Dibru Saikhowa National Park
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Dibru-Saikhowa National Park is a
national park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...
located in Dibrugarh and
Tinsukia district Tinsukia district () is one of the 34 administrative districts in the state of Assam, India. The district headquarters is located at Tinsukia city. The district occupies an area of 3790 km2. Towns *Digboi *Doom Dooma, Doomdooma *Jagun *Kako ...
s,
Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
,
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 was designated a Biosphere Reserve in July 1997 with an area of , including a core area of and a buffer zone of . It is located at about north of
Tinsukia Tinsukia (Pron: ˌtɪnˈsʊkiə) is an industrial town. It is situated north-east of Guwahati and away from the border with Arunachal Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of Tinsukia District of Assam, India. History During th ...
town at an average elevation of , ranging from . The park is bounded by the
Brahmaputra The Brahmaputra is a trans-boundary river which flows through Tibet, northeast India, and Bangladesh. It is also known as the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibetan, the Siang/Dihang River in Arunachali, Luit in Assamese, and Jamuna River in Bangla. It ...
and Lohit rivers in the north and Dibru River in the south. It mainly consists of moist mixed semi-
evergreen forest An evergreen forest is a forest made up of evergreen trees. They occur across a wide range of climatic zones, and include trees such as conifers and holly in cold climates, eucalyptus, Live oak, acacias, magnolia, and banksia in more temperate zone ...
s, moist mixed
deciduous forest In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...
s, canebrakes and grasslands. It is the largest salix
swamp forest Freshwater swamp forests, or flooded forests, are forests which are inundated with freshwater, either permanently or seasonally. They normally occur along the lower reaches of rivers and around freshwater lakes. Freshwater swamp forests are found ...
in north-eastern India, with a tropical
monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...
climate with a hot and wet summer and cool and usually dry winter. Annual rainfall ranges from . It is a haven for many endangered species and rich in fish diversity. In December 2020, Gauhati highcourt stayed a permission given to
Oil India Limited Oil India Limited (OIL) is a Public Sector Undertakings in India, central public sector undertaking under the ownership of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas oversees its op ...
for
hydrocarbon In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons are examples of group 14 hydrides. Hydrocarbons are generally colourless and hydrophobic, and their odors are usually weak or ex ...
exploration at seven locations inside the protected area.


Conservation

The area was declared as Dibru Reserved Forest in 1890. In 1920, additional area was added to the Dibru Reserve Forest. In 1929, Saikhowa Reserve Forest was declared. In 1933, more area was added to the Dibru RF. In 1986, an area of 650 km2 was preliminarily declared as a wildlife sanctuary, out of which finally 340 km2 was declared as wildlife sanctuary in 1995. In 1997, Dibru-Saikhowa Biosphere Reserve was declared with an area of 765 km2 that included the 340 km2 of sanctuary area as the core. In 1999, the 340 km2 of sanctuary area was declared as national park. Originally created to help conserve the habitat of the rare
white-winged wood duck The white-winged duck or white-winged wood duck (''Asarcornis scutulata'') is a large species of duck, formerly placed in the genus ''Cairina'' with the Muscovy duck (''Cairina moschata'') and allied with the dabbling ducks. However, mtDNA cyto ...
, the park is also home to other rare creatures such as
water buffalo The water buffalo (''Bubalus bubalis''), also called the domestic water buffalo or Asian water buffalo, is a large bovid originating in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Today, it is also found in Europe, Australia, North America, So ...
,
black-breasted parrotbill The black-breasted parrotbill (''Paradoxornis flavirostris'') is a 19 cm long, large, thick-billed parrotbill with black patches on the head-sides and throat. Formerly placed with the typical warblers in the Sylviidae (Jønsson & Fjeldså 2 ...
,
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 capped langur. The park also has some eco lodges.


