Kaimur Wildlife Sanctuary is situated in
Kaimur District
Kaimur district is one of the 38 districts of Bihar, India. The district headquarters are at Bhabua. Before 1991, it was part of Rohtas District. Till 1764 the region (Kaimur district) was a part of Ghazipur District and was a part of Kamsaar ...
and
Rohtas District
Rohtas District is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar States and territories of India, state, India. It came into existence when Shahabad district, Shahabad District was bifurcated into Bhojpur & Rohtas in 1972. Administrative headquart ...
of
Bihar
Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...
. It is the largest sanctuary in the state and extended in area of in plateaued landscape of
Kaimur Range. It was established in 1979. The major forest types are Tropical Dry Mixed Deciduous, Dry Sal Forests, Boswellia Forests and Dry Bamboo Brakes. It is home to rare and endangered
flora
Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...
and
fauna
Fauna (: faunae or faunas) is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding terms for plants and fungi are ''flora'' and '' funga'', respectively. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively ...
.
Rohtasgarh Fort and
Shergarh Fort are also located in these forests. It also has numerous Megaliths, Rock painting of prehistoric age and stone inscription from a bygone era. The Government of Bihar has planned to developed it into
Tiger Reserve.
Geography
This Wildlife Sanctuary is located in
Rohtas Plateau and Kaimur plateau of
Kaimur Range in the south-western part of
Bihar
Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...
. In the valley portions there are several
waterfall
A waterfall is any point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge
of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf.
Waterfalls can be formed in seve ...
s of which the finest are
Karkat Waterfall,
Manjhar Kund,
Dhua Kund,
Tutla Bhawani waterfall, Geeta ghat waterfall,
Kashish Waterfall, and
Telhar. There are several Dams and lakes, including
Anupam Lake,
Karamchat dam and Kohira Dam.
Climate
Nature has endowed Kaimur Wildlife Sanctuary with many seasonal streams. During the monsoon season, the jungle becomes resplendent with greenery. The best time to visit is during monsoon and winter season.
Fauna
The main animals found at Kaimur Wildlife Sanctuary are
Bengal tiger
The Bengal tiger is a population of the ''Panthera tigris tigris'' subspecies and the nominate tiger subspecies. It ranks among the largest wild cats alive today. It is estimated to have been present in the Indian subcontinent since the Late ...
s,
Indian leopard
The Indian leopard (''Panthera pardus fusca'') is a subspecies of the leopard (''P. pardus''). It is widely distributed on the Indian subcontinent. It is threatened by illegal trade of skins and body parts, and persecution due to human-leopard ...
s,
Indian boars,
Indian pangolin
The Indian pangolin (''Manis crassicaudata''), also called thick-tailed pangolin and scaly anteater, is a pangolin native to the Indian subcontinent.
Like other pangolins, it has large, overlapping Scale (zoology), scales on its body which act as ...
s,
sloth bears,
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 ...
s,
Indian muntjacs,
Four-horned antelopes,
chitals,
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 ...
s and various species of reptiles, insects and butterflies. It is home to more than 70 species of resident birds, which stay here all year around. The number increases in the migratory season i.e. during the winters, when there is an influx of birds from the
Central Asia
Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...
n region.
Common
bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...
s species are
peafowl
Peafowl is a common name for two bird species of the genus '' Pavo'' and one species of the closely related genus '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae (the pheasants and their allies). Male peafowl are referred t ...
,
grey partridge,
quail
Quail is a collective name for several genera of mid-sized birds generally placed in the order Galliformes. The collective noun for a group of quail is a flock, covey, or bevy.
Old World quail are placed in the family Phasianidae, and New ...
, Malabar,
pied hornbill,
swallow
The swallows, martins, and saw-wings, or Hirundinidae are a family of passerine songbirds found around the world on all continents, including occasionally in Antarctica. Highly adapted to aerial feeding, they have a distinctive appearance. The ...
