Bhitarkanika National Park
| Bhitarkanika National Park | |
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| ଭିତରକନିକା ଜାତୀୟ ଉଦ୍ୟାନ | |
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IUCN category II (national park)
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Sunrise at Bhitarkanika National Park
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| Location | Odisha, India |
| Nearest city | Kendrapara |
| Coordinates | 20°45′N 87°0′E / 20.750°N 87.000°ECoordinates: 20°45′N 87°0′E / 20.750°N 87.000°E |
| Area | 672 km2 (259 sq mi) |
| Established | 22th April 1975 |
| Governing body | Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India |
Bhitarkanika National Park is a national park located in the Kendrapara District Odisha in eastern India. Core area of 145 square kilometre of the Bhitarkanika Wild Sanctuary, spread over 672 km2, has been designated as a National Park since 16th Sep 1998. Also a Ramsar Convention 19th Aug 2002.
The national park is surrounded by the Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary. Gahirmatha Beach and Marine Sanctuary lies to the east, and separates swamp region cover with canopy of mangroves from the Bay of Bengal. Thus it become a vicinity of rich biodiversity
The park is home to Saltwater Crocodile (Crocodylus porosus), White Crocodile, Indian python, King Cobra, black ibis, darters and many other species of flora and fauna.
The national park was created in September 1998 from the core area of the Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary, which was created in 1975. The sanctuary is the second largest mangrove ecosystem in India.
The national park and wildlife sanctuary is inundated by a number of rivers - Brahmani, Baitarni, Dhamra, Pathsala and others.
Flora: Mangroves, trees like sundari, thespia, casuarinas, and grasses like the indigo bush, and more.
Fauna: The park is home to the saltwater crocodile, white crocodile, Indian python, black ibis, wild pigs, rhesus monkeys, chitals, darters, cobra, water monitor lizard . Olive ridley sea-turtles nest on Gahirmatha and other nearby beaches. Bhitarkanika has one of the largest populations of endangered saltwater crocodile in India and is globally unique in that 10 percent of the adults exceed 6 m length. Nearly 1671 saltwater crocodiles inhabit the rivers and creeks. Around 3,000 saltwater crocodiles were born during 2014 annual breeding and nesting season.
In 2006, Guinness accepted claims of a 7.1 m (23 ft 4 in), 2,000 kg (4,400 lb) male saltwater crocodile living within Bhitarkanika National Park. Due to the difficulty of trapping and measuring a very large living crocodile, the accuracy of these dimensions has yet to be verified. These observations and estimations have been made by park officials over the course of ten years, from 2006 to 2016, however, regardless of the skill of the observers it cannot be compared to a verified tape measurement, especially considering the uncertainty inherent in visual size estimation in the wild. According to the park report in 2006, there were 203 adults, of which 16 measured over 4.9 m (16 ft 1 in); 5 of these 5.5 to 6.1 m (18 ft 1 in to 20 ft 0 in), and 3 over 6.1 m (20 ft 0 in), as well as the preserved skeleton of a 6.0 m (19 ft 8 in) specimen which died one year earlier. A significant figure, since individuals over 5 m (16 ft 5 in) are considered rare, making the Bhitarkanika Park a suitable habitat for large individuals. The most recently published official park report shows an increase of adult crocodiles to 308 individuals, as well as a steady increase over the years. In the future, if conservation efforts pay off, these large individuals could be more common.
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Wikipedia