Sundarbans National Park
Encyclopedia
The Sundarbans National Park [Sundarban Tour Booking-9051115228] is a National Park
, Tiger Reserve, and a Biosphere Reserve
located in the Sundarbans
delta
in the India
n state of West Bengal
. This region is densely covered by mangrove
forest
s, and is one of the largest reserves for the Bengal tiger
. It is also home to a variety of bird
, reptile
and invertebrate
species, including the salt-water crocodile
. The present Sundarbans National Park was declared as the core area of Sundarbans Tiger Reserve in 1973 and a wildlife sanctuary in 1977. On May 4, 1984 it was declared a National Park.
Sundarbans National Park is located in between 30° 24' - 30° 28' N latitude and between 77° 40' - 77° 44' E longitude in the South 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. The average altitude of the park is 7.5 m above sea level. The park is made up of 54 small islands and is crisscrossed by several distributaries of the Ganges.
Sundarbans National Park is the largest estuarine mangrove forest in the world.
. The monsoon lasts from mid-June to mid-September. Prevailing wind is from the north and north-east from October to mid-March and south west westerlies prevails from mid-March to September. Storms which sometimes develop into cyclones are common during the month of May and October.
The Directorate of Forest of the Government of West Bengal
is responsible for the administration and management of Sundarbans, which is headquartered at Canning
. The principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Wildlife & Bio-Diversity & ex-officio Chief Wildlife Warden, West Bengal is the senior most executive officer looking over the administration of the park. The Chief Conservator of Forests (South) & Director, Sundarban Biosphere Reserve is the administrative head of the park at the local level. He is assisted by a Deputy Field Director and an Assistant Field Director. The park area is divided into two ranges, overseen by range forest officers. Each range is further sub-divided into beats.
The park also has some floating watch stations and camps to protect the property from poachers.
The park receives financial aid from the State Government as well as the Ministry of Environment and Forests of Government of India
under various Plan and Non-Plan Budgets. Additional funding is received under the Project Tiger
from the Central Government. In 2001, a grant of US$ 20,000 was received as a preparatory assistance for promotion between India and Bangladesh
from the World Heritage Fund.
to 21°22' latitude where, the depth of water changes suddenly from 20m to 500m (Fergusson, 1963; Ghosh & Mandal, 1989). This mysterious depression pushes back the silts towards south and/or further east to form new islands.
Chargheri Char is a mudflat which is being developed as a tourist spot in the Sundarbans. Tourists must visit this place to get a feel of the mudflats of Sundarbans.
agallocha) the crab-like red flowers of the Kankra (Bruguiera gymnorrhiza
) and the yellow flowers of Khalsi can be seen, which add a beauty to the surroundings. Some of the other commonly found plants and trees in the park are Dhundal, Passur (Xylocarpus
mekongensis, Garjan (Rhizophora
spp.), Sundari (Heritiera
fomes) and Goran (Ceriops
decandra).
Apart from the Royal Bengal Tiger
; Fishing Cat
s, Macaque
s, Wild Boar, Common Grey Mongoose, Fox
, Jungle Cat
, Flying Fox, Pangolin
, Chital
, are also found in abundance in the Sundarbans.
Some of the more popular birds found in this region are openbill stork
s, black-headed ibis
, Water Hens, Coot
s, Pheasant-tailed Jacana
s, Pariah Kites, Brahminy Kite
, Marsh Harriers, Swamp Partridges, Red Junglefowl
s, Spotted Doves, Common Mynahs, Jungle Crow
s, Jungle Babbler
s, Cotton Teals, Herring Gulls, Caspian Tern
s, Gray Herons, brahminy ducks
, Spot-billed Pelican
s, Large Egrets, Night Herons, Common Snipe
s, Wood Sandpiper
s, Green Pigeon
s, Rose Ringed Parakeets, paradise-flycatchers, cormorant
s, Fishing Eagles, White-bellied Sea Eagle
s, Seagulls, Common Kingfishers, Peregrine falcons, Woodpeckers, Whimbrel
s, Black-tailed Godwit
s, Little Stint
s, Eastern Knots, Curlews, Golden Plover
s, Northern Pintail
s, White Eyed Pochards and Whistling Teals.
and amphibians found in the park are Sawfish
, Butter Fish, Electric ray
s, Silver carp
, Star Fish, Common Carp
, King Crabs
, Prawn
, Shrimps, Gangetic Dolphins
, Skipping Frogs, Common Toad
s and Tree Frogs.
The Sundarbans National Park houses an excellent number of reptiles as well, including estuarine crocodiles
, chameleon
s, water monitor
s, Hard Shelled Batgun Terrapins, Mouse Ghekos, monitor lizard
s turtle
s, including Olive Ridley
, hawksbill
, and green turtles; and snake
s including pythons, King Cobra
s, rat snake
s, Russell's vipers
, Dog Faced Water Snakes, Chequered Killbacks, and Common Krait
s.
