| Jim Corbett National Park | |
|---|---|
 Bengal tiger in Corbett National Park | |
  Location in Uttarakhand Show map of Uttarakhand Jim Corbett National Park (India) Show map of India | |
 Interactive map of Jim Corbett National Park | |
| Location | Nainital, Uttarakhand, India |
| Nearest city | Ramnagar,Kotdwar |
| Coordinates | 29°32′55″N78°56′7″E / 29.54861°N 78.93528°E /29.54861; 78.93528 |
| Area | 1,318 km2 |
| Max. elevation | 1,040 m (3,410 ft) |
| Established | 1936 |
| Visitors | 365,000[1] (in 2023-24) |
| Governing body | NTCA |
| corbettonline.uk.gov.in | |
Jim Corbett National Park is anational park in theNainital district of the state ofUttarakhand,India. It was established in 1936 as the country's first national park and is named in honour ofJim Corbett, who had played a leading role in its establishment. It was the first to come under theProject Tiger initiative and encompasses an area of 520.8 km2 (201.1 sq mi) consisting of hills, riverine belts, marshy depressions, grasslands and a large lake at an elevation range of 400–1,220 m (1,300–4,000 ft). It receives rainfall from July to September. Almost 73% of the national park is covered by dense moistdeciduous forest dominated byShorea robusta,peepal, rohini andmango trees among 110 tree species and 617 different plant species.Grasslands cover about 10% of its total area. It harbours 50mammal species, 580bird species and 25reptile species. The increase in tourist activities continues to present a serious challenge to the park's ecological balance.
Some areas of the park were formerly part of theprincely state ofTehri Garhwal.[2] The forests were cleared by theUttarakhand Forest Department to make the area less vulnerable toRohilla invaders.[2] TheRaja of Tehri formally ceded a part of his princely state to theEast India Company in return for their assistance in ousting theGurkhas from his domain.[2] TheBuksas—a tribe from theTerai—settled on the land and began growing crops, but in the early 1860s they were evicted with the advent ofBritish rule.[2]
Efforts to save the forests of the region began in the 19th century underMajor Ramsay, the British officer who was in-charge of the area during those times. The first step in the protection of the area began in 1868 when the British forest department established control over the land and prohibited cultivation and the operation of cattle stations.[3] In 1879 these forests were constituted into a reserve forest where restricted felling was permitted.
In the early 1900s, severalBritishers, including E. R. Stevans andE. A. Smythies, suggested the setting up of a national park on this soil. The British administration considered the possibility of creating agame reserve there in 1907.[3] It was only in the 1930s that the process of demarcation for such an area got underway. A reserve area known asHailey National Park covering 323.75 km2 (125.00 sq mi) was created in 1936, whenSir Malcolm Hailey was the Governor of United Provinces, and Asia's first national park came into existence.[4] Hunting was not allowed in the reserve, only timber cutting for domestic purposes was permitted. Soon after the establishment of the reserve, rules prohibiting the killing and capture ofmammals,reptiles and birds within its boundaries were passed.[4]
The reserve was renamedRamganga National Park in 1954–1955 and was again renamed in 1955–1956 to Corbett National Park after author and naturalistJim Corbett.[4]The park fared well during the 1930s under an elected administration. But during theSecond World War, it suffered from excessivepoaching and timber cutting. Over time, the area in the reserve was increased to 797.72 km2 (308.00 sq mi) were added in 1991 as a buffer zone to the Corbett Tiger Reserve.[4] The 1991 addition included the entire Kalagarh forest division, assimilating the 301.18 km2 (116.29 sq mi) area of Sonanadi Wildlife Sanctuary as a part of the Kalagarh division.[4] It was chosen in 1974 as the location for launching theProject Tiger wildlife conservation project.[5] The reserve is administered from its headquarters in theNainital district.[3]
Corbett National Park is one of the thirteenprotected areas covered by theWorld Wide Fund For Nature under theirTerai Arc Landscape Program.[6] The program aims to protect three of the five terrestrial flagship species, the tiger, theAsian elephant and theIndian rhinoceros by restoringwildlife corridors to link 13 protected areas ofNepal and India and to enable wildlifemigration.[6]
