Page 336 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - India

334  EASTERN INDIA

5 Kaziranga National Park

Assam’s magnificent Kaziranga National Park,
declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, is the
home of the Indian one-horned rhinoceros.
Beautifully situated on the banks of the Brahma putra,
the 430-sq km (166-sq mile) park’s landscape is
characterized by vast grasslands and swamps, dotted
with patches of semi-evergreen forest. The Mikir Hills,
where several animals migrate during the monsoon,
form its southern boundary. Kaziranga’s rich variety of
wildlife includes almost 100 tigers, large numbers
of Asiatic wild buffalo, herds of wild elephants,
Hoolock gibbons, pythons and 300 species of birds, Asian Elephants
including the rare Bengal florican. Kaziranga is home to a population of
around 1,200 elephants.
Asiatic Wild Buffalo
Kaziranga has India’s largest
population of this
mammoth-horned
buffalo, which likes
to wallow in the
park’s swamps. Brahmaputra

Naobhangri Boralimara
Methumari
Rajamari
Arimora
Dhansirimukh
Kartika
Ageratoli
Holapath Jorhat
Bokakhat
Difolu
J Bimola
Bheel
J
Mihimukh Methoni
Kohora
Wildgrass Resort
J Kaziranga
Bengal Florican Gotanga
This endangered bird, Guwahati Deopani Kuthari Baguri
also called the Bengal
bustard, has beautifully
streaked plumage.

The Indian One-horned Rhinoceros
Kaziranga is one of the last refuges of the Indian one-horned
rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis), an endangered species that
was close to extinction at the beginning of the 20th century.
Successful conservation measures have seen their numbers
rise to 2,500 (across Assam and the foothills of Nepal),
of which 1,500 are in Kaziranga. Once found extensively
across the subcontinent, the rhino population dwindled
dramatically because of widespread poaching for its horn,
a prized ingredient in Chinese medicine. Actually a mass of
closely matted hair, each rhino horn fetches an exorbitant
price in Southeast Asia, where it is believed to have great A rhino mother and her baby in Kaziranga’s
medicinal and aphrodisiac properties. vast grasslands

For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp698–9 and p712

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