Kaziranga National Park: Assam

• 23 Oct 2021

Why in News

The Central Empowered Committee (CEC), constituted by the Supreme Court, has asked the Assam government to take action on illegal construction in the identified wildlife corridors of the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve.

• Earlier, Kaziranga National Park became the first in the country to use satellite phones and Dehing Patkai and Raimona were designated as National Parks and the Eco-sensitive zone of the Deepor Beel Wildlife Sanctuary was notified.

Key Points

• Location:
  
  • It is located in the State of Assam and covers 42,996 Hectare (ha). It is the single largest undisturbed and representative area in the Brahmaputra Valley floodplain.
• Legal Status:
  
  • It was declared as a National Park in 1974.
  • It has been declared a tiger reserve since 2007.
• International Status:
  
  • It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985.
  • It is recognized as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International.
• Biodiversity:
  
  • It is the home of the world's most one-horned rhinos.
    
    • Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary has the highest density of one-horned rhinos in the world and second highest number of Rhinos in Assam after Kaziranga National Park.
  • Much of the focus of conservation efforts in Kaziranga are focused on the 'big four' species - Rhino, Elephant, Royal Bengal tiger and Asiatic water buffalo.
    
    • The 2018 census had yielded 2,413 rhinos and approximately 1,100 elephants.
    • As per the figures of tiger census conducted in 2014, Kaziranga had the third highest population in India after Jim Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand and Bandipur National Park in Karnataka.
  • Kaziranga is also home to 9 of the 14 species of primates found in the Indian subcontinent.
• Rivers and Highways:
  
  • National Highway 37 passes through the park area.
  • The park also has more than 250 seasonal water bodies, besides the Diphlu River running through it.

Source: TH