News Excerpt:
The number of birds counted during the 5th bird Census conducted in and around Kaziranga on January 9 and 10 was 27% more than in 2022.
About the 5th bird Census:
- There are nearly 200 wetlands in and around Kaziranga, and the bird census was conducted in 115 of them, falling under three divisions -
- The Eastern Assam Wildlife Division
- It comprised mostly of the Kaziranga National Park area, recorded 37,606 birds.
- The Eastern Assam Wildlife Division
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- The Nagaon Wildlife Division
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- The Biswanath Wildlife Division
- The census recorded 84,839 birds, pushing the Kaziranga National Park among the country's top five tourist destinations for birds.
- The number of birds counted increased by 27% than the number counted in 2022.
- About 80% of the birds were migratory.
- Some of the species reported in the new census include -
- Baer’s Pochard (IUCN status - Critically Endangered)
- Baikal Teal
- Greater Scaup
- Gull-billed Tern
- Greater-white Fronted Goose
- Great-crested Grebe
- Pallas’s Gull
- Black Stork
- Black-Headed Gull
- Cotton Pygmy Goose
- Bengal Florican (IUCN status - Critically Endangered)
- Swamp Francolin (IUCN status - Vulnerable)
- Odisha's Chilika Lake tops the list with over 10.74 lakh birds, followed by Kaziranga, Rajasthan's Bharatpur (25,000), Najafgarh jheel in Delhi (10,239) and Gujarat's Nalsarovar (7,099).
- In terms of size and number, Kaziranga is second to Chilika. Species-wise, however, Bharatpur tops the list.
- The recent e-Bird database found 603 bird species in and around Kaziranga.
Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve (KNPTR):
- It is located in Golaghat, Nagaon and Sonitpur districts of Assam.
- It is the oldest park in Assam and covers an area of 430 sq km along the river Brahmaputra in the north and the Karbi Anglong hills in the south.
- National Highway 37 passes through the park area and tea estates, hemmed by table-top tea bushes.
- It is inhabited by the world's largest population of one-horned rhinoceroses (2,613 according to 2023 Census).
- It is also known for the "BIG FIVE" mammals: one-horned rhinos, tigers, elephants, Asiatic wild buffalos, and eastern swamp deer.
- It was declared a National Park in 1974.
- In 1985, UNESCO declared Kaziranga National Park a World Heritage Site.
- Over time, the tiger population also increased in Kaziranga, and that’s the reason Kaziranga was declared a Tiger Reserve in 2006.
Prelims PYQ
Q. Consider the following pairs: (UPSC 2013)
National Park River flowing through the Park
- Corbett National Park : Ganga
- Kaziranga National Park : Manas
- Silent Valley National Park : Kaveri
Which of the above pairs is/are correctly matched?
(a) 1 and 2
(b) 3 only
(c) 1 and 3
(d) None
