Located on the northern financial institution of the Brahmaputra River in Assam’s Darrang and Sonitpur districts, Orang Nationwide Park is sometimes called ‘Mini Kaziranga’; like Kaziranga Nationwide Park, it’s residence to a major inhabitants of the endangered one-horned rhinoceros and shares an identical panorama.
Protecting solely 79.28 sq. kilometres, the Orang Nationwide Park is a crucial hotspot for wildlife, residence to iconic species just like the magnificent endangered one-horned rhinoceros, Bengal tiger, and pygmy hog.
A historic overview
Initially inhabited by native tribes, the world that’s now Orang Nationwide Park was deserted by its tribal inhabitants within the early 1900s attributable to an epidemic. In 1915, the British colonial authorities designated it as a recreation reserve, an space for wildlife conservation and managed searching, and through the years, it advanced into the wildlife sanctuary it’s right this moment. In 1999, it formally turned Orang Nationwide Park — a protected space with a wealthy historical past and even richer biodiversity.
The park is positioned in an alluvial floodplain, fashioned by the approaching collectively of a number of rivers, together with the Pachnoi, Belsiri, and Dhansiri, which be a part of the Brahmaputra. This geography makes the park particularly weak to seasonal flooding, but in addition helps a variety of plant and animal life, together with 12 pure wetlands and 26 synthetic water our bodies.
The wildlife of Orang
Considered one of Orang’s biggest strengths is its spectacular array of wildlife. The park is most well-known for being the northernmost stronghold of the nice Indian one-horned rhinoceros. As per 2022 numbers, it’s residence to round 125 rhinos, the numbers for which have been steadily rising. The park additionally homes a wide range of different giant mammals, comparable to the Asiatic elephant, wild water buffalo, and the hog deer.
Equally essential are the park’s smaller and endangered species. The critically endangered pygmy hog, a tiny wild pig, was reintroduced into the park from 2011 to 2015, and has slowly begun to thrive right here. Different species just like the Bengal porcupine, Indian pangolin, and jungle cat are additionally present in Orang.
Bengal tiger: A conservation precedence
Maybe probably the most iconic species in Orang Nationwide Park is the Bengal tiger. Whereas the park has seen a major inhabitants decline through the years, efforts to guard and monitor these elusive large cats are actually on the forefront of conservation work right here.
As soon as residence to a extra ample tiger inhabitants, Orang now homes a small however very important group of tigers, with estimates suggesting round 26 people as of July, 2023. The lack of habitat, human-wildlife battle, and poaching have all contributed to the declining numbers of those regal predators.
To deal with this, a singular conservation programme has been launched within the park, aimed toward safeguarding the Bengal tiger inhabitants. Supported by world conservation organisations just like the World Affiliation of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) and Busch Gardens, the programme makes use of know-how, comparable to digital camera traps and geo-spatial monitoring, to trace the tigers’ actions and behaviours.
This monitoring is coupled with a community-driven method to handle human-tiger battle. The locals, who’ve lived alongside the tigers for generations, are actively engaged in conservation efforts. The success of this programme is essential, not just for the way forward for tigers in Orang but in addition for our total biodiversity. With round 4,500 Bengal tigers left within the wild, most of that are in India, each profitable conservation effort counts towards guaranteeing their survival.
Orang Nationwide Park could also be small compared to a few of India’s extra well-known wildlife sanctuaries, however it’s a sanctuary for mammals, and a significant habitat for over 50 species of fish and a wide range of migratory birds. Amongst these are uncommon and endangered species that make Orang an Necessary Chicken and Biodiversity Space (IBA) as per BirdLife Worldwide. The wetlands of Orang function some of the essential fowl habitats within the area, drawing waterfowl and predators alike.
Edited by Arunava Banerjee
