KAZIRANGANATIONAL PARK

Assam

About Kaziranga National ParkKaziranga was a huge swamp at one time with a sizeable population of animals, and a favourite hunting ground of local tribes and hunters. It ground of local tribes and hunters. It was also a high risk malarial region, and prone to frequent flooding and being ravaged by the moody Brahmaputra river changing course every now and then. In 1908, Lord Curzon’s proposal to declare the area a reserreserve forest was accepted and hunting banned to protect the dwindling animal numbers. Kaziranga was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1950, and its status upgraded to that of a national park in 1974. It was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1985. The park is the oldest in the Assam area, covering an area of 860 sq. kms (332 sq. miles), lying in the flood plains of the Brahmaputra river with the Karbi Anglong hills to the South.

Park ZonesKKaziranga is divided into four zones for tourists:* Kohora or Central Range, the largest of all. The annual elephant festival is held in this range every year. * Baghori or Western Range, one of the smaller zones of the park with a terrain similar to Kohora. It also has one of the highest density of rhinos. * Agaratouli or Eastern Range is one least frequented by tourists, thus increasing one’s chances of bird and animal sightings who enjoy the relatively disturbance free zone.* Burhapahar Range is a recent addition.

Someone needs to update these figures

Some birds in KazirangaOriental Honey Buzzard, Black-shouldered Kite, Black Kite, Brahminy Kite, Pallas's Fish Eagle, White-tailed Eagle, Grey-headed Fish Eagle, Himalayan Griffon. Huge numbers of migratory birds descend on the park’s lakes and marshy areas during winters including Greylag Goose, Bar-Headed Goose, Ruddy Shelduck, Gadwall, Falcated Duck, Red-crested Pochard and Northern Shoveller.

Some animals in KazirangaOne-Horned Rhinoceros, Asiatic Wild Buffalo, Elephant, Swamp Deer, Hog Deer, Sloth Bear, Tiger, Leopard, Jungle Cats, Otters, Wild Boar, Pythons, Monitor Lizards.

Rhinos are all around youIf you are out tracking the One

-

Horned Rhinoceros, Kaziranga is the

place for you. They are to be found in

aabundance, and in all shapes, sizes,

age and gender. The highlight of my

rhino sightings was a family of

three – father, mother and their baby

(almost as big as the mother though).

Pity I missed capturing them all

together in one frame on my camera,

but I did witness a but I did witness a rare sight of the

full family out together.

Here’s looking at you mate

Mother and

baby Rhino

Papa Rhino

following a

few steps

behind

What my guide told me about the One-Horned Rhinoceros

* Rhinos must be the only ‘potty trained’ animals. They all tend to go to designated spots when nature calls rather than treating the whole jungle as their toilet. Many rhinos share the same spot.* Rhinos weigh between 1,600 - 3,500 kilos (3,500 - 7,700 lb), sometimes even more.* The horn of an adult is about 25 cms (10 inches) long but some have horns upto twice as long.* These are found in greatest numbers in Kaziranga, with a population of close to 2,000 at last count.* Rhinos are gene* Rhinos are generally loners, except when mothers are with their calves, or when they come together to breed.* They love to wallow in water bodies and puddles, and are very good swimmers.* They can run at speeds of upto 55 kmph (35 mph) - that sure can pack a lot of momentum when you consider their body weight. Stay out of their way when they are out for sprints.* Rhinos have a gestation period of about 16 months - that’s a long time to be carrying an oversized baby!* Female Rhinos give birth every 3-5 years.* A Rhino’s average lifespan is 40-45 years.

The Indian Roller sure knows how to be modest. It keeps its luminous feathers concealed till it flies, when metallic blue and light blue bands and light blue bands flash from its wings. Its face and neck are streaked purple. It has an acrobatic, ‘rolling’ flight during the breeding season.

Great Indian Hornbill,

also known as the Great

Pied Hornbill, is one of the

larger members of the

hornbill family. It can be

95-120 cm long, with a

wingspan of wingspan of 150 cm and

weight of 2.5 - 4 kilos. It

eats mostly fruits but will

also prey on small mammals,

reptiles and birds. They can

have life spans of 35 - 50

years!