The park has got protection since its creation. The core area is free from all human disturbances like collection of wood, honey, fishing and other forest produces. However, in buffer area fishing, honey collection and wood cutting are permitted in limited form. Protection of the park from poaching and theft of forest products is done by well armed forest staffs who patrols in motorboats and launches. Moreover forest offices and camps are located at several important parts of the park. Anti-poaching camps are manned by 2 to 3 knowledgeable labourers under supervision of concerned beat guard/Forester/Range officer.
Habitat of wildlife is well maintained through eco-conservation, eco-development, training, education and research. 10 Forest Protection Committees and 14 Eco-development Committees have been formed in the fringe of Sundarbans Tiger Reserve helps in this regard. Seminars, workshops, awareness camps, etc. are organised frequently in the vicinity of park to educate the people on eco-conservation, eco-development and such other issues. Mangrove and other plants are planted in the fringe area to meet the local need of fuel wood for about 1000 villages and to conserve the buffer area. Conservation of soil is done to maintain the ecological balance. Several sweet water ponds have been dug up inside the park to provide drinking water to the wild animals.
Controlling man-eating tigers is another major activity. The number of casualties has been reduced from 40 to 10 per year. The reduction in number of casualties is a result of strict control over the movement of the people inside the tiger reserve, alternative income generation and awareness building among people. It is also believed that due to use of human masks and electric human dummies the tigers will stay away from the people. Straying of tigers into nearby villages is prevented through effective measures like nylon net fencing, solar illumination of villages, etc. The youths of the villages are given training in controlling the straying of tigers into the villages.
The Mangrove Interpretation Centre is established at Sajnekhali to make the local people and tourists aware about importance of conservation of nature in general and specially the mangrove eco-systems.
, fishing trawlers and launches helps in poaching, cutting of wood and also affecting the mangrove forests. Lack of staffs, infrastructure and lack of funds also added up the factors.
Apart from viewing the wildlife from the boat safaris, you can also visit the following places in Sundarbans which are Bhagatpur Crocodile Project which is a crocodile breeding farm (access from Namkhana), Sagar Island, Jambudweep, Sudhanyakali watchtower, Buriidabri Tiger Project, Netidhopani Watchtower, Haliday Island (famous for Barking Deer), Kanak (nesting place of Olive Ridley Turtle), Sajankhali Bird Sanctuary (famous for avian fauna).
Lodging facilities are also available at Sundarbans Jungle Camp on Bali Island run by Help Tourism Group with collaboration with local communities and members of Bali Nature and Wildlife Conservation Society.
Entry Permits: The foreign tourists who want to visit the tiger projects and the Sajnekhali, have to obtain special permits for entry into the Sundarbans National Park. Tourists should contact the Secretary, West Bengal Forest Department, Writer's Building, Kolkata - 700001. To obtain the entry permit for other areas of the Sundarban, the tourists must visit the Field Director, Sundarbans Tiger Reserve, PO Canning, District 24 Parganas, West Bengal. However, a boat cruise through Sunderbans outside the sanctuary requires no entry permit.
Area details of Sunderbans Tiger Reserve
Sunderbans landscape is continuous with the mangrove habitat in Bangladesh.
Ecological services: On an average 500 quintals of honey and 30 quintals of wax are collected each year by local people under licence from Forest Department (buffer area).
The habitat is traversed by many narrow tidal channels forming small to large islands. Tigers readily cross these islands and man-tiger interface conflicts are common.
The Sunderbans are isolated with no forest connection to other tiger occupied main land. Hence, there is heavy biotic pressure for forest resources.
The estimation of tiger population in Sunderbans, as a part of the all India tiger estimation using the refined methodology, could not be carried out owing to the unique habitat and obliteration of evidences due to high / low tides. Phase-I data collection has been completed and process is on for tiger estimation using a combination of radio telemetry and pugmark deposition rate from known tigers.
Based on an advisory sent from this end, the Forest Department of the State has constituted a Committee and has assessed a damage of almost Rs. 111.50 lakhs. Central assistance amounting to Rs. 1 crore under Project Tiger has been provided to the State for restoring the damage done to infrastructure.
(ii) Tiger Estimation using the refined method not yet completed.
(iii) Tiger Conservation Plan awaited.
(iv) Constitution of the State level Steering Committee under the Chairmanship of the Chief Minister is awaited (Statutory requirement).
(v) Constitution of reserve-specific Tiger Conservation Foundation is awaited.
National park
A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...
