The Chandra Prabha Wildlife Sanctuary, also known as Chandraprabha, is situated in Chandauli district of

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

state in central

India India, officially the Republic of India, 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 by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. It is well endowed with beautiful picnic spots, dense forests, and scenic waterfalls like Rajdari, Devdari & Naugarh waterfall that attract tourists every year to its vicinity. Chandra Prabha Wildlife Sanctuary is situated about 70 kilometres from the historic city of

Varanasi Varanasi (, also Benares, Banaras ) or Kashi, is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.* * * * The city has a syncretic tradition of I ...

History

The area was made a hunting preserve for the

rulers A ruler, sometimes called a rule, scale, line gauge, or metre/meter stick, is an instrument used to make length measurements, whereby a length is read from a series of markings called "rules" along an edge of the device. Usually, the inst ...

Benares Varanasi (, also Benares, Banaras ) or Kashi, is a city on the Ganges, Ganges river in North India, northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hinduism, Hindu world.* * * * The city ...

in the second half of the 18th century. The wildlife sanctuary was established in May 1957.

Asiatic lion The Asiatic lion is a lion population of the subspecies ''Panthera leo leo''. Until the 19th century, it occurred in Saudi Arabia, eastern Turkey, Iran, Mesopotamia, and from east of the Indus River in Pakistan to the Bengal region and the Narm ...

s were introduced at Chandra Prabha in 1958. The exercise was successful in the beginning, with the number of lions increasing from three to eleven by 1969. However, the following year the lions were found missing. The plan was again revived in 1993 although the Indian Government is yet to take a decision in this regard.

Location

Chandra Prabha Sanctuary is spread over an area of 78 km² and lies on the Naugarh and Vijaigarh hillocks on the north slope of the Kaimur Range. The Karamnasha River, a tributary of the

Ganges The Ganges ( ; in India: Ganga, ; in Bangladesh: Padma, ). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary rive ...

, flows through the sanctuary, as does the Chandraprabha River, a tributary of the Karamnasha.

Flora and fauna

The sanctuary has an area of 78 square kilometres. The sanctuary lies within the

Lower Gangetic Plains moist deciduous forests The Lower Gangetic Plains moist deciduous forests is a tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests ecoregion of Bangladesh and India. The ecoregion covers an area of , comprising most of Bangladesh and the Indian states of West Bengal, Biha ...

ecoregion. Plant communities include alluvial savanna forest, southern dry mixed deciduous forest, dry deciduous scrub and savanna, dry tropical riverine forest, and desert thorn forest and scrub. Fauna includes leopard, wild boar,

Nilgai The nilgai (''Boselaphus tragocamelus'') (, literally meaning "blue cow") is the largest antelope of Asia, and is ubiquitous across the northern Indian subcontinent. It is the sole member of the genus (biology), genus ''Boselaphus'', which was ...

''(Boselaphus tragocamelus)'',

Sambar deer The sambar (''Rusa unicolor'') is a large deer native to the Indian subcontinent, South China and Southeast Asia that is listed as a vulnerable species on the IUCN Red List since 2008. Populations have declined substantially due to severe huntin ...

''(Cervus unicolor),''

Chinkara The chinkara (''Gazella bennettii''), also known as the Indian gazelle, is a gazelle species native to India, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Taxonomy The following six subspecies are considered valid: * Deccan chinkara (''G. b. bennettii'') ...

''(Gazella gazella),'' and

Chital The chital or cheetal (''Axis axis''; ), also called spotted deer, chital deer and axis deer, is a deer species native to the Indian subcontinent. It was first described by Johann Christian Polycarp Erxleben in 1777. A moderate-sized deer, mal ...

''(Axis axis)'', and many species of birds.Ilyas, Orus & A Khan, Jamal. (2005). "Habitat Association and Conservation of Ungulates in Chandraprabha Wildlife Sanctuary, Uttar Pradesh, India." ''Tropical Biodiversity''. 8(3). 173-185.

Attractions

A variety of wild animals are found at Chandra Prabha. These include

blackbuck The blackbuck (''Antilope cervicapra''), also known as the Indian antelope, is a medium-sized antelope native to India and Nepal. It inhabits grassy plains and lightly forested areas with perennial water sources. It stands up to high at the sh ...

chital The chital or cheetal (''Axis axis''; ), also called spotted deer, chital deer and axis deer, is a deer species native to the Indian subcontinent. It was first described by Johann Christian Polycarp Erxleben in 1777. A moderate-sized deer, mal ...

, sambar,

nilgai The nilgai (''Boselaphus tragocamelus'') (, literally meaning "blue cow") is the largest antelope of Asia, and is ubiquitous across the northern Indian subcontinent. It is the sole member of the genus (biology), genus ''Boselaphus'', which was ...

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 Suidae, suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The speci ...

porcupine Porcupines are large rodents with coats of sharp Spine (zoology), spines, or quills, that protect them against predation. The term covers two Family (biology), families of animals: the Old World porcupines of the family Hystricidae, and the New ...

and

chinkara The chinkara (''Gazella bennettii''), also known as the Indian gazelle, is a gazelle species native to India, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Taxonomy The following six subspecies are considered valid: * Deccan chinkara (''G. b. bennettii'') ...

. The reptilian species include

python Python may refer to: Snakes * Pythonidae, a family of nonvenomous snakes found in Africa, Asia, and Australia ** ''Python'' (genus), a genus of Pythonidae found in Africa and Asia * Python (mythology), a mythical serpent Computing * Python (prog ...

. The park is a bird watcher's paradise, as one can see around 150 species of birds. The natural vegetation consists of mahua, saagun, amaltas, tendu, koraiya, ber etc. In terms of flora, it is a typical dry deciduous forest composed of gneiss and laminated stone.

Access

Chandra Prabha sanctuary is located just 65 km from the city center of

. The most convenient way to reach the park is by hiring a taxi and driving down. The journey takes approximately two hours. The nearest rail junction is Pt. DD Upadhyaya and

, which is well connected to most parts of India.

References

{{Protected areas in Uttar Pradesh Asiatic Lion Reintroduction Project Wildlife sanctuaries in Uttar Pradesh Chandauli district Lower Gangetic Plains moist deciduous forests 1957 establishments in Uttar Pradesh Protected areas established in 1957