Dampa Tiger Reserve, the largest wildlife sanctuary in Mizoram

Mizoram

Mizoram is one of the Seven Sister States in North Eastern India, sharing borders with the states of Tripura, Assam, Manipur and with the neighbouring countries of Bangladesh and Burma. Mizoram became the 23rd state of India on 20 February 1987. Its capital is Aizawl. Mizoram is located in the...

, was notified in 1985 and declared a Tiger Reserve in 1944. It is situated in the western part of Mizoram state, on the international border with Bangladesh

Bangladesh

Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...

 about 127 km from Aizawl

Aizawl

Aizawl is the capital of the state of Mizoram in India. With a resident population 228,280 , it is the largest city within the state. It is also the center of all important government offices, state assembly house and civil secretariat...

. It covers an area of approximately 550 km². The tropical Forests of Dampa are home to rich flora and fauna. It consists of forest interpolated with steep precipitous hills, deep valleys, jungle streams, ripping rivulets, natural salts licks, with an altitudinal zone of 200 - 800 mts.

Flora and fauna

The forest is composed of a mixture of species such as Dipterocarpus turbinatus, Dipterocarpus macrocarpus, Terminalia myriocarpa, Michelia champaca, Artocarpus chaplasha, Sterculia villosa, Pterospermum personatum, Toona ciliata, Chukrasia tabularis, Syzygium cumini, Adinia cordifolia, etc and many species of bamboos, canes and epiphytes.

Dampa Tiger Reserve encompasses a variety of rare and endangered animals in abundance. The comprehensive list of fauna found in the Sanctuary are: Rhesus macaque, Leaf monkey (Dawr), Pigtail macaque (Chengker Zawng), Stumptail macaque(Zawngmawt), Hoolock gibbon (Hauhuk), Assamese macaque (Phaizawng), Slow lorris (Sahuai), Giant squirrel (Awrrang), Tiger (Keipui), Leopard (Keite), Indian Elephant (Sai), Gaur (Sele), Serow (Saza), Barking deer (Sakhi), Wild boar (Sanghal), Porcupine (Sakuh)), Sloth bear (Mangtir), Himalayan black bear (Savawm).
Birds include: Great Hornbill (Vapual), Oriental Pied Hornbill (Vahai), Grey Peacock Pheasant (Varihaw), Red Junglefowl (Ramar), Crested Serpent Eagle (Muvanlai), Emerald Dove (Ramparva), Hill Myna (Vaiva).
Invertebrates include: Indian Rock Python (Saphai), King Cobra (Chawngkawr), Monitor lizard (Tangkawng), Hill Tortoise (Satel).

See also

• List of Protected areas in India
• Protected areas of India
  Protected areas of India
  As of May 2004, the protected areas of India cover , roughly 4.95% of the total surface area.-Classification:India has the following kinds of protected areas, in the sense of the word designated by IUCN:-National Park:...
  
  
• National parks of India
  National parks of India
  This is a list of all national parks of India. India's first national park was established in 1936 as Hailey National Park, now known as Jim Corbett National Park. By 1970, India only had five national parks...
  
  
• Reserved forests and protected forests of India
  Reserved forests and protected forests of India
  A reserved forest or a protected forest in India are terms denoting forests accorded a certain degree of protection. The terms were first introduced in the Indian Forest Act, 1927 in British India, to refer to certain forests granted protection under the British crown in British India, but not...