, Tiger Reserve, and a Biosphere Reserve
Biosphere reserve
The Man and the Biosphere Programme of UNESCO was established in 1971 to promote interdisciplinary approaches to management, research and education in ecosystem conservation and sustainable use of natural resources.-Development:...
located in the Sundarbans
Sundarbans
The Sundarbans [Sundarban Tour Booking-9051115228] is the largest single block of tidal halophytic mangrove forest in the world.The name Sundarban can be literally translated as "beautiful jungle" or "beautiful forest" in the Bengali language...
delta
River delta
A delta is a landform that is formed at the mouth of a river where that river flows into an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, reservoir, flat arid area, or another river. Deltas are formed from the deposition of the sediment carried by the river as the flow leaves the mouth of the river...
in the India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n state of West Bengal
West Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
. This region is densely covered by mangrove
Mangrove
Mangroves are various kinds of trees up to medium height and shrubs that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics – mainly between latitudes N and S...
forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
s, and is one of the largest reserves for the Bengal tiger
Bengal Tiger
The Bengal tiger is a tiger subspecies native to the Indian subcontinent that in 2010 has been classified as endangered by IUCN...
. It is also home to a variety of bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
, reptile
Reptile
Reptiles are members of a class of air-breathing, ectothermic vertebrates which are characterized by laying shelled eggs , and having skin covered in scales and/or scutes. They are tetrapods, either having four limbs or being descended from four-limbed ancestors...
and invertebrate
Invertebrate
An invertebrate is an animal without a backbone. The group includes 97% of all animal species – all animals except those in the chordate subphylum Vertebrata .Invertebrates form a paraphyletic group...
species, including the salt-water crocodile
Crocodile
A crocodile is any species belonging to the family Crocodylidae . The term can also be used more loosely to include all extant members of the order Crocodilia: i.e...
. The present Sundarbans National Park was declared as the core area of Sundarbans Tiger Reserve in 1973 and a wildlife sanctuary in 1977. On May 4, 1984 it was declared a National Park.
Geography
This satellite image shows the forest in the protected area. The Sundarbans appears deep green, surrounded to the north by a landscape of agricultural lands, which appear lighter green, towns, which appear tan, and streams, which are bl|A map of the protected areas of the Indian Sunderbans, showing the boundaries of the Tiger Reserve, the National Park and the three Wildlife Sanctuaries, conservation and lodging centers, subsistence towns, and access points. The entire forested (dark green) area constitutes the Biosphere Reserve, with the remaining forests outside the national park and wildlife sanctuaries being given the status of a Reserve Forest.Sundarbans National Park is located in between 30° 24' - 30° 28' N latitude and between 77° 40' - 77° 44' E longitude in the South 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. The average altitude of the park is 7.5 m above sea level. The park is made up of 54 small islands and is crisscrossed by several distributaries of the Ganges.
Sundarbans National Park is the largest estuarine mangrove forest in the world.
Climate
The average minimum and maximum temperature is 20 °C and 48 °C respectively. Rainfall is heavy with high humidity as high as 80% as it is close to the Bay of BengalBay of Bengal
The Bay of Bengal , the largest bay in the world, forms the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. It resembles a triangle in shape, and is bordered mostly by the Eastern Coast of India, southern coast of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to the west and Burma and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to the...
. The monsoon lasts from mid-June to mid-September. Prevailing wind is from the north and north-east from October to mid-March and south west westerlies prevails from mid-March to September. Storms which sometimes develop into cyclones are common during the month of May and October.
Administration
Government of West Bengal
The Government of West Bengal also known as the State Government of West Bengal, or locally as State Government, is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of West Bengal and its 19 districts...
is responsible for the administration and management of Sundarbans, which is headquartered at Canning
Canning, South 24 Parganas
Canning is headquarters of a subdivision of the same name, a town with a police station and a community development block in South 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Carrying the memory of an abandoned port, the town is dependent to some extent on the changing fortunes of...
. The principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Wildlife & Bio-Diversity & ex-officio Chief Wildlife Warden, West Bengal is the senior most executive officer looking over the administration of the park. The Chief Conservator of Forests (South) & Director, Sundarban Biosphere Reserve is the administrative head of the park at the local level. He is assisted by a Deputy Field Director and an Assistant Field Director. The park area is divided into two ranges, overseen by range forest officers. Each range is further sub-divided into beats.
The park also has some floating watch stations and camps to protect the property from poachers.
The park receives financial aid from the State Government as well as the Ministry of Environment and Forests of Government of India
Government of India
The Government of India, officially known as the Union Government, and also known as the Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of the union of 28 states and seven union territories, collectively called the Republic of India...
under various Plan and Non-Plan Budgets. Additional funding is received under the Project Tiger
Project Tiger
Project Tiger was launched in 1972 in India. The project aims at ensuring a viable population of tigers in their natural habitats and preserving areas of biological importance as a natural heritage for the people. The selection of areas for the reserves represented as close as possible the...
from the Central Government. In 2001, a grant of US$ 20,000 was received as a preparatory assistance for promotion between India and 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...
from the World Heritage Fund.
