National Parks And Wildlife Sanctuaries of Bihar

Bihar has only 1 National Park and 12 Wildlife Sanctuaries in the state which together constitutes about 3.43% of the total geographical area of the state.

National Park in Bihar (Bihar GK in English)

A National Park is a reserved area of natural land owned by government that is restricted from any kind of development and is set aside for human recreation and environmental protection. It is especially reserved for betterment of wildlife and biodiversity of a particular region. Bihar has only one National Park namely, Valmiki National Park.

Wildlife Sanctuaries in Bihar

An area becomes sanctuary, if it has adequate ecological, faunal, floral, geomorphological, natural or zoological significance. Thus, the government of that particular region declares that area as a sanctuary for the purpose of protecting, propagating or developing wildlife or its environment. The important wildlife sanctuaries in Bihar are discussed below:

Gautam Buddha Wildlife Sanctuary

➤ It is located in Gaya district of Bihar. It was established in 1976.

➤ Before becoming a wildlife sanctuary, the area was a private hunting reserve. The refuge covers portions of the lower Gangetic plains, moist deciduous forests and Chota Nagpur dry deciduous forests ecoregions.

➤ Important fauna comprises of tigers, leopards, sambars, sloth bears, wolves, spotter deer, nilgai, chinkaras and so on.

Bhimbandh Wildlife Sanctuary

➤ This Wildlife Sanctuary was established in the year 1976 in Munger district.

➤ It covers an area of 681.99 sq km. It is situated South of the Ganges river, at the Northern edge of Chota Nagpur Plateau and West of Santhal Pargana.

➤ There are two major biomes present in Bhimbandh i.e. grassland and forest.

➤ In the valley portions and at the foothills are several hot springs, of which the finest are at Bhimbandh, Sita Kund and Rishi Kund.

➤ Important fauna comprises of tigers, panthers, wild boars, sloth bear, sambar deer, chitals, four-horned antelope and nilgais.

➤ Important flora comprises of sal forests, bamboo forests grasslands and so on.

➤ The sanctuary is more famous for its bird life rather than the land animals such as peafowl, grey partridge, quail, Malabar hornbill, falcon, kite and so on.

➤ There are a number of places of tourist interest near the sanctuary like Bhimbandh, Rishi Kund, Rameshwar Kund, Kharagpur lake, etc.

Pant (Rajgir) Wildlife Sanctuary

➤ It was established in the year 1978 in Nalanda district. It is located in the Rajgir hill, in the South Gangetic plain.

➤ It also has bird species like painted spurfowl, Eurasian thick-knee, patridge, black and grey quails, hornbill, parrot, dove, myna, etc.

➤ Important fauna includes Chital or spotted deer, blue bull, striped hyena, Indian crested porcupine, Asian palm civet, jungle cats and so on.

➤ In addition to the sanctuary, there is a Bamb Park (Venu Vana) constructed by the Forest Department with cheetals, nilgais and sambhars.

Kaimur Wildlife Sanctuary

➤ It is located in Kaimur district of Bihar. It was established in the year 1982.

➤ It is the largest sanctuary in the state and occupies an area of about 1342 sq km.

➤ Important fauna includes Bengal tigers, Indian leopards, Indian boars, sloth bears, sambar deers, chitals, four-hourned antelope and nilgais.

➤ In the valley portions there are several waterfalls of which the finest are Karkat waterfall and Telhar waterfall. There are several lakes as well whereas famous lake is Anupam lake.

Udaypur Wildlife Sanctuary

➤ It was established in the year 1978 in the district of West Champaran. It covers an area of 8.87 sq km.

➤ It is located on an Oxbow lake in the flood plain of the Gandaki river.

➤ Important fauna includes spotted deer, barking deer, wild boar, nilgai, civet, wolf, junge cat, porcupine and so on.

➤ Important flora includes swamp forest, dry riverine forest, khair-sissoo forests and so on.

➤ It is also a home of migratory and resident water birds during the winter months.

Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary

➤ It is located in Bhagalpur district. It covers an area of 50 sq km of the Ganges river from Sultanganj to Kahalgaon.

➤ Designated in 1990, it is the first protected area for the endangered Gangetic dolphins in Bihar.

➤ The Gangetic dolphins have been declared as the National Aquatic Animal of India.

➤ The sanctuary has around 240 to 480 endangered Gangetic dolphins.