Flora

The forest of Dibru-Saikhowa consists of semi-evergreen forests, deciduous, littoral and swamp forests and patches of wet evergreen forests. The national park is about 35.84% moist mixed forest, 9.50% degraded forest and 21.25% grassland. Major tree species of the area are tetrasperma, '' Dillenia indica'', ''
Bischofia javanica ''Bischofia javanica'', or bishop wood, is a plant species of the family Phyllanthaceae. It and the related '' Bischofia polycarpa'' are the only two members of genus '' Bischofia'' and tribe Bischofieae. These species are distributed throughout ...
'', ''
Bombax ceiba ''Bombax ceiba'', like other trees of the genus ''Bombax'', is commonly known as cotton tree. More specifically, it is sometimes known as Malabar silk-cotton tree; red silk-cotton; red cotton tree; or ambiguously as silk-cotton or kapok, both of ...
'', ''
Lagerstroemia parviflora ''Lagerstroemia'' (), commonly known as crape myrtle (also spelled crepe myrtle or crêpe myrtle), is a genus of around 50 species of deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs native to the Indian subcontinent, southeast Asia, northern Australia ...
'', ''
Terminalia myriocarpa ''Terminalia myriocarpa'', the East Indian almond, is a tree species in the genus ''Terminalia'' found in Southeast Asia. Ecology The larvae of the moth '' Acrocercops terminaliae'' feed on ''T. myriocarpa''. Chemistry The phenolic compounds m ...
'', '' Mesua ferrea'', ''
Dalbergia sissoo ''Dalbergia sissoo'', known commonly as North Indian rosewood or ''shisham'', is a fast-growing, hardy, deciduous rosewood tree native to the Indian subcontinent and southern Iran. ''D. sissoo'' is a large, crooked tree with long, leathery leav ...
'', and ''
Ficus ''Ficus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes and hemiepiphytes in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extending in ...
''. '' Arundo donax'', ''
Imperata cylindrica ''Imperata cylindrica'' (commonly known as cogongrass or kunai grass ) is a species of Perennial plant, perennial rhizomatous grass native to tropical and subtropical Asia, Micronesia, Melanesia, Australia, Africa, and southern Europe. It has al ...
'', ''
Phragmites ''Phragmites'' () is a genus of four species of large perennial reed grasses found in wetlands throughout temperate and tropical regions of the world. Taxonomy The World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, maintained by Kew Garden in London ...
karka'', ''
Saccharum ravennae ''Tripidium ravennae'', synonym ''Saccharum ravennae'' (and many others), with the common names ravennagrass and elephant grass, is a species of grass in the genus ''Tripidium''. It is native to southern Europe, western Asia and South Asia and is ...
'' are principal types of grasses in the national park. 35 species of epiphytic orchids and 8 species of terrestrial orchid are recorded.