,
nightjar
Nightjars are medium-sized nocturnal or crepuscular birds in the family Caprimulgidae and order Caprimulgiformes, characterised by long wings, short legs, and very short bills. They are sometimes called bugeaters, their primary source of food ...
,
drongo,
paradise flycatcher,
kingfisher
Kingfishers are a family, the Alcedinidae, of small to medium-sized, brightly coloured birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species living in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania, ...
,
bulbul
The bulbuls are members of a family, Pycnonotidae, of medium-sized passerine songbirds, which also includes greenbuls, brownbuls, leafloves, and bristlebills. The family is distributed across most of Africa and into the Middle East, tropic ...
,
mynas,
pigeon
Columbidae is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with small heads, relatively short necks and slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. ...
,
wood pigeon,
blue jay,
owl,
falcon
Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Some small species of falcons with long, narrow wings are called hobbies, and some that hover while hunting are called kestrels. Falcons are widely distrib ...
,
kites
A kite is a tethered heavier than air flight, heavier-than-air craft with wing surfaces that react against the air to create Lift (force), lift and Drag (physics), drag forces. A kite consists of wings, tethers and anchors. Kites often have ...
,
eastern imperial eagle,
greater spotted eagle,
white-tailed eagle,
Pallas's fish eagle,
grey-headed fish eagle, and the
lesser kestrel and
vulture
A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to Nort ...
s.
Birds such as the
lesser white-fronted goose
The lesser white-fronted goose (''Anser erythropus'') is a goose closely related to the larger greater white-fronted goose (''A. albifrons''). It breeds in the northernmost Palearctic, but it is a scarce breeder in Europe, with a reintroduction ...
,
ferruginous duck,
Baer's pochard duck
Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family (biology), family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and goose, geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfam ...
and
lesser adjutant,
greater adjutant,
black-necked stork, and
Asian openbill stork
Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout bills. They belong to the family Ciconiidae, and make up the order Ciconiiformes . Ciconiiformes previously included a number of other families, such as herons and ibise ...
migrate from
Central Asia
Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...
to the park during winter.
Fish
A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...
es are found in
Anupam Lake and Kalidah near Rameshwar kund. Among
snake
Snakes are elongated limbless reptiles of the suborder Serpentes (). Cladistically squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales much like other members of the group. Many species of snakes have s ...
s,
cobra
COBRA or Cobra, often stylized as CoBrA, was a European avant-garde art group active from 1948 to 1951. The name was coined in 1948 by Christian Dotremont from the initials of the members' home countries' capital cities: Copenhagen (Co), Brussels ...
and
kraits are of common occurrence while
pythons are occasionally seen.
Administration
Administered under forest division of
Kaimur district
Kaimur district is one of the 38 districts of Bihar, India. The district headquarters are at Bhabua. Before 1991, it was part of Rohtas District. Till 1764 the region (Kaimur district) was a part of Ghazipur District and was a part of Kamsaar ...
and
Rohtas district
Rohtas District is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar States and territories of India, state, India. It came into existence when Shahabad district, Shahabad District was bifurcated into Bhojpur & Rohtas in 1972. Administrative headquart ...
. The villagers are mainly engaged in the field of agriculture.
Transport
By road from
Sasaram and
Bhabua. Nearest railway station to Kaimur Wildlife Sanctuary are
Bhabua Road railway station and
Sasaram railway station on the Howrah-New Delhi
Grand chord
Grand Chord is part of the Howrah–Gaya–Delhi line and Howrah–Prayagraj–Mumbai line. It acts as a link between Sitarampur railway station, Sitarampur, (Asansol) (West Bengal) and Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyay Junction (Uttar Pradesh), previous ...
line.
See also
*
Protected areas of Bihar
*
Fauna of Bihar
*
Flora of Bihar
References
External links
Directory of Indian Government Websites, Munger{{Authority control
Lower Gangetic Plains moist deciduous forests
Wildlife sanctuaries in Bihar
Protected areas with year of establishment missing