Sukla Phanta Wildlife Reserve
| Shuklaphanta National Park | |
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IUCN category II (national park)
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Rani Tal, a lake inside Shuklaphanta National Park
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| Location | Nepal |
| Coordinates | 28°50′25″N 80°13′44″E / 28.8402°N 80.2290°ECoordinates: 28°50′25″N 80°13′44″E / 28.8402°N 80.2290°E |
| Area | 305 km2 (118 sq mi) |
| Established | 1976 |
| Governing body | Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation |
The Shuklaphanta National Park is a protected area in the Terai of the Far-Western Region, Nepal, covering 305 km2 (118 sq mi) of open grassland, forests, riverbeds and tropical wetlands at an altitude of 174 to 1,386 m (571 to 4,547 ft). It was gazetted in 1976 as Royal Shuklaphanta Wildlife Reserve. A small part of the reserve extends north of the East-West Highway to create a corridor for seasonal migration of wildlife into the Sivalik Hills. The Syali River forms the eastern boundary southward to the international border with India, which demarcates the reserve’s southern and western boundary.
The Indian Tiger Reserve Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary is contiguous in the south; this coherent protected area of 439 km2 (169 sq mi) represents the Tiger Conservation Unit (TCU) Sukla Phanta-Kishanpur, which covers a 1.897 km2 (0.732 sq mi) block of alluvial grasslands and subtropical moist deciduous forests.
The protected area is part of the Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands ecoregion and is one of the best-conserved examples of floodplain grassland. It is included in the Terai Arc Landscape.
The area was a favorite hunting ground for Nepal's ruling class and was declared a Royal Hunting Reserve in 1969. In 1973, the area was gazetted as Royal Sukla Phanta Wildlife Reserve, initially comprising 155 km2 (60 sq mi), and extended to its present size in the late 1980s. A buffer zone of 243.5 km2 (94.0 sq mi) was added in May 2004. In 2017, the status of the protected area was changed to a national park.
The name Suklaphanta was derived from one of the grasslands found inside the protected area. The main grassland called Sukla Phanta is the largest patch of continuous grassland in Nepal covering an area of about 16 km2 (6.2 sq mi).
The jungles of the Shuklaphanta National Park were once the site of an ancient kingdom. To this day, ruins of that kingdom can be seen in some places. Near Rani Tal, a lake in the reserve, there still remains a brick girdle, measuring 1,500 m (59,000 in) in circumference. It is considered by locals to be a remnant of the fort of Tharu king Singpal.
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Wikipedia