Eco-geography, Rivers and Watercourses
There are seven main rivers and innumerable watercourses forming a network of channels at this estuarine delta. All the rivers have a southward course towards the sea. The eco-geography of this area is totally dependent on the tidal effect of two flow tides and two ebb tides occurring within 24 hours with a tidal range of 3-5m and up to 8m (Ghosh & Mandal, 1989; Banerjee, 1998) in normal spring tide, inundating the whole of Sunderbans in varying depths. The tidal action deposits silts back on the channels and raising the bed, it forms new islands and creeks contributing to uncertain geomorphology (Bhattacharya, 1989). There is a great natural depression called “Swatch of No Ground” in the Bay of Bengal between 21°00'21st parallel north
The 21st parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 21 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Africa, Asia, the Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, North America, the Caribbean and the Atlantic Ocean....
to 21°22' latitude where, the depth of water changes suddenly from 20m to 500m (Fergusson, 1963; Ghosh & Mandal, 1989). This mysterious depression pushes back the silts towards south and/or further east to form new islands.
Mudflats
The Sunderbans mudflats (Banerjee, 1998) are found at the estuary and on the deltaic islands where low velocity of river and tidal current occurs. The flats are exposed in low tides and submerged in high tides, thus being changed morphologically even in one tidal cycle. The interiorparts of the mudflats are the right environment for mangroves.Chargheri Char is a mudflat which is being developed as a tourist spot in the Sundarbans. Tourists must visit this place to get a feel of the mudflats of Sundarbans.
Flora and fauna
The coastal active delta of Sunderbans at the mouth of Bay of Bengal in India, having a complex geomorphologic and hydrological character with climatic hazards, has a vast area of mangrove forests with a variety of flora and diverse fauna in a unique ecosystem. The natural environment and coastal ecosystem of this Biosphere Reserve and World Heritage Site is under threat of physical disaster due to unscientific and excessive human interferences. Conservation and environmental management plan for safeguarding this unique coastal ecology and ecosystem is urgently required.Flora
The mangrove vegetation of Sundarbans consists of 64 plant species and they have the capacity to withstand estuarine conditions and saline inundation on account of tidal effects. In the month of April and May the flaming red leaves of the Genwa (ExcoecariaExcoecaria
Excoecaria is a plant genus of the family Euphorbiaceae, comprising about 40 species. The genus is native to the Old World Tropics.The milky sap of Excoecaria agallocha, also known as Thillai, milky mangrove, blind-your-eye mangrove and river poison tree, is poisonous. Mangroves of this plant...
agallocha) the crab-like red flowers of the Kankra (Bruguiera gymnorrhiza
Bruguiera gymnorrhiza
Bruguiera gymnorrhiza is a small tree up to 10 m high and belongs to the family Rhizophoraceae. It is found on the seaward side of mangrove swamps, often in the company of Rhizophora. Bark is rough and reddish-brown. The tree develops short prop-roots rather than long stilt-roots. Flowers are...
) and the yellow flowers of Khalsi can be seen, which add a beauty to the surroundings. Some of the other commonly found plants and trees in the park are Dhundal, Passur (Xylocarpus
Xylocarpus
Xylocarpus is a genus of plants in the mahogany family . It includes two or three species of mangroves, native to coastal mangrove forests of the Western and Central Indo-Pacific, from eastern Africa to Tonga....
mekongensis, Garjan (Rhizophora
Rhizophora
Rhizophora is a genus of tropical mangrove trees, sometimes collectively called true mangroves. The most notable species is the Red Mangrove but some other species and a few natural hybrids are known. Rhizophora species generally live in intertidal zones which are indundated daily by the ocean...
spp.), Sundari (Heritiera
Heritiera
Heritiera is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae family.-Selected species:* Heritiera aurea* Heritiera borneensis* Heritiera fomes* Heritiera globosa* Heritiera javanica* Heritiera littoralis...
fomes) and Goran (Ceriops
Ceriops
Ceriops is a genus of mangroves in family Rhizophoraceae.There are 5 species:*Ceriops australis *Ceriops decandra Ding Hou *Ceriops pseudodecandra Sheue, Liu, Tsai, and Yang...
decandra).
Fauna
The Sundarbans forest is home to more than 400 tigers. The Royal Bengal Tigers have developed a unique characteristic of swimming in the saline waters, and are world famous for their man-eating tendencies.Apart from the Royal Bengal Tiger
Bengal Tiger
The Bengal tiger is a tiger subspecies native to the Indian subcontinent that in 2010 has been classified as endangered by IUCN...
; Fishing Cat
Fishing Cat
The Fishing Cat is a medium-sized wild cat of South and Southeast Asia. In 2008, the IUCN classified the fishing cat as endangered since they are concentrated primarily in wetland habitats, which are increasingly being settled, degraded and converted...
s, Macaque
Macaque
The macaques constitute a genus of Old World monkeys of the subfamily Cercopithecinae. - Description :Aside from humans , the macaques are the most widespread primate genus, ranging from Japan to Afghanistan and, in the case of the barbary macaque, to North Africa...
s, Wild Boar, Common Grey Mongoose, Fox
Fox
Fox is a common name for many species of omnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail .Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually belong to...
