Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary () is a wildlife sanctuary on the southern bank of the

Brahmaputra The Brahmaputra is a trans-boundary river which flows through Tibet, northeast India, and Bangladesh. It is also known as the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibetan, the Siang/Dihang River in Arunachali, Luit in Assamese, and Jamuna River in Bangla. It ...

Morigaon district Morigaon district () is an administrative district in the state of Assam in India. The district headquarters is located at Morigaon. The ancient place of occult Mayong is located in this district as well as Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary. Histor ...

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

. It was declared in 1987 and covers , providing grassland and wetland habitat for the

Indian rhinoceros } The Indian rhinoceros (''Rhinoceros unicornis''), also called the Indian rhino, greater one-horned rhinoceros or great Indian rhinoceros, is a rhinoceros species native to the Indian subcontinent. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red Li ...

. Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary holds one of the largest

populations in Assam.

Biodiversity

Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary's grassland vegetation consists of at least 15 grass species including ''

Cynodon dactylon ''Cynodon dactylon'', commonly known as Bermuda grass, is a grass found worldwide. It is native to Europe, Africa, Australia and much of Asia. It has been introduced to the Americas. Although it is not native to Bermuda, it is an abundant invasiv ...

'', whip grass (''

Hemarthria ''Hemarthria'' is a genus of herbaceous plants in the grass family. They occur in the tropical and subtropical Old World, especially in China and Southeast Asia, with some species in Africa, Australia, and southern Europe.

compressa''),

vetiver ''Chrysopogon zizanioides'', commonly known as vetiver and khus, is a perennial bunchgrass of the family Poaceae. Vetiver is most closely related to '' Sorghum'' but shares many morphological characteristics with other fragrant grasses, such a ...

(''Chrysopogon zizanioides''), ravennagrass (''Saccharum ravennae''), ''

Phragmites ''Phragmites'' () is a genus of four species of large perennial reed grasses found in wetlands throughout temperate and tropical regions of the world. Taxonomy The World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, maintained by Kew Garden in L ...

karka'', southern cutgrass (''Leersia hexandra'') and signalgrass ('' Brachiaria pseudointerrupta''). The grasslands provide habitat and food resource for the Indian rhinoceros, hosting Assam's second largest population. Other mammals occurring in the sanctuary are

golden jackal The golden jackal (''Canis aureus''), also called common jackal, is a wolf-like canid that is native to Southeast Europe, Southwest Asia, South Asia, and regions of Southeast Asia. The golden jackal's coat varies in color from a pale creamy ...

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species i ...

and feral

water buffalo The water buffalo (''Bubalus bubalis''), also called the domestic water buffalo or Asian water buffalo, is a large bovid originating in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Today, it is also found in Europe, Australia, North America, So ...

Barking deer Barking may refer to: Places * Barking, London, a town in East London, England ** London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, a local government district covering the town of Barking ** Municipal Borough of Barking, a historical local government dist ...

Indian leopard The Indian leopard (''Panthera pardus fusca'') is a leopard subspecies widely distributed on the Indian subcontinent. The species ''Panthera pardus'' is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because populations have declined following habita ...

and

rhesus macaque The rhesus macaque (''Macaca mulatta''), colloquially rhesus monkey, is a species of Old World monkey. There are between six and nine recognised subspecies that are split between two groups, the Chinese-derived and the Indian-derived. Generally ...

live foremost in the hilly parts. It is an Important Bird Area and home for more than 2000

migratory bird Bird migration is the regular seasonal movement, often north and south along a flyway, between breeding and wintering grounds. Many species of bird migrate. Migration carries high costs in predation and mortality, including from hunting b ...

s and various reptiles.Islam, Z. & Rahmani, A. (2004). ''IBAs in India''. BNHS & BLI, Mumbai & Cambridge. In Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary, there are now around 102 (2018) rhinos, a 10% increase over the last six years. Pobitora has exceeded its rhino-bearing capacity and is overpopulated. The animals have begun moving outside the sanctuary in search of food, and chances of serious man-animal conflict are quite rife. Besides, the straying animals carry the risk of contracting diseases that afflict domestic animals. Under the Indian Rhino Vision 2020 (IRV 2020) which is a joint programme of the Department of Environment & Forests,

Government of Assam The Government of Assam is the subnational government of Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered ...

WWF-India World Wide Fund for Nature-India, better known by its abbreviation, WWF-India, has been devotedly working to protect and secure natural heritage and ecology for more than 50 years. It has an autonomous office, with the Secretariat based in New Del ...

, the

International Rhino Foundation The International Rhino Foundation (IRF) is a Texas-based charity focused on the conservation of the five species of rhinoceros: the White Rhinoceros and Black Rhinoceros in Africa, and the Indian Rhinoceros, Javan Rhinoceros and Sumatran Rhinoce ...

and the US fish & wildlife service, six rhinos were translocated from Pobitora and re-introduced into the

Manas National Park Manas may refer to: Philosophy and mythology *Manas, the Pali and Sanskrit term for "mind"; see **Manas (early Buddhism) ** Manas-vijnana, one of the eight consciousnesses taught in Yogacara Buddhism *''Ramcharitmanas'', a retelling of the Ramaya ...

between December 2010 and January 2011. Earlier, under the same programme, two rhinos were similarly translocated from Pobitora to

in 2008. Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary is also home to over 375 species of birds.

References

External links

Photo essay on the rhino translocations from Pobitora to Manas National Park
{{Protected areas of Assam Brahmaputra Valley semi-evergreen forests Tourism in Northeast India Wildlife sanctuaries in Assam Morigaon district Protected areas established in 1987 1987 establishments in Assam

Biodiversity

See also

References

External links