Fauna in Dudhwa National Park
Dudhwa National Park lies on the Indo-Nepal border in the Terai region of the sub- Himalayan region in theLakhimpur-Kheir district of Uttar Pradesh. The national park is the abode of a wide spectrum of fauna and avifauna, which amounts to more than 16 species of reptiles, 38 species of mammals and more than 350 species of birds.
Sprawling over an area of about 680 sq km, the wildlife of the Dudhwa National Park underwent cruelty by poachers and encroachers, which led to the dwindling of most of the wild animals in the Sal forest. It is with the single-handed efforts of Kunwar ‘Billy’ Arjan Singh, a hunter turned into a conservationist, that the forest got back its wild charm. He was quite instrumental in protecting the tigers and leopards of the Dudhwa forest.
Dudhwa National Park has witnessed the initiative of several conservation projects to protect the big cats, swamp deers or barasingha, rhinoceros and the most endangered Bengal Florican, which are also the paramount fauna attractions. Dudhwa National Park shelters almost half of India’s barasingha population in its grasslands and is commonly sighted during the jungle safari.
In April 1984, the Rhino Rehabilitation Project was initiated in Dudhwa Reserve and 5 one- horned rhinos were emigrated from Assam. After a few failures, presently Dudhwa is the home to about 46 one-horned rhinos according to a recent survey.
The dense open grasslands of Dudhwa serve as an ideal shelter for the animals as well as the birds. The avifauna population of the national park is a combination of local birds and migratory birds residing in the grasslands, swamps and dense forests of the park.
Fauna
Royal Bengal Tigers, Leopards, Asiatic black bears, Sloth bears, Swamp deer, One-horned Rhinoceros, Elephant, Cheetal, Hog deer, Barking deer, Sambar, Wild boar, Hispid hare, Blue bull, Porcupine, Otter, Turtles, Python, Monitor lizards, Mugger, Gharial.
Avifauna
Dudhwa National Park has been a popular bird watcher’s paradise, as the park hosts a shelter for more than 350 species of birds. Among the multiple species of migratory birds, Amur Falcons are among the most famous ones. The Indian species of birds include Hornbill, Red Jungle Fowl, Peafowl, Bengal Florican, Fishing eagle, Serpent eagle, Paradise Flycatcher, OspreyIndian Pitta, Shama, Emerald Dove, and Orioles. White-rumped vultures, Swamp Francolin, Bengal Florican, and the Great Slaty Woodpecker are among the critically endangered ones.