General
Information : Location : South West Of Kathmandu, Nepal Nearest
Access : Bharatpur Nearest Airport : Kathmandu Main Wildlife Found : One-Horned
Rhino, Royal Bengal Tiger Coverage Area : 932-sq-kms
About Royal
Chitwan National Park: Royal Chitwan National Park ('Chitwan' means "in
the heart of the jungle') covers 932 sq. km. in the flat lowland region of southern
Nepal. It is one of the most important sub-tropical parks on the Indian subcontinent
with populations of the endangered Royal Bengal tiger, Greater One-horned rhinoceros,
Gangetic dolphin (Platanista gangetica), Wild Asian elephant, Gaur, Golden Monitor
lizard, Gharial crocodile and many more.
The Chitwan region has had a
long history of conservation. For many years it was the Royal hunting grounds
for the Kings and dignitaries of Nepal and therefore was not hunted by the general
public. It did however become a favorite spot for big game safari hunters in the
late nineteenth and early to mid-twentieth centuries. This was coupled with a
surge in local human populations following the development of anti-malaria medicines
in the mid-twentieth century. The long-term effect was a drastic decrease in jungle
habitat and animal populations in the Chitwan valley as jungles were converted
to farmland and big game were hunted and poached to dangerously low numbers. The
falling rhino (less than 200) and tiger (less than 30) populations in the present
park region, focused attention on the Chitwan region and in 1963 the southern
two-thirds of the park were declared rhino sanctuary. With sanctuary status came
the relocation of 22,000 people from the Chitwan valley and a moratorium on hunting.
Since 1963 wildlife populations and ecosystems have been rebounding. In 1973 Chitwan
became Nepal's first National Park. The relatively pristine state of the modern
park and its unique ecosystems prompted UNESCO to declare the park a World Heritage
site in 1984.