Valmiki National Park

➤ It is located in West Champaran district. It is extended over an area of about 335.65 sq km. It was established in the year 1989.

➤ Important flora of this park comprises of Bhabar sal forests, dry Shiwalik sal forests, moist mixed deciduous, open land vegetation and so on.

➤ Important fauna in this national park comprises of Bengal Tigers, Indian rhinoceros, black bear, Indian sloth bear, Indian leopard, wild dog, boar and so on.

➤ This national park was included under Project Tiger in 1991. It is the only Tiger Reserve in Bihar.

➤ The park also has many reptiles and about 241 bird species like Kalij pheasant, three-toed quail, paradise flycatcher, grey shrike and so on.

Valmiki Tiger Reserve

This Tiger Reserve is located in the West Champaran district. This is the only tiger reserve in Bihar which comprises the Valmiki National Park and Valmiki Wildlife Sactuary. It has various flora and fauna besides tigers. Important flora comprises of freshwater swamps, canebrakes, Eastern wet alluvial grasslands, dry Shiwalik sal forests, khair-sissoo forests and so on. Other fauna includes black bear, Indian Sloth bear, Indian rhinoceros, buffalo, bour antelopes, barking deer, spotted deer, sambar, blue bull and so on. The Bihar Government is developing India’s biggest grassland of over 800 acres in this reserve. As of 2018, there are around 40 tigers in this tiger reserve which were only 8 in 2010 and 28 in 2014.

Important Bird Sanctuaries in Bihar (Bihar GK in English)

Important bird sanctuaries of Bihar :

Nakti Dam Bird Sanctuary

➤ It was declared as a bird sanctuary in the year 1987. It is located in Jamui district and covers an area of 3.33 sq km.

Migratory birds visit here during winter season.

➤ Important bird species are red crested pochard, common pochard, pintail ducks, pond heron, egrets, swamp patridges and so on.

Nagi Dam Bird Sanctuary

➤ It was established in the year 1987, in Jamui district. It covers an area about 1.92 sq km.

➤ During winter season, migratory birds visit here.

➤ Important bird species are red-crested pochard, pintail ducks, coots and so on.

Kabar (Kanwar) Jheel Bird Sanctuary

➤ It was established in the year 1987 in Begusarai district in Bihar. It covers an area of 67.5 sq km. It is the largest bird sanctuary in Bihar.

➤ It is one of the great wetlands in the world. It is a home of many migratory birds which migrate from Mongolia and Russia (Siberian region).

➤ Important bird species are oriental white-backed vulture, long-billed vulture (both are critically endangered species), greater adjutant, greater spotted eagle, lesser kestrel, sarus crane (these are Vulnerable species), Indian darter, painted stork, and black-bellied tern (these are near threatened species) and so on.

Kusheshwar Sthan Bird Sanctuary

➤ It was established in the year 1994 in the district of Darbhanga. The sanctuary is consisted of 14 villages which came under Kusheshwar Asthan block in Darbhanga which remain water logged most of the times.

➤ Siberian birds migrate to this sanctuary in the month of October. Important bird species are Dalmatian Pelican, Indian darter, bar-headed goose, Siberian crane and so on.

➤ The sanctuary is also known as the winter capital of atleast 15 endangered migratory birds which migrate from Mongolia and Siberia.

Gogabil Bird Sanctuary

➤ Gogabil is an oxbow lake, which was formed through the meandering of Kankar river. As it has a global, national and regional significance, thus, the State Government declared this wetland as a bird sanctuary in the year 1990.

➤ It covers an area of 0.88 sq km and is located in Katihar district. It is the smallest bird sanctuary in Bihar.

➤ During monsoon and winter seasons nearly 300 migratory birds come to the lake.

➤ Important bird species are Eurasian coot, pintail, common teal, grey teal, gadwall, shoveler, red crested pochard, white eyed pochard, tufted duck, marsh harrier, coot, red-crested pochard and so on.

➤ Gogabil has been declared as the state’s first ‘Community Reserve’ on 2nd August, 2019. Gogabil is formed from the flow of the rivers Mahananda and Kankahar in the North and the Ganga in the South and East.

Buxar Bird Sanctuary

➤ This bird sanctuary is located in Buxar district of Bihar. It covers an area of 25 sq km.

➤ In the month of October, lalsar bird species of Kashmir migrate this sanctuary and revert back in March.