Fauna

Mammals: 36 mammal species have been recorded, of which 12 are listed in Schedule 1 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972. Species include
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 ...
, Indian leopard,
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 ...
, jungle cat,
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 species, vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, mainly because of habitat loss ...
, dhole, small Indian civet,
Malayan giant squirrel The black giant squirrel or Malayan giant squirrel (''Ratufa bicolor'') is a large tree squirrel in the genus '' Ratufa'' native to the Indomalayan zootope. It is found in forests from northern Bangladesh, northeast India, eastern Nepal, Bhutan ...
, Chinese pangolin,
Ganges dolphin The Ganges river dolphin (''Platanista gangetica'') is a species of toothed whale classified in the family Platanistidae. It lives in the Ganges and related rivers of South Asia, namely in the countries of India, Nepal, and Bangladesh. It is rel ...
, slow loris,
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 ...
, Assamese macaque, rhesus macaque, capped langur, Hoolock gibbon,
Asian elephant The Asian elephant (''Elephas maximus''), also known as the Asiatic elephant, is the only living species of the genus ''Elephas'' and is distributed throughout the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, from India in the west, Nepal in the no ...
,
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 ...
,
Sambar deer The sambar (''Rusa unicolor'') is a large deer native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia that is listed as a vulnerable species on the IUCN Red List since 2008. Populations have declined substantially due to severe hunting, local ins ...
, hog deer, barking deer,
Asiatic water buffalo The water buffalo (''Bubalus bubalis''), also called the domestic water buffalo or Asian water buffalo, is a large bovid originating in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Today, it is also found in Europe, Australia, North America, So ...
, and
feral horse A feral horse is a free-roaming horse of domesticated stock. As such, a feral horse is not a wild animal in the sense of an animal without domesticated ancestors. However, some populations of feral horses are managed as wildlife, and these ...
. The park is one of the few places in the world which is home to feral
horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million y ...
s. They are descendants of horses who bolted out of
stable A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...
s set up by the
British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
in and around Tinsukia during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. Reptiles: two species of monitor lizard, eight
turtle Turtles are an order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked tu ...
species and eight
snake Snakes are elongated, Limbless vertebrate, limbless, carnivore, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other Squamata, squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping Scale (zoology), scales. Ma ...
species have been recorded. Birds recorded include greater adjutant,
ferruginous pochard The ferruginous duck (''Aythya nyroca''), also known as ferruginous pochard, common white-eye or white-eyed pochard, is a medium-sized diving duck from Eurosiberia. The scientific name is derived from Greek '' aithuia'' an unidentified seabird ...
,
Jerdon's babbler Jerdon's babbler (''Chrysomma altirostre'') is a passerine bird native to wetlands and grasslands of the Indian sub-continent. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1994. It is a member of the genus ''Chrysomma'' of the family Pa ...
,
black-breasted parrotbill The black-breasted parrotbill (''Paradoxornis flavirostris'') is a 19 cm long, large, thick-billed parrotbill with black patches on the head-sides and throat. Formerly placed with the typical warblers in the Sylviidae (Jønsson & Fjeldså 2 ...
,
marsh babbler The marsh babbler (''Pellorneum palustre'') is a member of the family Pellorneidae. The marsh babbler is endemic to the Brahmaputra floodplain, its associated tributaries and adjacent hill ranges in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya in India ...
,
puff-throated babbler The puff-throated babbler or spotted babbler (''Pellorneum ruficeps'') is a species of passerine bird found in Asia. They are found in scrub and ''moist'' forest mainly in hilly regions. They forage in small groups on the forest floor, turning ar ...
, Jerdon's bushchat, rufous-rumped grassbird, chestnut-crowned bush warbler,
swamp francolin The swamp francolin (''Ortygornis gularis''), also called swamp partridge, is a francolin species native to the foothills of the Himalayas in northern India and Nepal. It is considered extinct in the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta in Bangladesh. It is ...
, spot-billed pelican,
white-bellied heron The white-bellied heron (''Ardea insignis'') also known as the imperial heron or great white-bellied heron, is a large heron species living in the foothills of the eastern Himalayas in northeast India and Bhutan to northern Myanmar. It inhabits un ...
,
grey heron The grey heron (''Ardea cinerea'') is a long-legged wading bird of the heron family, Ardeidae, native throughout temperate Europe and Asia and also parts of Africa. It is resident in much of its range, but some populations from the more northern ...
, purple heron,
black-crowned night heron The black-crowned night heron (''Nycticorax nycticorax''), or black-capped night heron, commonly shortened to just night heron in Eurasia, is a medium-sized heron found throughout a large part of the world, including parts of Europe, Asia, and N ...
