Manas National park

                                                Manas National Park

Conservation History

1907 and 1927             Parts of the present National Park area notified as reserved forests. It was then called called Manas R.F. and North Kamrup R.F & was used by the Cooch Behar royal family and Raja of Gauripur as a hunting reserve.

October 1, 1928          Manas declared a sanctuary on with an area of 360 km².

1951 and 1955             the area was increased to 391 km².

1973                            Manas Tiger reserve was created

December 1985           Manas declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO.

March 14 1989            Manas declared as a Biosphere Reserve.

September 7,1990        Manas upgraded into a National Park with the inclusion of Kahitama R.F. the Kokilabari R.F. and the Panbari R.F in the eastewrn sector thereby increasing the area from 391 sq km to 500 sq km

1992                            UNESCO declared it as a world heritage site in danger due to heavy poaching and terrorist activities.

25 February 2008        The area of Manas was increased to 950 km².

June 21st 2011,            Manas was removed from the List of World Heritage in Danger and was commended for its efforts in preservation.

Geography:

Manas National park is divided into three ranges. The western range is based at Panbari, the central at Bansbari near Barpeta Road, and the eastern at Bhuiyapara near Pathsala.

Area:               The Manas National Park today comprises an area of 950 km² out of the 2,837.12 km² of Manas Tiger Reserve. The Manas National Park is contiguous with Royal Manas National Park (658 km²), Bhutan.

Altitude:           Situated at a height of 61m to 110m above mean sea level.

Latitude:          26°35'-26°50'N, Longitude: 90°45'-91°15'E.

Civil districts: Kokrajhar, Chirang, Baksa, Udalguri, and Darrang in the state of Assam in

India.

Climate:          Warm and humid

Relative Humidity : Upto 76%

Mean maximum summer temperature is -           37°C

Mean minimum winter temperature is -              11°C.

Mean annual rainfall ranges from 3332mm at Batabari to 4489mm at Kachugaon, with most rain falling during the monsoon season (May-September).

Conservation Values of Manas National Park

• The Burma Monsoon Forests of Manas lie on the borders between the Indo-Gangetic and Indo-Malayan biogeographical realms and is part of the Brahmaputra Valley Biogeographic Province. The combination of Sub-Himalayan Bhabar Terai formation with riverine succession leading up to Sub-Himalayan mountain forest makes it one of the richest biodiversity areas in the world.
• A total of 543 plants species have been recorded from the core zone of the National Park. Of these, 374 species are dicotyledons (including 89 trees), 139 species monocotyledons and 30 are Pteridophytes and Gymnosperms.
• The Park supports an impressive diversity and biomass of large wildlife species. Herbivores density in the grassland ecosystems of Manas rivals that of some East African grasslands (Eisenberg & Seidensticker 1976).
• Manas contains 22 of India's Schedule I (Wildlife Protection Act, 1972) mammals and at least 33 of its animals listed as threatened, by far the greatest number for any protected area in the country. Many are typical of Southeast Asian rain forest and have their westernmost distribution there, while other species are at the easternmost point of their range.
• Manas National Park is also a part of the Chirang-Ripu Elephant Reserve, declared in the year 2003 by Government of Assam, with an area of 2600 sq. km. The Manas National Park is perhaps the largest remaining safe home for elephants in entire Himalayan foothills in Assam. The Park plays a vital role in trans-boundary movement of elephants along the northern West Bengal, Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh.
• The park is known for its rare and endangered endemic wildlife such as the Assam Roofed Turtle, Hispid Hare, Golden Langur and Pygmy Hog.
• Manas is famous for its population of the Wild water buffalo
• Over 450 species of birds including migrants have been recorded and about 350 breed in the area, 16 being endemic (Deb Roy, 1991) including the threatened Bengal Florican Houbaropsis bengalensis, a rare bustard. The Bengal Floricans of the National Park were estimated at 80 individuals with 24 male territories in the Park in 1988 (Narayan et al., 1989); this is a fifth of the world population.

o       Considerable Research, Education and Recreation values

Habitat

Manas National Park is located in the Eastern Himalaya foothills. The Manas river is the main river, a major tributary of Brahmaputra river which flows through the west of the park, further it splits into two separate rivers, the Beki and Bholkaduba. Manas and five other small rivers flow through the National Park which lies on a wide low-lying alluvial terrace below the foothills of the outer Himalaya. The river also acts an international border dividing India and Bhutan.

The northern portion is represented by the 'Bhabar' formation, which is very porous due to the deep deposits of coarse detritus overlain by sandy loam and then a thin layer of humus. The 'Terai' tract in the south consists of fine alluvial deposits with underlying pans. Here, the water table lies very near to the surface.

There are two major biomes present in Manas, the grassland biome and the forest biome

The main vegetation types are:

• Sub-Himalayan Light Alluvial Semi-Evergreen forests in the northern parts.
• East Himalayan mixed Moist and Dry Deciduous forests (the most common type).
• Low Alluvial Savanna Woodland, and
• Assam Valley Semi-Evergreen Alluvial Grasslands which cover almost 50% of the Park.

Much of the riverine dry deciduous forest is at an early successional stage. It is replaced by moist deciduous forest away from water courses, which is succeeded by semi-evergreen climax forest in the northern part of the park.

Flora and Fauna

The Park's common trees include Aphanamixis polystachya, Anthocephalus chinensis, Syzygium cumini, S. formosum, S. oblatum, Bauhinia purpurea, Mallotus philippensis, Cinnamomum tamala, Actinodaphne obvata, Bombax ceiba, Sterculia villosa, Dillenia indica, D. pentagyna, Careya arborea, Lagerstroemia parviflora, L.speciosa, Terminalia bellirica, T. chebula, Trewia polycarpa, Gmelina arborea, Oroxylum indicum and Bridelia spp.

The Grasslands are dominated by Imperata cylindrica, Saccharum naranga, Phragmites karka, Arundo donax, Dillenia pentagyna, Phyllanthus emblica, Bombax ceiba, and species of Clerodendrum, Leea, Grewia, Premna and Mussaenda

The sanctuary has recorded 55 species of mammals, more than 450 species of birds, 50 of reptiles, and 3 species of amphibians. Out of these wildlife, 21 mammals are India’s Schedule I mammals and 31 of them are threatened.

The fauna of the sanctuary include Asian Elephants, Indian Rhinoceros, Gaurs, Asian Water Buffaloes, Barasingha, Tigers, Leopards, Clouded Leopards, Asian golden cat, Capped Langurs, Golden Langurs, Assamese Macaques, Slow Loris, Hoolock Gibbons, Smooth-coated Otters, Sloth Bears, Barking Deer, Hog Deer, Sambar Deer and Chital.

The park is well known for its rare and endangered wildlife like the Assam Roofed Turtle, Hispid Hare, Golden Langur and Pygmy Hog.

Manas have the largest population of endangered Bengal Florican. The major other birds includes Giant Hornbills, Jungle Fowls, Bulbuls, Brahminy Ducks, Kalij Pheasants, Egrets, Pelicans, Fishing Eagles, Serpent Eagles, Falcons, Scarlet Minivets, Bee-Eaters, Magpie Robins, Pied Hornbills, Grey Hornbills, Mergansers, Harriers, Ospreys and Herons.

Conservation Issues

1. Civil Unrest
2. Floods
3. Translocation
4. Weeds
5. Livestock grazing