Indian

sloth bear The sloth bear (''Melursus ursinus'') is a myrmecophagous bear species native to the Indian subcontinent. It feeds on fruits, ants and termites. It is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, mainly because of habitat loss and degradation. ...

otter Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine, with diets based on fish and invertebrates. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which also includes wea ...

Indian leopard The Indian leopard (''Panthera pardus fusca'') is a leopard subspecies widely distributed on the Indian subcontinent. The species ''Panthera pardus'' is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because populations have declined following habita ...

wild dog A free-ranging dog is a dog that is not confined to a yard or house. Free-ranging dogs include street dogs, village dogs, stray dogs, feral dogs, etc., and may be owned or unowned. The global dog population is estimated to be 900 million, of w ...

wild water buffalo The wild water buffalo (''Bubalus arnee''), also called Asian buffalo, Asiatic buffalo and wild buffalo, is a large Bovinae, bovine native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It has been listed as ''Endangered species, Endangered'' i ...

, and

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 ...

. There are several species of deer, including

barking deer Barking may refer to: Places * Barking, London, a town in East London, England ** London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, a local government district covering the town of Barking ** Municipal Borough of Barking, a historical local government dist ...

spotted deer 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 ...

hog deer ''Axis'' is a genus of deer occurring in South and Southeast Asia. As presently defined by most authorities, four species are placed in the genus. Three of the four species are called hog deer. The genus name is a word mentioned in Pliny the Eld ...

, Sambar,

blue bull 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 ...

. Apart from that the striped hyena,

leopard cat The leopard cat (''Prionailurus bengalensis'') is a small wild cat native to continental South, Southeast, and East Asia. Since 2002 it has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List as it is widely distributed although threatened by hab ...

fishing cat The fishing cat (''Prionailurus viverrinus'') is a medium-sized wild cat of South and Southeast Asia. Since 2016, it is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Fishing cat populations are threatened by destruction of wetlands and have declin ...

langur The Colobinae or leaf-eating monkeys are a subfamily of the Old World monkey family that includes 61 species in 11 genera, including the black-and-white colobus, the large-nosed proboscis monkey, and the gray langurs. Some classifications sp ...

monkey Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as the simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes, which constitutes an incomple ...

, flying squirrel, clouded leopard,

Indian gaur The gaur (''Bos gaurus''; ), also known as the Indian bison, is a bovine native to South Asia and Southeast Asia, and has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1986. The global population was estimated at a maximum of 21,000 m ...

mongoose A mongoose is a small terrestrial carnivorous mammal belonging to the family Herpestidae. This family is currently split into two subfamilies, the Herpestinae and the Mungotinae. The Herpestinae comprises 23 living species that are native to so ...

can also be sighted. The tiger's population in the Reserve was 10 in 2010, which increased to 22 in 2013 and then 40 in 2018. There is site in Madanpur forest block on the main road from Madanpur to Valmikinagar where large number of Indian

flying fox ''Pteropus'' (suborder Yinpterochiroptera) is a genus of megabats which are among the largest bats in the world. They are commonly known as fruit bats or flying foxes, among other colloquial names. They live in South Asia, Southeast Asia, Aust ...

, a type of

bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most ...

can be sighted any time.

Reptiles

The reptiles which are commonly found in VTR are

pythons The Pythonidae, commonly known as pythons, are a family of nonvenomous snakes found in Africa, Asia, and Australia. Among its members are some of the largest snakes in the world. Ten genera and 42 species are currently recognized. Distribution ...

, King cobras,

Krait ''Bungarus'' is a genus of venomous elapid snakes, the kraits ("krait" is pronounced , rhyming with "kite"), found in South and Southeast Asia. The genus ''Bungarus'' has 16 species. Distribution Kraits are found in tropical Asia, from near Ira ...

Banded krait The banded krait (''Bungarus fasciatus'') is a species of elapid snake found on the Indian Subcontinent, in Southeast Asia, and in southern China. It is the largest species of krait, with a maximum length up to . Although the banded krait is ven ...

s and domuha snakes (

sand boa The Erycinae, known as the Old World sand boas, are a subfamily of nonvenomous snakes in the family Boidae. Species of the subfamily Erycinae are found in Europe, Asia Minor, Africa, Arabia, central and southwestern Asia, India, Sri Lanka, and ...

s). Among aquatic reptiles, gharial,

monitor lizard Monitor lizards are lizards in the genus ''Varanus,'' the only extant genus in the family Varanidae. They are native to Africa, Asia, and Oceania, and one species is also found in the Americas as an invasive species. About 80 species are recogn ...