,
yellow bittern The yellow bittern (''Ixobrychus sinensis'') is a small bittern. It is of Old World origins, breeding in the northern Indian Subcontinent, east to the Russian Far East, Japan and Indonesia. It is mainly resident, but some northern birds migrate ...
,
Asian openbill The Asian openbill or Asian openbill stork (''Anastomus oscitans'') is a large wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. This distinctive stork is found mainly in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It is greyish or white with glossy ...
, lesser adjutant,
white-necked stork The Asian woolly-necked stork or Asian woollyneck (''Ciconia episcopus'') is a species of large wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. It breeds singly, or in small loose colonies. It is distributed in a wide variety of habitats including m ...
, black stork, black-necked stork, glossy ibis, fulvous whistling-duck, bar-headed goose,
greylag goose The greylag goose or graylag goose (''Anser anser'') is a species of large goose in the waterfowl family Anatidae and the type species of the genus ''Anser''. It has mottled and barred grey and white plumage and an orange beak and pink legs. A ...
,
northern pintail The pintail or northern pintail (''Anas acuta'') is a duck species with wide geographic distribution that breeds in the northern areas of Europe and across the Palearctic and North America. It is migratory and winters south of its breeding ra ...
,
common shelduck The common shelduck (''Tadorna tadorna'') is a waterfowl species of the shelduck genus, ''Tadorna''. It is widespread and common in the Euro-Siberian region of the Palearctic, mainly breeding in temperate and wintering in subtropical regions; i ...
,
white-winged wood duck The white-winged duck or white-winged wood duck (''Asarcornis scutulata'') is a large species of duck, formerly placed in the genus ''Cairina'' with the Muscovy duck (''Cairina moschata'') and allied with the dabbling ducks. However, mtDNA cyto ...
,
Indian spot-billed duck The Indian spot-billed duck (''Anas poecilorhyncha'') is a large dabbling duck that is a non-migratory breeding duck throughout freshwater wetlands in the Indian subcontinent. The name is derived from the red spot at the base of the bill that is ...
,
Baer's pochard Baer's pochard (''Aythya baeri'') is a diving duck found in eastern Asia. It is a resident bird in North and Central China, formerly bred in southeast Russia and Northeast China, migrating in winter to southern China, Vietnam, Japan, and India. ...
,
white-tailed eagle The white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla'') is a very large species of sea eagle widely distributed across temperate Palearctic, Eurasia. Like all eagles, it is a member of the family Accipitridae (or accipitrids) which includes other diur ...
, Pallas's fish eagle, grey-headed fish eagle, greater spotted eagle,
Himalayan griffon The Himalayan vulture (''Gyps himalayensis'') or Himalayan griffon vulture is an Old World vulture native to the Himalayas and the adjoining Tibetan Plateau. It is one of the two largest Old World vultures and true Accipitridae, raptors. It is li ...
, white-backed vulture,
slender-billed vulture The slender-billed vulture (''Gyps tenuirostris'') is an Old World vulture species native to sub-Himalayan regions and Southeast Asia. It is Critically Endangered since 2002 as the population on the Indian subcontinent has declined rapidly. As ...
,
osprey The osprey (''Pandion haliaetus''), , also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor reaching more than in length and across the wings. It is brown o ...
,
crested serpent-eagle The crested serpent eagle (''Spilornis cheela'') is a medium-sized bird of prey that is found in forested habitats across tropical Asia. Within its widespread range across the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia and East Asia, there are considera ...
, lesser kestrel, Sarus crane,
Bengal florican The Bengal florican (''Houbaropsis bengalensis''), also called the Bengal bustard, is a bustard species native to the Indian subcontinent, Cambodia, and Vietnam. It is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List because fewer than 1,00 ...
,
brown fish owl The brown fish owl (''Ketupa zeylonensis'') is a fish owl species in the family known as typical owls, Strigidae. It is native from Turkey to South and Southeast Asia. Due its wide distribution it is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. ...
,
great pied hornbill The great hornbill (''Buceros bicornis''), also known as the concave-casqued hornbill, great Indian hornbill or great pied hornbill, is one of the larger members of the hornbill family. It occurs in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It ...
, spotted redshank, greenshank, and
pale-capped pigeon The pale-capped pigeon (''Columba punicea''), also known as the purple wood pigeon, is a species of large pigeon that is found patchily distributed in parts of the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It has a slow flight and spends a lot of t ...
.


See also

*
List of protected areas of India There are four categories of protected areas in India, constituted under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. Tiger reserves consist of areas under national parks and wildlife sanctuaries. There are 52 tiger reserves in India. the protected area ...
* Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education


References


External links


Dibru-Saikhowa National Park
- Dibru-Saikhowa Conservation Society
Dibru-Saikhowa National Park
- portal {{Authority control Brahmaputra Valley semi-evergreen forests Tinsukia National parks in Assam 1999 establishments in Assam Protected areas established in 1999