Kaziranga National park

IN NEWS:

• Large parts of Kaziranga National Park were submerged under water due to floods in river Brahmaputra leading to deaths of many animals.

ABOUT KAZIRANGA:

• Kaziranga is a national park and World Heritage Site located in the state of Assam. 
• The sanctuary hosts two-thirds of the world's great one-horned rhinoceroses.
• Kaziranga is home to the highest density of tigers among protected areas in the world and was declared a Tiger Reserve in 2006.
• The notable rivers within the park are the Brahmaputra River, Mora Diphlu, Diphlu and Mora Dhansiri.

Ecology, flora and fauna:

• Located on the edge of the Eastern Himalaya biodiversity hotspot, the park combines high species diversity and visibility.
• Four main types of vegetation exist in this park. These are alluvial grasslands, alluvial woodlands, tropical moist mixed deciduous forests and tropical semi-evergreen forests.
• The park has the distinction of being home to the world's largest population of the Greater One-Horned Rhinoceros, wild Asiatic water buffalo and eastern swamp deer.
• The One-Horned rhinoceros, Royal Bengal Tiger, Asian elephant, Wild Water Buffalo and Swamp Deer are collectively known as 'Big Five' of Kaziranga.
• Kaziranga is one of the few wild breeding areas outside Africa for multiple species of large cats, such as Bengal tigers and leopards.
• Kaziranga was once home to seven species of vultures, but the vulture population reached near extinction, supposedly by feeding on animal carcasses containing the drug Diclofenac.
• Important bird species include critically endangered Baer’s Pochards, critically endangered Red-headed vulture, the endangered Pallas’s fish eagle and the Greater Adjutant Stork etc.

PRELIMS QUESTION:

Q. Which of the following national parks of India has the highest density of tigers in India:

1. Bandipur national park
2. Kaziranga national park
3. Panna national park
4. Sariska national park

Answer to Prelims question