, Jungle Cat
Jungle Cat
The jungle cat is a medium-sized cat and considered the largest remaining species of the wild cat genus Felis. The species is also called the swamp lynx but is not closely related to the lynxes....
, Flying Fox, Pangolin
Pangolin
A pangolin , also scaly anteater or Trenggiling, is a mammal of the order Pholidota. There is only one extant family and one genus of pangolins, comprising eight species. There are also a number of extinct taxa. Pangolins have large keratin scales covering their skin and are the only mammals with...
, Chital
Chital
The chital or cheetal , also known as chital deer, spotted deer or axis deer is a deer which commonly inhabits wooded regions of Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and in small numbers in Pakistan...
, are also found in abundance in the Sundarbans.
Census results
| Year of census | Spotted deer | Rhesus | Monitor lizard | Wild boar | | South 24 Parganas Tiger Population | | Sunderbans Tiger Reserve Tiger Population | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | Female | Cub | Total | Male | Female | Cub | Total | Estimated | |||||||
| 1973 | Incomplete census | 50+ | 50+ | ||||||||||||
| 1976 | 66 | 72 | 43 | 181 | 181 | ||||||||||
| 1977 | Sex not determined | 205 | 205 | ||||||||||||
| 1983 | 137 | 115 | 12 | 264 | 264 | ||||||||||
| 1989 | 30,886 | 126 | 109 | 34 | 269 | 269 | |||||||||
| 1992 | 92 | 132 | 27 | 251 | 251 | ||||||||||
| 1993 | 30,978 | 37,691 | 10,272 | 11,869 | |||||||||||
| 1996 | 95 | 126 | 21 | 242 | 242 | ||||||||||
| 1997 | 13 | 16 | 6 | 35 | 99 | 137 | 27 | 263 | 298 | ||||||
| 1999 | 9 | 16 | 5 | 30 | 96 | 131 | 27 | 254 | 284 | ||||||
| 2001 | 7 | 13 | 6 | 26 | 93 | 129 | 23 | 245 | 271 | ||||||
| 2004 | 7 | 14 | 4 | 25 | 83 | 133 | 33 | 249 | 274 | ||||||
Avifauna
Openbill stork
The openbill storks or openbills are two species of stork in the genus Anastomus. They are large wading birds characterized by large bills, the mandibles of which do not meet except at the tip. This feature develops only in the adults. The two species of openbill storks are:*Asian Openbill The...
s, black-headed ibis
Black-headed Ibis
The Black-headed Ibis or Oriental White Ibis is a species of wading bird of the ibis family Threskiornithidae which breeds in South Asia and Southeast Asia from Pakistan to India, Sri Lanka east up to Japan...
, Water Hens, Coot
Coot
Coots are medium-sized water birds that are members of the rail family Rallidae. They constitute the genus Fulica. Coots have predominantly black plumage, and, unlike many of the rails, they are usually easy to see, often swimming in open water...
s, Pheasant-tailed Jacana
Pheasant-tailed Jacana
The Pheasant-tailed Jacana is a jacana in the monotypic genus Hydrophasianus. Jacanas are a group of waders in the family Jacanidae that are identifiable by their huge feet and claws which enable them to walk on floating vegetation in shallow lakes, their preferred habitat...
s, Pariah Kites, Brahminy Kite
Brahminy Kite
The Brahminy Kite , also known as the Red-backed Sea-eagle, is a medium-sized bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards and harriers. They are found in the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and Australia...
, Marsh Harriers, Swamp Partridges, Red Junglefowl
Red Junglefowl
The Red Junglefowl is a tropical member of the Pheasant family. They are thought to be ancestors of the domestic chicken with some hybridisation with the Grey Junglefowl...
s, Spotted Doves, Common Mynahs, Jungle Crow
Jungle Crow
The Jungle Crow , is a widespread Asian species of crow. They are very adaptable and are able to survive on a wide range of food sources making them capable of colonizing new areas due to which they are often considered a nuisance, especially on islands...
s, Jungle Babbler
Jungle Babbler
The Jungle Babbler is an Old World babbler found in the Indian Subcontinent. They are gregarious birds that forage in small groups of six to ten birds, a habit that has given them the popular name of Seven Sisters or Saath bhai in Hindi with cognates in other regional languages which means "seven...
s, Cotton Teals, Herring Gulls, Caspian Tern
Caspian Tern
The Caspian Tern is a species of tern, with a subcosmopolitan but scattered distribution. Despite its extensive range, it is monotypic of its genus, and has no subspecies accepted either...
s, Gray Herons, brahminy ducks
Ruddy Shelduck
The Ruddy Shelduck, Tadorna ferruginea, is a member of the duck, goose and swan family Anatidae. It is in the shelduck subfamily Tadorninae...