Jim Corbett National Park is located partly alongDoon Valley between theLesser Himalaya in the north and theSiwalik Hills in the south; it has a sub-Himalayan belt structure.[7] The upper tertiary rocks are exposed towards the base of the Shiwalik range and hardsandstone units form broad ridges.[7] Characteristic longitudinal valleys, geographically termedDoons, orDuns can be seen formed along the narrow tectonic zones between lineaments.[7] The elevation of the region ranges between 360 m (1,180 ft) and 1,040 m (3,410 ft).[7] It has numerousravines,ridges, minor streams and smallplateaus with varying aspects and degrees of slope.[7] The park encompasses thePatli Dunvalley formed by the riverRamganga.[8]Its present area is 1,288.31 km2 (497.42 sq mi) including a 822 km2 (317 sq mi) core zone and 466.31 km2 (180.04 sq mi) of buffer area.[9]
The weather in the park is temperate compared to most other protected areas of India.[8] The temperature may vary from 5 °C (41 °F) to 30 °C (86 °F) during the winter and some mornings are foggy.[8] Summer temperatures normally do not rise above 40 °C (104 °F).[8] Rainfall ranges from light during the winter to heavy during themonsoonal summer.[10]
Tree density inside the reserve is higher in the areas ofSal forests and lowest in theAnogeissus–Acacia catechu forests.[11] Total tree basal cover is greater in Sal dominated areas of woody vegetation.[11] Healthy regeneration in sapling and seedling layers is occurring in theMallotus philippensis,Jamun andDiospyros spp. communities, but in the Sal forests the regeneration ofsapling andseedling is poor.[11] A research survey in the 1970s recorded 488 different plant species;[12] in 2023, 617 species were noted, including 110 tree species.[9] A profile of the reserve compiled by theWildlife Institute of India, listed the sal tree (Shorea robusta),Adina cordifolia,Anogeissus latifolia,Bauhinia rausinosa,Cassia fistula, andM. philippensis as the notable tree species.[9]
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Jim Corbett National Park is home to many wildlife species. Mammals are represented by theIndian elephant,Indian leopard,Bengal tiger,jungle cat,fishing cat andleopard cat.[10][13]barking deer,sambar deer,hog deer,chital,sloth bear,Asiatic black bear,Indian gray mongoose,otters,yellow-throated marten,Himalayan goral,Indian pangolin,langur andrhesus macaque.[14]Marsh crocodiles andgharials were released intoRamganga river.[13]Thick jungle, the Ramganga river and plentiful prey make this reserve an ideal habitat for predators.[14] According to the 2022 census, there were 260 tigers in the park.[15] There were around 1100 elephants in the park in 2019. The tigers in the park kill large animals like elephants, especially calves.[16]
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More than 586 species of resident and migratory birds have been sighted, including thecrested serpent eagle,Indian paradise flycatcher,greater coucal,blossom-headed parakeet and thered junglefowl,owls andnightjars.[13] 33reptiles species including theIndian python,[13] 7amphibians species, 7fish species and 36dragonflies species have also been recorded.[2]
Though the main focus is protection of wildlife, the reserve management has also encouragedecotourism.[4] In 1993, a training course coveringnatural history, visitor management and park interpretation was introduced to train natureguides. A second course followed in 1995 which recruited more guides for the same purpose. This allowed the staff of the reserve, previously preoccupied with guiding the visitors, to carry out management activities uninterrupted.[4]
The Indian government has organised workshops on ecotourism in Corbett National Park andGarhwal region to ensure that the local citizens profit from tourism while the park remains protected.[4] According to Riley & Riley (2005): "Best chances of seeing a tiger to come late in the dry season- April to mid-June-and go out with mahouts and elephants for several days."[13]
As early as 1991, the Corbett National Park played host to 3237 tourist vehicles carrying 45,215 visitors during the main tourist seasons between 15 November and 15 June.[17] This heavy influx of tourists has led to visible stress signs on the natural ecosystem. Excessive trampling of soil has led to reduction in plant species and resulted in reduced soil moisture. Tourists have increasingly used fuel wood for cooking. This fuel wood is obtained from nearby forests resulting in greater pressure on the ecosystem.[17] Additionally, tourists have also reportedly caused problems by making noise, littering, and causing disturbances in general.[18]