, etc. are found in VTR. Plenty of

crocodiles Crocodiles (family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term crocodile is sometimes used even more loosely to include all extant memb ...

are found near Belahwa Village which is adjacent to the VTR.

Gharials Gavialidae is a family of large semiaquatic crocodilians with elongated, narrow snouts. Gavialidae consists of two living species, the gharial (''Gavialis gangeticus'') and the false gharial (''Tomistoma schlegelii''), both occurring in Asia. M ...

are found in River Gandak, as would be the case with a river that connects to the

Ganges The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

Birds

At present 241

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

species have been reported from VTR. Some of the interesting birds of VTR are Nepal

kalij pheasant The kalij pheasant (''Lophura leucomelanos'') is a pheasant found in forests and thickets, especially in the Himalayan foothills, from Pakistan to western Thailand. Males are rather variable depending on the subspecies involved, but all have at ...

, three-toed quail, paradise flycatcher,

grey shrike The great grey shrike (''Lanius excubitor'') is a large and predatory songbird species in the shrike family (Laniidae). It forms a superspecies with its parapatric southern relatives, the Iberian grey shrike (''L. meridionalis''), the Chines ...

, green willow warbler,

tree pipit The tree pipit (''Anthus trivialis'') is a small passerine bird which breeds across most of Europe and the Palearctic as far East as the East Siberian Mountains. It is a long-distance migrant moving in winter to Africa and southern Asia. The sc ...

, white eye warbler,

green barbet The green barbet (''Stactolaema olivacea'') is a species of bird in the Lybiidae family (African barbets). It is found in Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique and South Africa. It occurs in forests from sea level to . Its isolated populations are ...

wader 245px, A flock of Dunlins and Red knots">Red_knot.html" ;"title="Dunlins and Red knot">Dunlins and Red knots Waders or shorebirds are birds of the order Charadriiformes commonly found wikt:wade#Etymology 1, wading along shorelines and mudflat ...

ibises The ibises () (collective plural ibis; classical plurals ibides and ibes) are a group of long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae, that inhabit wetlands, forests and plains. "Ibis" derives from the Latin and Ancient Greek wo ...

storks Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout bills. They belong to the family called Ciconiidae, and make up the order Ciconiiformes . Ciconiiformes previously included a number of other families, such as herons an ...

pitta Pittas are a family, Pittidae, of passerine birds found in Asia, Australasia and Africa. There are thought to be 40 to 42 species of pittas, all similar in general appearance and habits. The pittas are Old World suboscines, and their closest re ...

plovers Plovers ( , ) are a widely distributed group of wading birds belonging to the subfamily Charadriinae. Description There are about 66 species in the subfamily, most of them called "plover" or "dotterel". The closely related lapwing subfa ...

snipe A snipe is any of about 26 wading bird species in three genera in the family Scolopacidae. They are characterized by a very long, slender bill, eyes placed high on the head, and cryptic/camouflaging plumage. The ''Gallinago'' snipes have a near ...

s, pied hornbill,

White-eared night heron The white-eared night heron (''Gorsachius magnificus'') is a species of heron in the family Ardeidae. It is found in southern China and northern Vietnam. IN 2018, it has been also reported from Valmiki National Park, India. It is threatened by ha ...

emerald dove The common emerald dove (''Chalcophaps indica''), also called Asian emerald dove and grey-capped emerald dove, is a widespread resident breeding pigeon native to the tropical and subtropical parts of the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia. ...

. There are five types of

green pigeon ''Treron'' is a genus of bird in the pigeon family Columbidae. Its members are commonly called green pigeons. The genus is distributed across Asia and Africa. This genus contains 30 species, remarkable for their green coloration, hence the common ...

s and purple wood pigeon found in VTR. In the night several

owl Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers a ...

s, owlets,

nightjars Nightjars are medium-sized nocturnal or crepuscular birds in the family Caprimulgidae and order Caprimulgiformes, characterised by long wings, short legs, and very short bills. They are sometimes called goatsuckers, due to the ancient folk ...

, etc. can be easily sighted.

Butterflies

The jungle of VTR abounds in various kinds of

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

, caterpillars and butterflies. Some common butterflies like common Mormon, great Mormon, glassy tiger, great eggfly, club beak, grey pansy, lime butterfly, common crow can easily be sighted.