, Spot-billed Pelican
Spot-billed Pelican
The Spot-billed Pelican or Grey Pelican is a member of the pelican family. It breeds in southern Asia from southern Pakistan across India east to Indonesia. It is a bird of large inland and coastal waters, especially large lakes...
s, Large Egrets, Night Herons, Common Snipe
Common Snipe
The Common Snipe is a small, stocky wader native to the Old World. The breeding habitat is marshes, bogs, tundra and wet meadows throughout northern Europe and northern Asia...
s, Wood Sandpiper
Wood Sandpiper
The Wood Sandpiper, Tringa glareola, is a small wader. This Eurasian species is the smallest of the shanks, which are mid-sized long-legged waders of the family Scolopacidae.- Description and systematics :...
s, Green Pigeon
Green pigeon
Treron is a genus of bird in the pigeon family Columbidae. The genus is distributed across Asia and Africa. This genus contains 23 species, remarkable for their green coloration, which comes from a carotenoid pigment in their diet. Green pigeons have diets of various fruit, nuts, and/or seeds....
s, Rose Ringed Parakeets, paradise-flycatchers, cormorant
Cormorant
The bird family Phalacrocoracidae is represented by some 40 species of cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed recently, and the number of genera is disputed.- Names :...
s, Fishing Eagles, White-bellied Sea Eagle
White-bellied Sea Eagle
The White-bellied Sea Eagle , also known as the White-breasted Sea Eagle, is a large diurnal bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. Originally described by Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1788, it is closely related to Sanford's Sea Eagle of the Solomon Islands, and the two are considered a superspecies...
s, Seagulls, Common Kingfishers, Peregrine falcons, Woodpeckers, Whimbrel
Whimbrel
The Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus, is a wader in the large family Scolopacidae. It is one of the mostwidespread of the curlews, breeding across much of subarctic North America, Europe and Asia as far south as Scotland....
s, Black-tailed Godwit
Black-tailed Godwit
The Black-tailed Godwit, Limosa limosa, is a large, long-legged, long-billed shorebird first described by Carolus Linnaeus in 1758. It is a member of the Limosa genus, the godwits...
s, Little Stint
Little Stint
The Little Stint, Calidris minuta , is a very small wader. It breeds in arctic Europe and Asia, and is a long-distance migrant, wintering south to Africa and south Asia...
s, Eastern Knots, Curlews, Golden Plover
Golden Plover
There are three species of wading birds in the plover family called Golden Plover. They are* Eurasian Golden Plover, Pluvialis apricaria* Pacific Golden Plover, Pluvialis fulva* American Golden Plover, Pluvialis dominica...
s, Northern Pintail
Northern Pintail
The Pintail or Northern Pintail is a widely occurring duck which breeds in the northern areas of Europe, Asia and North America. It is strongly migratory and winters south of its breeding range to the equator...
s, White Eyed Pochards and Whistling Teals.
Aqua fauna
Some of the fishFish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
and amphibians found in the park are Sawfish
Sawfish
Sawfish, also known as the Carpenter Shark, are a family of rays, characterized by a long, toothy nose extension snout. Several species can grow to approximately . The family as a whole is largely unknown and little studied...
, Butter Fish, Electric ray
Electric ray
The electric rays are a group of rays, flattened cartilaginous fish with enlarged pectoral fins, comprising the order Torpediniformes. They are known for being capable of producing an electric discharge, ranging from as little as 8 volts up to 220 volts depending on species, used to stun prey and...
s, Silver carp
Silver carp
The silver carp is a species of freshwater cyprinid fish, a variety of Asian carp native to north and northeast Asia. It is cultivated in China....
, Star Fish, Common Carp
Common carp
The Common carp is a widespread freshwater fish of eutrophic waters in lakes and large rivers in Europe and Asia. The wild populations are considered vulnerable to extinction, but the species has also been domesticated and introduced into environments worldwide, and is often considered an invasive...
, King Crabs
King crab
King crabs, also called stone crabs, are a superfamily of crab-like decapod crustaceans chiefly found in cold seas. Because of their large size and the taste of their meat, many species are widely caught and sold as food, the most common being the red king crab, Paralithodes camtschaticus.King...
, Prawn
Prawn
Prawns are decapod crustaceans of the sub-order Dendrobranchiata. There are 540 extant species, in seven families, and a fossil record extending back to the Devonian...
, Shrimps, Gangetic Dolphins
Ganges and Indus River Dolphin
The South Asian River Dolphin is a freshwater or river dolphin found in India, Nepal and Pakistan which is split into two sub-species, the Ganges River Dolphin and Indus River Dolphin...
, Skipping Frogs, Common Toad
Common Toad
The common toad or European toad is an amphibian widespread throughout Europe, with the exception of Iceland, Ireland and some Mediterranean islands...
s and Tree Frogs.
Reptiles
Saltwater Crocodile
The saltwater crocodile, also known as estuarine or Indo-Pacific crocodile, is the largest of all living reptiles...
