Manas National Park: Location, History, Geography and more

The Manas National Park in Assam, India, is a national park, a biosphere reserve, a tiger reserve, and an elephant reserve. It borders the Royal Manas National Park of Bhutan and is situated in the foothills of the Himalayas. The Hispid Hare, Golden Langur, Assam Roofed Turtle, and Pygmy Hog are just a few examples of the unique and endangered native animals in the area. It is well known that Manas has a large population of wild water buffalo.

Name’s Etymology

  • The national park gets its name from the Manas River.
  •  A significant tributary of the Brahmaputra River, which flows through the centre of the national park, is the Manas river.

Historical Background

  • The Manas National Park was designated as a wildlife sanctuary on October 1, 1928. 
  • The Manas Reserved Forest and North Kamrup Reserved Forest were the names of the reserved forests there before the sanctuary’s designation.
  • It served as a hunting preserve for the Raja of Gauripur and the Cooch Behar royal dynasty. 
  • The acreage was enlarged to 391 km2 between 1951 and 1955. It was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in December 1985.
  • Moreover, in 1990, the Kokilabari Reserved forest, the Kahitama Reserved forest, and the Panbari Reserved forest were integrated to establish the Manas National Park. 
  • It was listed as a world heritage site in danger by UNESCO in 1992 due to widespread poaching and illegal activities.
  • Eventually, the area was expanded to 500 km2 on February 25, 2008. Recognizing its preservation efforts, it was taken off the List of World Heritage in Danger on June 21, 2011.

Human past

  • In the centre of the national park, there is just one forest settlement, Pagrang. 56 more villages surround the park in addition to this one. 
  • The park is a direct or indirect source of income for the abovementioned settlements.

Geography

  •  The park’s territory is in the Indian state of Assam’s BTR, namely in the districts of Chirang and Baksa.
  • There are three ranges in the park. The eastern range is situated at Bhuiyapara near Pathsala, the centre range is based at Bansbari near Barpeta Road, and the western range is based at Panbari.
  • These three ranges are not well interconnected; from the core to the Panbari, two significant rivers must be crossed, but a poor track (the Daimari road) connects the centre to the eastern range.
  • Most tourists travel to Bansbari and then spend a little time at Mathanguri, located near the border with Bhutan along the Manas River.
  • Manas is heavily wooded and situated in the Eastern Himalayan foothills.
  • The primary river in the park is the Manas river, which runs through its western portion. It is a significant tributary of the Brahmaputra River and, when it reaches the plains, separates into the Bwrsi and Bholkaduba rivers.
  •  The national park, which is located on a broad, low-lying alluvial terrace extending out beneath the outer Himalayan foothills, is also crossed by five other minor rivers. 
  • India and Bhutan are separated by the Manas river, which also acts as an international boundary.

Important Flora and Fauna

Manas National Park’s wildlife

Numerous endangered and unique wildlife animals can be found in Manas National Park. One can see the following animals at the park:

  • Asian Elephant
  • The Assam Roofed Turtle
  • Assamese macaques
  • Barasingha
  • Barking deer
  • Bengal Florican
  • Black Panther
  • Capped Langur
  • Chinese pangolin
  • Clouded Leopard
  • One Horned rhino

Additionally, various migrating birds find refuge in Manas. There are numerous animal and bird species in the National Park. Statistics are given below:

  • Bird species number 450.
  • Mammalian species number 55.
  • Fifty varieties of reptiles
  • Three types of amphibians

Plant biodiversity in the Manas National Park

Additionally, there are many tree and plant species in Manas National Park. These figures are to name a few:

  • There are 543 different plant species, including 30 pteridophytes, 374 dicots, 139 monocots, 49 shrubs, 89 different tree species, and 37 Undershrubs.