A major incident in the history of the reserve followed the construction of a dam at the Kalagarh river and the submerging of 80 km2 (31 sq mi) of prime low lying riverine area. The consequences ranged from local extinction of swamp deer to a massive reduction inhog deer population. The reservoir formed due to the submerging of land has also led to an increase in aquatic fauna and has additionally served as a habitat for winter migrants.[4]
Two villages situated on the southern boundary were shifted to theFirozpur–Manpur area situated onRamnagar–Kashipur highway during 1990–93; the vacated areas were designated as buffer zones. The families in these villages were mostly dependent on forest products. With the passage of time, these areas began to show signs of ecological recovery.[23]Vines, herbs, grasses and small trees began to appear, followed by herbaceous flora, eventually leading to natural forest type. It was observed that grass began to grow on the vacated agricultural fields and the adjoining forest areas started recuperating.[23] By 1999–2002 several plant species emerged in these buffer zones. The newly arisen lush green fields attracted grass eating animals, mainly deer and elephants, who slowly migrated towards these areas and even remained during the monsoon.[23]
There were 109 cases of poaching[clarification needed] recorded in 1988–89.[24] This figure dropped to 12 reported cases in 1997–98.[4]
In 1985,David Hunt, a British ornithologist and birdwatching tour guide, was killed by a tiger in the park.[25]
The reserve habitat faces threats frominvasive species such as the exotic weedsLantana,Parthenium andCassia. Natural resources like trees and grasses are exploited by the local population while encroachment of at least of 13.62 ha (33.7 acres) by 74 families has been recorded.[4]
The villages surrounding the park are at least 15–20 years old and no new villages have come up in the recent past.[26] The increasing population growth rate and the density of population within 1 km (0.62 mi) to 2 km (1.2 mi) from the park present a challenge to the management of the reserve.[26] Incidents of killing cattle by tigers and leopards have led to acts of retaliation by the local population in some cases.[4] The Indian government has approved the construction of a 12 km (7.5 mi) stonemasonry wall on the southern boundary of the reserve where it comes in direct contact with agricultural fields.[4]
In April 2008, theNational Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) expressed serious concern that protection systems have weakened, and poachers have infiltrated into this park. Monitoring of wild animals in the prescribed format has not been followed despite advisories and observations made during field visits. Also, the monthly monitoring report of field evidence relating to tigers has not been received since 2006. NTCA said that in the "absence of ongoing monitoring protocol in a standardised manner, it would be impossible to forecast and keep track of untoward happenings in the area targeted by poachers." A cement road has been built through the park against a Supreme Court order. The road has become a thoroughfare between Kalagarh andRamnagar. Constantly increasing vehicle traffic on this road is affecting the wildlife of crucial ranges like Jhirna, Kotirau and Dhara. The Kalagarh irrigation colony that takes up about 5 km2 (1.9 sq mi) of the park is yet to be vacated despite a 2007 Supreme Court order.[27]
An economic assessment study of Jim Corbett Tiger Reserve estimated its annual flow benefits to be₹14.7 billion (1.14 lakh / hectare). Importantecosystem services included gene-pool protection (₹10.65 billion), provisioning of water to downstream districts of Uttar Pradesh (₹1.61 billion), water purification services to the city of New Delhi (₹550 million), employment for local communities (₹82 million), provision of habitat and refugia for wildlife (₹274 million) andsequestration of carbon (₹214 million).[28]
The 2005Bollywood movieKaal has a plot set in the Jim Corbett National Park. The movie was filmed at the park as well.[29]
In August 2019,Prime Minister of IndiaNarendra Modi appeared in a special episode ofDiscovery Channel's showMan vs Wild with the hostBear Grylls,[30] where he trekked the jungles and talked about nature and wildlife conservation with Grylls.[31] The episode was filmed in Jim Corbett National Park and broadcast in 180 countries along India.[32]