Flora

A lake in Darua Bari near Valmiki Tiger Researve

As per Champion and Seth classification, there are seven forest types found in VTR, which makes VTR a special destination for nature lovers. * Bhabar – Dun Sal Forest * Dry Siwalik Sal Forest * West Gangetic Moist Mixed Deciduous Forest * Khair – Sissoo Forest * Cane Brakes * Eastern Wet Alluvial Grassland * ''

Barringtonia ''Barringtonia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Lecythidaceae first described as a genus with this name in 1775. It is native to Africa, southern Asia, Australia, and various islands of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. The genus nam ...

'' Swamp Forest Due to diverse topographical and edaphic factors, the reserve harbors varied vegetation types. The Botanical Survey of India has categorized seven vegetation types within the limits of the sanctuary and the national park: * Moist mixed deciduous * Open – land vegetation * Sub-mountainous semi-evergreen formation * Freshwater swamps * Riparian fringes * Alluvial grasslands and high hill savannah * Wetlands The important tree species found in valley area of VTR are Sal ''(

Shorea robusta ''Shorea robusta'', the sal tree, sāla, shala, sakhua, or sarai, is a species of tree in the family Dipterocarpaceae. The tree is native to India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Tibet and across the Himalayan regions . Evolution Fossil evidence from lig ...

)'', Karam ''(Adina cardifolia)'', Asan ''(

Terminalia tomentosa ''Terminalia elliptica'' is a species of '' Terminalia'' native to southern and southeast Asia in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam.Sal and Saaj Deforestation in West Nepal"Terminalia Tomentosa"/ref> It is a ...

)'', Bahera ''(

Terminalia bellirica ''Terminalia bellirica'', known as baheda, bahera, behada, beleric or bastard myrobalan (Arabic: beliledj بليلج, borrowed from Middle Persian Balilag), Persian بلیله (Balileh), Sanskrit: Bibhitaka बिभीतक, Aksha is a large ...

)'', Asidh ''(Lagestromia parviflora)'', Simal ''(Salmelia malaberica)'', Satsal ''(Dalbergia latifolia)'', etc. In hilly regions apart from Sal, Piyar ''(

Buchanania lanzan ''Buchanania cochinchinensis'' (syn. ''Buchanania lanzan'') is a deciduous tree which produces seeds that are edible to humans. It is native to the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and adjacent parts of China. It is known as ''chironji'' (or ...

)'', Mandar ''( Dillenia aurea)'', Banjan ''( Anogeissus latifolia)'', Bhelwa ''(

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 ...

)'', Harra ''(

Terminalia chebula ''Terminalia chebula'', commonly known as black- or chebulic myrobalan, is a species of ''Terminalia'', native to South Asia from India and Nepal east to southwest China (Yunnan), and south to Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and Vietnam.Flora of China''Term ...

)'', Bodera ''(Eugenia operculata)'', etc. tree species are found. There is a special attraction of cane brakes which is mainly found in Madanpur Forest block and it is good habitat for Tiger. Cane occurs in damp areas along all most all the nalas of Madanpur Range. In Hindi cane is known as BETTH and the name Bettiah (District Headquarters of West Champaran District) is derived from this BETTH. There is a small isolated patch of Chir Pine ''(

Pinus roxburghii ''Pinus roxburghii'', commonly known as chir pine or longleaf Indian pine, is a species of pine tree native to the Himalayas. It was named after William Roxburgh. Description ''Pinus roxburghii'' is a large tree reaching with a trunk diameter ...

)'' forest locally known as DHUP found in Raghia Forest block. Generally Chir Pine forest occurs at the altitude of 4000 ft. to 5000 ft. but here it is found between the altitudes of 1000 ft. to 1700 ft. which is unique. The grasses found in VTR are munj (''

Tripidium bengalense ''Tripidium bengalense'', synonym ''Saccharum bengalense'', with the common names munj sweetcane, baruwa sugarcane or baruwa grass, is a plant of the genus '' Tripidium'' native to Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, northern India, Nepal, Bangladesh an ...

'',

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

''Saccharum munja''), Kans ''(

Saccharum spontaneum ''Saccharum spontaneum'' (wild sugarcane, Kans grass) is a grass native to the Indian Subcontinent. It is a perennial grass, growing up to three meters in height, with spreading rhizomatous roots. In the Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands, a l ...

)'', Elephant grass ''(

Typha elephantina ''Typha elephantina '' is a plant species widespread across northern Africa and southern Asia. It is considered native in Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Mauritania, Senegal, Chad, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, State of Palestin ...

)'', Narkat ''(

Phragmites karka ''Phragmites'' () is a genus of four species of large perennial plant, perennial reed (plant), reed Poaceae, grasses found in wetlands throughout temperate and tropical regions of the world. Taxonomy The World Checklist of Selected Plant Famil ...