Baraila Jheel Salim Ali-Jubba Sahni Bird Sanctuary

➤ Baraila Jheel was declared as Salim Ali-Jubba Sahni Bird Sanctuary in the year 1997. It covers an area of 1.96 sq km and is located in Vaishali district.

➤ The lake is a natural home for some 59 species of migratory birds and about 106 species of resident (local) birds like teal, cormorants, eagle, white breasted king fisher, pied egret, spoonbill, pelican, coot, grebes, green parrot, gull, lalsar and many others.

➤ Important flora includes oak, bhatel locally known as ‘Ejara’ (favourite tree of the birds), red-cotton trees and so on.

Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park

This park was established as a Botanical Garden in the year 1969 and was opened to public as a zoo in the year 1973. It covers an area of 152.95 acres. It is located in Patna district and is a home to over 110 animal species. The park has world’s second

largest and Asia’s largest Rhino Breeding Centre and a snake house. The State Government has developed this park as the state’s First Plastic Prohibition Area. Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park was declared as protected forest by the State Government in March, 1983. The park has varied flora like 300 species of trees, herbs, shrubs, medicinal plants, and so on. It has an orchid house, a fern house, a glass house and a rose garden. Important fauna are tiger, leopard, clouded leopard, hippopotamus, crocodile, elephant, Himalayan black beam jackal, black bucks, spotted deer and so on.

Wildlife and Bird Sanctuaries in Bihar

Wildlife and Bird Sanctuaries in	Bihar
Wildlife Sanctuaries (WLS)	Year of Establishment	Area (in sq km)	District
Bhimbandh WLS	1976	681.99	Munger
Gautam Buddha WLS	1976	138.34	Gaya
Kaimur WLS	1982	1342	Kaimur
Pant (Rajgir) WLS	1978	35.84	Nalanda
Udaypur WLS	1978	8.87	West Champaran
Valmiki WLS	1978	545.15	West Champaran
Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary	1990	50	Bhagalpur
Bird Sanctuaries	Year of Establishment	Area (in sq km)	District
Baraila Jheel Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary	1997	1.96	Vaishali
Kanwar (Kabar) Jheel Bird Sanctuary	1987	67.5	Begusarai
Kusheshwar Sthan Bird Sanctuary	1994	29.17	Darbhanga
Nagi Dam Bird Sanctuary	1987	1.92	Jamui
Nakti Dam Bird Sanctuary	1987	3.33	Jamui

*Source : ENVIS Centre on Wildlife and Protected Areas

Eco-Sensitive Zones (ESZ) in Bihar

There are 13 eco-sensitive zones in Bihar which were declared by theMinistry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change,Government of India. These :

1. Bhimbandh Wildlife Sanctuary
2. Baraila Jheel Salim Ali Bird Wildlife Sanctuary
3. Gautam Buddha Wildlife Sanctuary
4. Kanwar (Kabar) Jheel Bird Sanctuary
5. Kaimur Wildlife Sanctuary
6. Kusheshwar Sthan Bird Sanctuary
7. Nakti Dam Bird Sanctuary
8. Nagi Dam Bird Sanctuary
9. Pant (Rajgir) Wildlife Sanctuary
10. Valmiki Wildlife Sanctuary
11. Udaypur Wildlife Sanctuary
12. Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Wildlife Sanctuary
13. Valmiki National Park

Wetlands in Bihar

A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is covered by water. According to National Wetlands Atlas of India, the total estimated wetland area in Bihar is 4,03,209 hectares which is about 4.4% of the total geographical area of Bihar.

The major wetland types are rivers/streams which account for about 74% of the total wetlands area. There are many natural wetlands in Bihar like Kanwar lake, Baraila lake, Kusheshwarnath lake, Udaypur lake and Kabar wetland of Bihar has been identified under the NationalWetland Conservation Programme. There is no wetland in Bihar, under the Ramsar Convention.

Efforts by State Government for the Protection of Wildlife

Some efforts are made by state government for the protection of wildlife which :

➤ The Bihar Government is planning to start its first nature Safari (zoo safari) at Rajgir in Nalanda district.

➤ The State Government has assigned to develop a highest management plan for Pant Shelter (Rajgir) to the Energy and Resource Institute.

➤ Barela Jheel Salim Ali Bird Shelter and Kusheshwar Sthan Bird Shelter are being developed by the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun.

➤ Wildlife Adoption Scheme in implemented under which any person, family, establishment or institute will willingly adopt any wild animal in the zoo as per its interest and will bear the expenditure on its diet and maintenance for a certain period.