Bhitar Kanika National Park in Balesore district in an area of 167sq.km is better known as a marine park. The park with its mangrove forests in the rivers Brahmani- Bhaitarani Delta and creeks, estuaries, back water, accreted land and mud flats was mainly established to protect the saltwater crocodile and other marine inhabitants of the region. It was notified as a Crocodile sanctuary in 1975 and a crocodile breeding centre has been established by the Orissa Government.
Mangorves are salt tolerant, complex and dynamic eco-system that occur in tropical and subtropical inte
r-tidal regions. Bhitarkanika is one such location of rich, lush green vibrant eco-system lying in the estuarine region of Brahmani- Baitarani in the North-Eastern corner of Kendrapara district of Orissa. The area is intersected by a network of creeks with Bay of Bengal on the East. The alley between the meandering creeks and rivers, houses the second largest viable mangrove eco-system of India. Its 672 sq.kms. of mangrove forest & wetland, provides home to well over 215 species of birds including winter migrants from central-Asia and Europe. Giant salt water crocodiles and variety of other Wildlife inhabitate in this eco-system which form Asia’s one of the most spectacular Wildlife area.
Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary was declared vide notification No.6958/FF AH Dtd. 22.04.1975 over an area of 672 square kilometers. The Sanctuary comprising Mangrove Forests meandering rivers, innumerable criss-crossed tidal inundated creeks provide last refuge to the already endangered salt water Crocodile (Crocodile Porosus). Besides estuarine Crocodile, the Sanctuary is rich in avifauna, mammalian and reptilian population. Theses Mangrove forests are good habitat for King Cobra, Indian Python and Water Monitor Lizard. A large number of water birds visit Bagagahan heronry which is an area of approximately 4 hectare. within the Bhitarkanika Forest Block near Suajore creek from the month of June to October. Most of the Birds are Asian open bill. Egrets. Black Ibis, Cormorants, Darters & etc.
Simplipal National Park is one of the earliest wildlife habitats that was taken under Project Tiger and is located in the forest belt of northern Orissa. Formerly a favourite among the royals of Mayurbhanj district, the park set in an expanse of the fine Sal forest. Tourist can enjoy jeep safaris and explore the wild surroundings of Simlipal. The Simlipal Tiger Reserve, one of the country’s largest protected areas, is located in the Mayurbhanj district of Orissa. A forested, hilly terrain 200 km south-west of Kolkata, the reserve is endowed with an exceptional biodiversity. Its name derives from the abundance of semul or red silk cotton trees which bloom vividly in the first few months of the year. Of the reserve’s almost 1,000 species of flowering plants, 94 are orchids alone, many of which are on show at the small orchidarium at Gurguria.
Simlipal’s hilly terrain is carved by a number of rivulets. The riparian habitat around streams such as East Deo, Palpala, Budhabalang, Khadkei, Khairi and Bandhan contains swampy tracts and impressive waterfalls, the finest and most popular being Barheipani and Joranda. Expanses of semi- evergreen and moist-deciduous forests are interspersed with majestic sal trees and lowland meadows. Grassy Chahala, Bachurichara, Devsthali and Sapaghar have fairly good concentrations of wildlife.
The Simlipal National Park in Orissa, the former hunting place for the Maharajas of Mayurbhanj, was established as a tiger reserve in 1956 and in 1972 it became a part of the Project Tiger Scheme followed by the attainment of the national park status in 1979. This national park and tiger reserve in northern Orissa is covered with the wide stretches of sal forests. The national park is home to twelve rivers and innumerable waterfalls and the native Santhal tribes of Orissa. The important and major rivers amongst these are Burhabalanga, Palpala Bandan, Kahairi and Deo.
The thick forest of Bandhavgarh National Park sits in a bowl encircled by cliffs and wooded Vindhyan mountains, and its plains have a number of grass and reed covered wetlands where Kingfishers dive and Egrets sit poised, hunch-backed, in the shallows. Up above, vultures nestle in holes in the sheer cliffs.
The Bandhavgarh jungle, when it is large enough, becomes a living self-sustaining organism providing its own climate, atmosphere, water and nutrition through its recycling systems. It even has a sleep wake cycle. As more light fills the sky, Bandhavgarh begins to awaken.
Set amongst the Vindhyas, in Madhya Pradesh, Bandhavgarh is a small national park, but with the highest known density of tiger population in India. This is also known as White Tiger territory. These have been found in the old state of Rewa for many years. The other species found in abundance in Bandhavgarh are the gaur or Indian bison, the sambar, the barking deer and the nilgai.
Bandhavgarh National Park lies on the extreme north- eastern border of the present state of Madhya Pradesh in India and the northern flanks of the eastern Satpuda Mountain range. Latitudes and longitudes are 23°30′ to 23°46′ North and 80°11′ to 36′East. The altitude is between 410 m and 810 m. The geology is soft feldspathic sandstone with quartzite. The soil is generally sandy to sandy-loam. More than twenty streams rise or flow through the park. Of these Umrar (forming the western boundary) is the largest. The other important streams are Johilla (eastern boundary), Janadh, Charnganga, Damnar, Banbei, Ambanala and Andhyari Jhiria. All these streams eventually flow into the river Son, which is an important southern tributary to the Ganges.
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