Kaziranga National Park
The park has the distinction of being home to the world’s largest population of the Greater One-Horned Rhinoceros, wild Asiatic water buffalo and eastern swamp deer. Significant populations of large herbivores include elephants, gaur and sambar. Small herbivores include the Indian muntjac, wild boar, and hog deer. Kaziranga has the largest population of the Wild water buffalo anywhere accounting for about 57% of the world population. The One-Horned rhinoceros, Royal Bengal Tiger, Asian elephant, wild water buffalo and swamp deer are collectively known as ‘Big Five’ of Kaziranga.
Kaziranga is one of the few wild breeding areas outside Africa for multiple species of large cats, such as Bengal tigers and leopards. Kaziranga was declared a Tiger Reserve in 2006 and has the highest density of tigers in the world (one per five km2), with a population of 118, according to the latest census. Other felids include the jungle cat, fishing cat, and leopard cat. Small mammals include the rare hispid hare, Indian grey mongoose, small Indian mongooses, large Indian civet, small Indian civets, Bengal fox, golden jackal, sloth bear, Chinese pangolin, Indian pangolins, hog badger, Chinese ferret badgers, and particoloured flying squirrel.
Other families of birds inhabiting Kaziranga include the great Indian hornbill and wreathed hornbill, Old World babblers such as Jerdon’s and marsh babblers, weaver birds such as the common baya weaver, threatened Finn’s weavers, thrushes such as Hodgson’s bush chat and Old World warblers such as the bristled grass bird. Other threatened species include the black-breasted parrotbill and the rufous-vented grass babbler.
Two of the largest snakes in the world, the reticulated python and rock python, as well as the longest venomous snake in the world, the king cobra, inhabit the park. Other snakes found here include the Indian cobra, monocle cobra, Russell’s viper, and the common krait. Monitor lizard species found in the park include the Bengal monitor and the Asian water monitor. Other reptiles include fifteen species of turtle, such as the endemic Assam roofed turtle and one species of tortoise, the brown tortoise. 42 species of fish are found in the area, including the Tetraodon.
