By Chief of Bureau Sushmita Goswami

GUWAHATI: Lush greenery, twisting rivers and diverse species of flora and fauna inhabiting these largely-virgin landscapes presents Asom with a unique advantage vis-à-vis attracting the wanderer seeking solace in the lap of nature. The state's not only a mosaic of tribes and communities, traditions and cultures but also a peaceful habitat for endangered species, migratory birds, rare flowers and myriad aquatic creatures. Mother Earth’s bounty on Asom has led to promotion of wildlife tourism as the weary traveller visits the state to unwind. The state boasts five designated national parks including U.N.E.S.C.O. World Heritage sites besides 18 sanctuaries.

KAZIRANGA NATIONAL PARK: The first image that comes to mind at the mention of Kaziranga is that of the one-horned Indian rhinoceros, which has found perhaps its last safe haven there. With over 2,000 such pachyderms in Kaziranga alone, the animal had the ‘endangered’ tag removed from it in 2008 due to the conservation story scripted in Asom. That year, the herbivore’s status was altered to ‘vulnerable’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The Park and its workers, along with active cooperation of fringe-area dwellers, deserve complete credit for this internationally-recognised success.

Spread across 430 sq km, the area traces its first preservation steps to the early part of the previous century when the wife of then-Viceroy Lord Curzon of Kedleston prevailed upon her husband to initiate measures for protecting the rhino. Kaziranga was proposed to be protected as a reserve forest in 1905, upgraded to national park in 1974 and recognised as a U.N.E.S.C.O. World Heritage Site in 1985. The Park, declared a Tiger Reserve in 2006, lies at the heart of wildlife tourism in the North Eastern region. Besides rhinos and tigers, it has elephants, wild buffaloes, swamp deer and dolphins. The Park will remain open for eight months, on experimental basis, from this year. Earlier, tourists could visit from November 1 to April 30 as the place was closed for the remainder months owing to heavy monsoonal activities.

MANAS: This national park, at the foothills of the Bhutan Himalayas, is home to unique biodiversity and landscape. It was included in the U.N.E.S.C.O. World Heritage List in 1985. However, heavy extremism and poaching in the nineties placed the Park in the List of World Heritage in Danger. Providentially, conservation efforts with the wane of militancy and former rebels turning into protectors of wildlife resulted in the Park being removed from the Danger List and it has since reclaimed its position as a preferred wildlife tourism destination.

The Park is contiguous with Bhutan’s Royal Manas National Park and preservation efforts are coordinated between the countries. Manas is one of the first to be included in the network of tiger reserves under Project Tiger in 1973 and is also an elephant reserve. Rhinos have been reintroduced in the Park. Manas is the world's sole landscape where pristine Terai grasslands are seen merging with Bhabar grasslands interspersed with diverse habitats ascending to semi-evergreen forests and then to the Bhutan Himalayas. The last population of the Pygmy Hog surviving in the wild is found in this national park.

NAMERI: Situated in northern Asom, Nameri is a later addition to the list of the state’s national parks. Spread over 200 sq km, it was notified as a national park in 1998. It shares its northern boundary with Arunachal Pradesh’s Pakhui Wildlife Sanctuary, together covering an area exceeding 1,000 sq km. It has numerous species of animals, including tigers, leopards, wild boar and Himalayan black bear besides many elephants. Nameri is a bird-watchers’ paradise with over 300 species found. The place has been known since the days of the Raj for the golden mahseer, which grows up to 9 ft and is sometimes referred to as the ‘Tiger of the Himalayan Rivers’. The Park is also noted for its wildlife treks and rafting in the Jia Bharali River.