Chitwan National Park

Chitwan National Park

UNESCO World Heritage Site
Criteria	Natural: vii, ix, x
Reference	284
Inscription	1984 (8th Session)

Chitwan National Park
IUCN category II (national park)
Landscape in Chitwan National Park
Location	Nepal
Area	932 km²
Established	1973

Chitwan National Park is the first national park in Nepal. Formerly called Royal Chitwan National Park it was established in 1973 and granted the status of a World Heritage Site in 1984. It covers an area of 932 km² and is located in the subtropical Inner Terai lowlands of South-Central Nepal in the Chitwan district.
In the north and west of the protected area the Narayani-Rapti river system forms a natural border to human settlements. Adjacent to the east of Chitwan National Park is Parsa Wildlife Reserve and further east the Bara Hunting Reserve, contiguous in the south is the Indian Valmiki National Park. The coherent protected area of more than 2.000 km² is known as the Tiger Conservation Unit (TCU) Chitwan.

History

Since the end of the 19th century Chitwan - Heart of the Jungle – used to be a favourite hunting ground for Nepal’s ruling class during the winter seasons. Until the 1950s the journey from Kathmandu to Nepal’s South was arduous as the area could only be reached by foot. Thus, in an area known as Four Mile Forest (चार कोसे झाडी) comfortable camps were set up for the feudal big game hunters and their entourage, where they stayed for a couple of months shooting hundreds of tigers, rhinocerosses, leopards and sloth bears.
In 1950 Chitwan’s forest and grasslands extended over more than 2.600 km² and was home to about 800 rhinos. When poor farmers from the mid-hills moved to the Chitwan Valley in search of arable land, the area was subsequently opened for settlement, and poaching of wildlife became rampant. In 1957 the country's first conservation law inured to the protection of rhinos and their habitat. In 1959 Edward Pritchard Gee undertook a survey of the area, recommended creation of a protected area north of the Rapti river and of a wildlife sanctuary south of the river for a trial period of ten years . After his subsequent survey of Chitwan in 1963, this time for both the Fauna Preservation Society and the International Union for Conservation of Nature, he recommended extension of the sanctuary to the south .
However, by the end of the 1960s 70% of Chitwan’s jungles were cleared using DDT, thousands of people had settled there, and only 95 rhinos remained. The dramatic decline of the rhino population and the extent of poaching prompted the government to institute the Gaida Gasti – a rhino reconnaissance patrol of 130 armed men and a network of guard posts all over Chitwan. To prevent the extinction of rhinos the Chitwan National Park was gazetted in December 1970 with borders delineated the following year and established in 1973, initially encompassing an area of 544 km² .
In 1977 the park was enlarged to its present area of 932 km². In 1997 a bufferzone of 766,1 km² was added to the north and west of the Narayani-Rapti river system.

Climate

The area is located in the eastern climatic zone of the Himalayas, where monsoon starts in mid June and eases in late September.

Vegetation

seed of Kapok, the Silk Cotton Tree

The typical vegetation of the Inner Terai is moist deciduous forests with predominantly Sal (Shorea robusta) trees covering about 70% of the national park area. Purest stands of sal occur on well drained lowland ground in the centre. Along the southern face of the Churia Hills sal is interspersed with chir pine (Pinus roxburghii). On northern slopes sal associates with smaller flowering tree and shrub species such as Beleric (Terminalia bellirica), Indian Rosewood (Dalbergia sissoo), Axlewood (Anogeissus latifolia), Elephant Apple (Dillenia indica), Grey Downy Balsam (Garuga pinnata) and creepers such as Bauhinia vahlii and Spatholobus parviflorus.
Seasonal bushfires, flooding and erosion evoke an ever-changing mosaic of riverine forest and grasslands along the river banks. On recently deposited alluvium and in lowland areas groups of Catechu (Acacia catechu) with Indian Rosewood (Dalbergia sissoo) predominate, followed by groups of Kapok (Bombax ceiba) with Rhino Apple trees (Trewia nudiflora), the fruits of which rhinos savour so much . Understorey shrubs of Velvety beautyberry (Callicarpa macrophylla), Hill Glory Bower (Clerodendrum viscosum) and Indian gooseberry (Phyllanthus emblica) offer shelter and lair to a wide variety of species.
Grassland covers about 20% of the park’s area. More than 50 species are found here including some of the world’s tallest grasses like the elephant grass called Saccharum ravennae, Giant cane (Arundo donax), Khagra reed (Phragmites karka) and several species of true grasses. Kans grass (Saccharum spontaneum) is one of the first grasses to colonise new sandbanks and to be washed away by the yearly monsoon floods.

Fauna

The Chitwan National Park is home to a rich fauna, including one of the last populations of single-horned Indian Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) and the Bengal tiger Panthera tigris tigris. The Chitwan National Park is home to at least 43 species of mammals, 450 species of birds, and 45 species of amphibians and reptiles. Elephants and Indian rhinos are the largest species found in the park, but a lot of other large herbivores are found in the park, gaur, sambar deer, Indian muntjac, chital, hog deer, mainland serow, chousingha and wild boar. Three large predator species: tigers, leopards, dholes prey on them and carrion eaters like striped hyenas are also found. Sloth bears are among the main attractions of the Park. Smaller carivore species are golden jackal, yellow-throated marten, ratel, smooth coated otter, small Indian civet, large Indian civet, spotted linsang, common palm civet, binturong, small Indian mongoose, Indian grey mongoose, crab-eating mongose, leopard cat, marbled cat and fishing cat. Further mammal species found in the park are rhesus monkeys, hanuman langurs, Indian pangolin, northern palm squirrel, red giant flying squirrel, particoloured flying squirrel, Indian porcupine, hispid hare, Indian hare and ganges dolphin.

Among the reptiles marsh crocoiles, gharials and Indian python are the largest.

The park's unique rhino herd was featured on The Jeff Corwin Experience in season 2, episode 11.

Tourism

Chitwan National Park is one of Nepal’s most popular tourist destinations. In 1989 more than 31.000 people visited the park, and ten years later already more than 77.000.

There are several lodges inside the national park offering full board and accommodation in combination with elephant and jeep safaris, rafting tours and guided jungle walks. The pioneer safari lodge is Tiger Tops Jungle Lodge receiving guests since 1972. Tiger Tops has developed standards for responsible conservation tourism, e.g. supports the “Long-term Tiger Monitoring Project” and anti-poaching units operating in the national park.

On the edge of the national park Sauraha is a well-known spot for tourists. Accessible from the nearby Bharatpur Airport, Sauraha offers a choice of hotels, lodges, restaurants and agencies that organize day trips into the protected area.

Literature

• Gurung, K. (1983). Heart of the Jungle: the Wildlife of Chitwan, Nepal. Andre Deutsch, London. 197 pp.
• Gurung K. K. and Singh R. (1996) Field Guide to the Mammals of the Indian Subcontinent, Academic Press, San Diego, ISBN 0-12-309350-3
• Bhuju, U.R. et al. (2007) Nepal Biodiversity Resource Book, ICIMOD, UNEP, MOEST, Kathmandu, ISBN 9789291150335

• 
  Sal Forest (photographed by Leonardo C. Fleck)
• 
  Elephant safari in Chitwan NP (photographed by Leonardo C. Fleck)
• 
  Elephant safari in Chitwan NP (photographed by Autumn Snake)

External links

• Information of Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, Nepal
• More details about establishment of Chitwan National Park
• Hotel Wildlife Camp
• Nepal Tourism directory