Spotted in Kaziranga

Rose-ringed Parakeets are not parrots as are commonly referred to in India. Males have a black and pink line running from throat to neck. Their call is a loud ‘ki-ki-ki-ki.’

Green-billed Malkoha: Belongs to the Cuckoo family – and

a rare find according to my guide. Cuckoos are known to

feed on insects, and lay their eggs in nests of birds much

smaller than themselves.

Spotted in Kaziranga

The Red Junglefowl, an obvious ancestor of the domestic rooster. Notable features are its red face-patch and comb, black underparts and sickle-shaped tail.

The Red-breasted

Parakeet, the only of

the species with a pink

breast. Parakeets are

long tailed, green,

screeching and

cchattering birds of

gardens and parks and

feed on fruits, flowers

and seeds.

Spotted in Kaziranga

Purple Swamphen: Spotted a big group on the way to the Gibbon sanctuary. When out in the open, it exposes its glitzy plumage; when in cover it has a rich repertoire of screams, screeches, hoots and chuckles. Belonging to the family of Crakes, who are more heard than seen, they are usually found in marshlands. Their diet consists mainly of insects, amphibians, fish and plant material. They are short-tailed and large-footed, and walk with a jejerking tail movement.

Purple Swamphen

Spotted a Malayan Giant Squirrel in the Gibbon Wildlife

Sanctuary

Wild Water Buffalo: I saw

this buffalo get into the water

from the opposite bank of a lake

,

and she floated / swam across

close to where I was standing. It

was fun to capture it frame-by-

fframe as it waded closer to the

shore – both of us seemed to be

eyeing each other as I took steps

to get closer.Fortunately, I didn’t

scare her and she did not come

after me.

Spotted some Otters – even though from a distance through binoculars – for the first time in

mmy life.

A shelter for night guards - would you like to spend a night here? You sure will have to pull many strings to get the ((almost impossible) permission to!

Chasing Gibbon apes, the only of their kind in IndiaI woke up all excited at five in the morning to head out to the Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary near Jorhat in Assam. The day started with a small blip: blip: my guide was missing. I had to go to his house and wake him up – it turned out he had slept late after a night of theatre and drinking with friends. Apparently, he decided to party with the generous tip I had given him the previous evening.

But the guide was good. He had made advance arrangements with another guide to locate the Gibbons and Gibbons and wait for us there. When I saw the family, I was a little disappointed: I was imagining they would look like those Great African Apes you see in National Geographic. I was even visualising sitting with them for photos – and feeding them bananas I had specially carried.

These Gibbons are much smaller, and a little bigger than monbigger than monkeys. They were only to be seen on the upper branches of tall trees - they never come down – straining my neck a bit. I had to keep looking up, balancing a heavy zoom lens on my eyes to ensure I caught the moments. They were mostly camouflaged by leaves – and their complexion did not make photography easier. And when they would swing, they did so in the blink when they would swing, they did so in the blink of an eye. But I did have fun following them for a few hours – even as I had to keep removing those damn leeches off me.

Here is an extract from the book Hoolock: The Ape of India by Dilip Chetry, Rekha Chetry and P.C. Bhattacharjee:

Kaziranga: Travel Tips

* Accommodation: There is an abundance of

accommodation at Kaziranga, from budget to

luxury.* Getting there: Regular flights to Jor

hat

(96 kms / 60 miles) and Guwahati (225 kms /

1140 miles) away. Taxis and buses available from

these cities. The drives from these airports are

picturesque, taking you through tea estates and

forests. Nearest railhead in Jorhat.

* Best time to visit: October to March. It is very

hot towards end-March and April, but sightings

may be at their best. The park is closed from mid-

MMay to mid-October due to heavy rains.

Temperatures can touch 38 degrees Celsius in

summers, and fall to 5 degrees in the winters.

* Safaris: You can book a jeep or an elephant for

your safaris.

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Kaziranga National Park By

Ajay JainE-Edition Version: 1.0 (July 2012)Kunzum Catalog Code: KE20003

This e-edition first published in 2012 by Kunzum, the travel imprint of TCP Media Pvt. Ltd. All Text and Photographs Copyright © 2012 by Ajay Jain All Text and Photographs Copyright © 2012 by Ajay Jain

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