)'', '' Vitiveria zizanioides'', ''

Imperata cylindrica ''Imperata cylindrica'' (commonly known as cogongrass or kunai grass ) is a species of perennial rhizomatous grass native to tropical and subtropical Asia, Micronesia, Melanesia, Australia, Africa, and southern Europe. It has also been introduc ...

'', Choranth ''(

Heteropogon contortus ''Heteropogon contortus'' is a tropical, perennial tussock grass with a native distribution encompassing Southern Africa, southern Asia, Northern Australia, Oceania, and southwestern North America. The species has also become a naturalised weed i ...

)'', Sabai ''(

Eulaliopsis binata ''Eulaliopsis binata'', the sabaigrass or Chinese alpine rush, is a perennial plant belonging to the grass family that is grown in many Asian countries like China, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Bhutan, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia and Philippines. It i ...

)'', etc. Climbers are also very common in VTR. The common species being Mahulan ''(

Bauhinia vahlii ''Phanera vahlii'' (common name Camel's Foot Climber)is a perennial creeper of the family Fabaceae native to the Indian subcontinent. It can grow as much as fifty feet (15 meters) a year. The two-lobed leaves are up to 18 inches (46 centimete ...

)'' Mahai ''(Butea parviflora)'', Panilat ''(Vitis repanda)'', Ramdatwan ''(Smilax parviflora)'', and Arar ''(Acacia pinnate)''. There are several medicinal plants found in VTR. Some of them are Satawar ''(

Asparagus racemosus ''Asparagus racemosus'' (satavar, shatavari, or shatamull, shatawari) is a species of asparagus common throughout India and the Himalayas. and northern Australia. It grows tall and prefers to take root in gravelly, rocky soils high up in piedmon ...

)'', Safed Musli, Dudhkoraiya ''(Holarrahena'' ''antidysenterica)'', Amla ''(

Emblica officinalis ''Phyllanthus emblica'', also known as emblic, emblic myrobalan, myrobalan, Indian gooseberry, Malacca tree, or amla, from the Sanskrit आमलकी (āmalakī), is a deciduous tree of the family Phyllanthaceae. Its native range is tropical a ...

)'', Piper ''(

Piper longum Long pepper (''Piper longum''), sometimes called Indian long pepper or ''thippali'', is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. Long pepper has a taste simi ...

)'', etc.

Cultural diversity

The Valmiki landscape harbors vivid socio-cultural diversity. The

Tharu people The Tharu people are an ethnic group indigenous to the Terai in southern Nepal and northern India. They speak Tharu languages. They are recognized as an official nationality by the Government of Nepal. In the Indian Terai, they live foremost i ...

, a

scheduled tribe The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designa ...

, is the dominant community in the landscape. There are several theories on colonization of this community in the Himalayan terai. Their prime occupation is agriculture and staple food is rice. They are non-vegetarian and like chicken, pork, snails and fish and gents relish liquor locally prepared from jaggary. The primary language is

Bhojpuri Bhojpuri (;Bhojpuri entry, Oxford Dictionaries
, Oxford U ...

Rama Navami Rama Navami () is a Hindu festival that celebrates the birthday of Rama, the seventh avatar of the deity Vishnu. people from different parts of Jharkhand attended the world famous international Hazaribagh procession organized in the city every ...

is their main festival. They also maintain socio-cultural relationship with the Tharus of Nepal. Their population is around 2.5 lakh. The scheduled tribes other than Tharu in the Valmiki landscape are collectively called Dhangar – which means retained labourer in Oraon dialect. Dhangar comprises four tribes: Oraon, Munda,

Lohra Lohra may refer to: * Lohra, Bihar, India *Lohra, Germany ** Lohra (megalithic tomb), near Lohra, Germany *Lohra (tribe) Lohra is a community found in Jharkhand. They are traditionally associated with works of iron smelting. History Histrorian ...

and Bhuiya. The Dhangars were brought to area as agriculture labourers from the Chhotanagpur Hills. Each Dhangar tribe has its own

dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of Linguistics, linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety (linguisti ...

and they observe their traditional festivals. Currently their population is around 0.5 lakh. Communities other than the tribes are called "Baaji". They are outsiders and involved in agriculture as well as small business in the villages. It serves as the only Indian tiger reserve in the state of

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* {{Authority control Tiger reserves of India National parks in Bihar Protected areas of Bihar Lower Gangetic Plains moist deciduous forests Himalayan subtropical broadleaf forests West Champaran district 1976 establishments in Bihar Protected areas established in 1976