, chameleon
Chameleon
Chameleons are a distinctive and highly specialized clade of lizards. They are distinguished by their parrot-like zygodactylous feet, their separately mobile and stereoscopic eyes, their very long, highly modified, and rapidly extrudable tongues, their swaying gait, the possession by many of a...
s, water monitor
Water monitor
The Water monitor, is a large species of monitor lizard capable of growing to in length, with the average size of most adults at long. Maximum weight of Varanus salvator can be over , but most are half that size. Their body is muscular with a long, powerful, laterally compressed tail...
s, Hard Shelled Batgun Terrapins, Mouse Ghekos, monitor lizard
Monitor lizard
Monitor lizards are usually large reptiles, although some can be as small as in length. They have long necks, powerful tails and claws, and well-developed limbs. Most species are terrestrial, but arboreal and semiaquatic monitors are also known...
s turtle
Turtle
Turtles are reptiles of the order Testudines , characterised by a special bony or cartilaginous shell developed from their ribs that acts as a shield...
s, including Olive Ridley
Olive Ridley
The olive ridley sea turtle , also known as the Pacific ridley, is a species of sea turtle.- Description :The olive ridley is a small extant sea turtle, with an adult carapace length averaging 60 to 70 cm 1...
, hawksbill
Hawksbill turtle
The hawksbill sea turtle is a critically endangered sea turtle belonging to the family Cheloniidae. It is the only extant species in its genus. The species has a worldwide distribution, with Atlantic and Pacific subspecies. E. imbricata imbricata is the Atlantic subspecies, while E...
, and green turtles; and snake
Snake
Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
s including pythons, King Cobra
King Cobra
The king cobra is the world's longest venomous snake, with a length up to 5.6 m . This species, which preys chiefly on other snakes, is found predominantly in forests from India through Southeast Asia to the Philippines and Indonesia...
s, rat snake
Rat snake
Rat snakes are medium to large constrictors that can be found through a great portion of the northern hemisphere. They feed primarily on rodents and birds and, with some species exceeding 3 m , they can occupy top levels of some food chains. Many species make attractive and docile pets and one,...
s, Russell's vipers
Daboia
Daboia is a monotypic genus of venomous Old World viper. The single species, D. russelii, is found in Asia throughout the Indian subcontinent, much of Southeast Asia, southern China and Taiwan...
, Dog Faced Water Snakes, Chequered Killbacks, and Common Krait
Common Krait
The common krait is a species of genus Bungarus found in the jungles of the Indian subcontinent. It is a member of the "big four", species inflicting the most snakebites in India....
s.
Endangered species
The endangered species that lives within the Sundarbans are Royal Bengal Tiger, Estuarian Crocodile, River Terrapin (Batagur baska), Olive Ridley Turtle, Gangetic dolphin, Ground Turtle, Hawks Bill Turtle and King Crabs (Horse shoe).Management and special projects
Habitat of wildlife is well maintained through eco-conservation, eco-development, training, education and research. 10 Forest Protection Committees and 14 Eco-development Committees have been formed in the fringe of Sundarbans Tiger Reserve helps in this regard. Seminars, workshops, awareness camps, etc. are organised frequently in the vicinity of park to educate the people on eco-conservation, eco-development and such other issues. Mangrove and other plants are planted in the fringe area to meet the local need of fuel wood for about 1000 villages and to conserve the buffer area. Conservation of soil is done to maintain the ecological balance. Several sweet water ponds have been dug up inside the park to provide drinking water to the wild animals.
Controlling man-eating tigers is another major activity. The number of casualties has been reduced from 40 to 10 per year. The reduction in number of casualties is a result of strict control over the movement of the people inside the tiger reserve, alternative income generation and awareness building among people. It is also believed that due to use of human masks and electric human dummies the tigers will stay away from the people. Straying of tigers into nearby villages is prevented through effective measures like nylon net fencing, solar illumination of villages, etc. The youths of the villages are given training in controlling the straying of tigers into the villages.
The Mangrove Interpretation Centre is established at Sajnekhali to make the local people and tourists aware about importance of conservation of nature in general and specially the mangrove eco-systems.
Constraints
Though there is tough protection in the park there are a few loopholes. The geographical topography with hostile terrain criss-crossed by several rivers and their tributaries, long international border with BangladeshBangladesh
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...
, fishing trawlers and launches helps in poaching, cutting of wood and also affecting the mangrove forests. Lack of staffs, infrastructure and lack of funds also added up the factors.
Activities
The best and only means of travelling the park is to hire a boat and float down the various lanes formed by the many flowing rivers. You can travel in any of the local boats or in luxury launches namely M.V. Chitrarekha and M.V. Madhukar, which are operated by the tourism department.Apart from viewing the wildlife from the boat safaris, you can also visit the following places in Sundarbans which are Bhagatpur Crocodile Project which is a crocodile breeding farm (access from Namkhana), Sagar Island, Jambudweep, Sudhanyakali watchtower, Buriidabri Tiger Project, Netidhopani Watchtower, Haliday Island (famous for Barking Deer), Kanak (nesting place of Olive Ridley Turtle), Sajankhali Bird Sanctuary (famous for avian fauna).
