The
home of Tigers :
Rudyard Kipling stated that, “The Corbett National Park is a primal
jungle” and even today the park manages to retain its pristine
surroundings in-spite of pervasive tourism and its a place where man has to
be careful and beware of the wild animals.
History :
The Park has been named after the renowned hunter and naturalist, Jim
Corbett, who spoke in volumes about this captivating land and its rare
animals in his book, "The Man-Eaters of Kumaon". Corbett has also
related many bewitching tales of hunting down man-eating tigers in his
writings. Jim Corbett, a nature lover played an important role in
establishing this sanctuary (in 1936), then called Hailey Park. Later, an
all India initiative for the protection of the Tiger was launched here. The
park has a high density of tiger population and covers around 920 square
kms, at an altitude of 600 to 1100 metres in the foothills of the western
Himalayas, in the state of Uttaranchal (formerly part of Uttar Pradesh). The
park has grown considerably in size in the last 64 years and now encompasses
the Sonanadi Wildlife Sanctuary within its 1,319 sq km of reserved forest
area.
Connectivity :
» By Air - The nearest airport is Delhi which is 300
kms away from the park.
» By Rail - The nearest station is Ramnager, 21 kms
away where Ramnagar is by overnight train from Delhi.
» By Road - Corbett is located at a distance of 300
kms from Delhi
Highlights
of the Park :
» Plant Species - Corbett National Park owns variety
of vegetation , with different kinds of trees and shrubs. The lower reaches
of the Park, where the land is flat compared to the upper reaches, consists
of tall and slender sal (Shorea robusta) trees. Shisham (Dalbergia sissoo)
and khair (Acacia katechu) trees are found in the middle reaches, while the
upper reaches of the mountains are full of bakli (Anogeissus latifolia),
chir (Pinus roxburghii), gurail (Bauhinia racemosa) and bamboo trees.
The Park also has lantana shrubs, a species that is a great reason for
concern. It was imported years ago from America and ensures that nothing
else grows near it. In the Park are 110 species of trees, 51 species of
shrubs, and over 33 species of bamboo and grass that are mostly found in
chowds, or meadows.
» Animals Species - Leopard, Tigers, Leopard cats,
Jungle cats, the Rare fishing cat, and Caracalla, to name a few. Sloth
bears, wild boars, monkeys, dholes (wild dogs), jackals and ghorals
(mountain goats) also inhabit the Park.
» Bird Species - Bird life includes parakeets,
flycatchers, babblers, cuckoos, robins, bulbuls, Indian and Great Pied
hornbills, warblers and finches.
» Reptiles - The aquatic reptile population in the
Park comprises of mugger (Crocodylus palustris) and gharial (Gavialis
gangeticus) crocodiles, while Indian rock pythons, Russells vipers, cobras,
king cobras and common kraits are some of the snakes found in the Park.
