KAZIRANGA TIGER RESERVE - ENVIRONMENT

News: Coimbatore-based photographer captures rare ‘golden tiger’ in Assam’s Kaziranga National Park

 

What's in the news?

       While the photo of a golden tiger shared by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on ‘X’ on National Tourism Day is leaving nature enthusiasts spellbound, the man behind the image feels that the rare encounter in the wild might never repeat again.

 

Kaziranga Tiger Reserve:

Location:

       It is located in the state of Assam.

       It is located on the edge of the Eastern Himalaya biodiversity hotspot with higher species diversity.

       The Kaziranga National park is traversed by National Highway 37.

 

Formation:

       It is formed by alluvial deposits from the Brahmaputra and its tributaries.

 

Important Features:

       It also hosts two-thirds of the world’s greater one-horned rhinoceroses.

       The Park was declared as a National Park in 1974.

       In 1985, the park was designated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

       It was declared as a Tiger Reserve in 2006.

       It is recognized as an Important Bird Area by Bird Life International for the conservation of avifaunal species.

       It is the largest protected area on the Brahmaputra river’s southern bank.

       It consists of alluvial inundated grasslands, alluvial savanna woodlands, tropical moist mixed deciduous forests, and tropical semi-evergreen forests due to its variability in altitude.

 

Flora:

       Indian Gooseberry, Cotton Tree, and Elephant Apple.

 

Fauna:

       Home to Big Five - Great Indian One-Horned Rhinoceros, Asiatic Wild Buffalo, Asiatic Elephant, Swamp Deer, and Royal Bengal Tiger.

 

Go back to basics:

Historical Facts:

       The title Kaziranga adopts its name to Karbi, which is the name of a woman who ruled here in ancient times.

       It also gets its name from the Karbi language, where ‘Kazi’ means ‘Goat’ or ‘Deer’ and ‘Rangai’ means ‘Red,’ culminating in ‘the land of red goats or deer.’