Lodging
Forest lodge and forest rest-houses are available for accommodation at Sajnekhali, Bakkhali and Piyali. The cruise launches MV Chitralekha and MV Sarbajaya also have lodging facility.Lodging facilities are also available at Sundarbans Jungle Camp on Bali Island run by Help Tourism Group with collaboration with local communities and members of Bali Nature and Wildlife Conservation Society.
Approach
- Nearest airport: Dum Dum airport at KolkataKolkataKolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
is 112 km away. - Nearest railhead: CanningCanning, South 24 ParganasCanning is headquarters of a subdivision of the same name, a town with a police station and a community development block in South 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Carrying the memory of an abandoned port, the town is dependent to some extent on the changing fortunes of...
is 48 km away from the Park. - Nearest Road: Road transportation is available from Kolkata for Namkhana (105 km), Sonakhali (100 km), Raidighi (76 km), Canning (64 km), and Najat (92 km), which are all near the Sunderbans and have access to the riverine waterways.
- Nearest town: GosabaGosabaGosaba is a village in the Canning subdivision of South 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the last inhabited area before the deep forests of the Sundarbans start. It has a police station, a community development block, and an assembly constituency...
is 50 km away. - Nearest city: Kolkata which is 112 km away.
- You can reach Sundarbans National Park by road from Kolkata to "Jhar-Khali" by crossing the river bridge "Hogol" situated on the other end of biggest delta "Basanti". about 78 km from kolkata.
General tips
The ideal time to visit the park is between November and February, when the tigers can be seen on the river banks sunbathing.Entry Permits: The foreign tourists who want to visit the tiger projects and the Sajnekhali, have to obtain special permits for entry into the Sundarbans National Park. Tourists should contact the Secretary, West Bengal Forest Department, Writer's Building, Kolkata - 700001. To obtain the entry permit for other areas of the Sundarban, the tourists must visit the Field Director, Sundarbans Tiger Reserve, PO Canning, District 24 Parganas, West Bengal. However, a boat cruise through Sunderbans outside the sanctuary requires no entry permit.
Background
Sunderban mangroves form part of the sub-continent’s largest mangrove system with a tiger population in a distinct ecological setting. These forests have salt water crocodiles, estuarine and marine turtles and a number of bird species. Besides tiger, the reserve has fishing cat, spotted deer, rhesus monkey and wild pigs.Area details of Sunderbans Tiger Reserve
- Total geographical area: 2585 km2
- Political units: South 24 Paragana(s) (West Bengal)
- Population density: 1437.4 km2
- Total forested area: 1474 km2
Sunderbans landscape is continuous with the mangrove habitat in Bangladesh.
Ecological services: On an average 500 quintals of honey and 30 quintals of wax are collected each year by local people under licence from Forest Department (buffer area).
The habitat is traversed by many narrow tidal channels forming small to large islands. Tigers readily cross these islands and man-tiger interface conflicts are common.
The Sunderbans are isolated with no forest connection to other tiger occupied main land. Hence, there is heavy biotic pressure for forest resources.
The estimation of tiger population in Sunderbans, as a part of the all India tiger estimation using the refined methodology, could not be carried out owing to the unique habitat and obliteration of evidences due to high / low tides. Phase-I data collection has been completed and process is on for tiger estimation using a combination of radio telemetry and pugmark deposition rate from known tigers.
Damage due to ‘AILA’
It has been reported that the cyclone ‘AILA’ struck Sunderbans on 25.5.2009, causing damage to field camps and fringe villages bordering the said reserve. The breaches in the embankments on the village side have caused large scale flooding, leaving lakhs of people marooned in the area. The field camps were under 12 to 15 feet of water for around 7 hours, resulting in soil erosion and damage to staff quarters, generators and bamboo pilling. There has been a report of a tiger straying inside an abandoned cattle shed in a village, which was captured and released back in the wild. No tiger death has been reported, apart from mortality of two spotted deer. It is learnt that several NGOs have also been involved in the relief operation.Based on an advisory sent from this end, the Forest Department of the State has constituted a Committee and has assessed a damage of almost Rs. 111.50 lakhs. Central assistance amounting to Rs. 1 crore under Project Tiger has been provided to the State for restoring the damage done to infrastructure.
Issues
(i) Man-tiger conflict due to frequent straying of tiger.(ii) Tiger Estimation using the refined method not yet completed.
(iii) Tiger Conservation Plan awaited.
(iv) Constitution of the State level Steering Committee under the Chairmanship of the Chief Minister is awaited (Statutory requirement).
(v) Constitution of reserve-specific Tiger Conservation Foundation is awaited.