Dudwa National Park

Area: 490 km² core, 124 km² buffer
Established: 1958 as a wildlife sanctuary, 1977 as a national park, 1988 as a tiger reserve.
Dudhwa Tiger Reserve lies on the India-Nepal border in the foothills of the Himalaya and the plains of the ‘terai’ in Uttar Pradesh. The main attractions of the park are its Swamp Deer (population over 1,600) and tiger (population 98 in 1995). The park is famous for the efforts of ‘Billy’ Arjan Singh, one of India’s leading conservationists, who was instrumental in the creation of Dudhwa as a sanctuary of the Swamp Deer. Later he successfully hand-reared and re-introduced zoo-born Tigers and Leopards into the wilds of Dudhwa.
The forests here are reminiscent of the forests of Bardia on the Nepal side, with huge Sal trees, tall termite mounds, patches of riverine forests and large open grasslands. Its lakes offer excellent opportunities for observing Swamp Deer, Hog Deer, and birds from ‘machans’. In the mid 1980s, Indian Rhinoceros was reintroduced into Dudhwa from Assam and Nepal. The park has a rich bird life, with over 350 species, including the Swamp Francolin, Great Slaty Woodpecker and Bengal Florican.
Dudhwa National Park is full of mosaic grasslands and dense sal forests to swampy marshes. Dudhwa National park’s terrain is as diverse as the wildlife population of it. While the northern edge of the Park lies along the Indo-Nepal border, the River Suheli is in the southern boundary.
Tourist can hope to find some of the rarest species of animals at Dudhwa Wildlife Park, one of them is Hispid Hare, a dark brown animal earlier thought to have become extinct, but rediscovered in 1984. The other animals to be seen here include Swamp Deer, Sambar Deer, Tiger, Rhinoceros, Sloth Bear, Ratel, Barking Deer, Jackal, Jungle Cat, Leopard Cat, Spotted Deer, Hog Deer, Civet, Fishing Cat and many more.
The major attractions of Dudhwa National Park are the Tigers and Swamp Deer. The park also has a considerable number of the One-horned Rhino. Other major wildlife animals are Elephants, Sloth bear, Jackal, Wild pig, Fishing cat, Leopard, Jungle cat and many. Dudhwa also boasts off quite a good range of migratory birds that settle here during winters. It includes among others, painted storks, black and white necked storks, Saras-Cranes, woodpeckers, barbets, kingfishers, minivans, bee-eaters, bulbuls and varied night birds of prey.
Flora: The Dudhwa National Park is punctuated by extensive stretches of grasslands. The predominant tree species found in the park are Shorea robusta, Terminalis tomentosa, Adina cordifolia, Eugenia jambolana, Terminalia belerica, Bombax malabaricum and Dalbergia sissoo, and more.
Fauna:Swamp Dee r, Chital, Hog Deer, Tiger, Sambar, Rhino, Hispid Hare, a dark brown animal earlier thought to have become extinct, but rediscovered in 1984.
Avian-Fauna: Drongos, Barbets, Cormorants, Ducks, Geese, Hornbills, Bulbuls, Teal, Woodpeckers, Heron, Bee Eaters, Minivets, Kingfishers, Egrets, Orioles, plenty of painted storks, sarus cranes, owls and more. One can also spot rare species like the Bengal florican.
Major Attractions:
Barasinghas: Passing through open grasslands, one can spot herd of these rare animals. Around half of the surviving population of Barasinghas is found in the park. These animals are smaller than sambar and weigh around 180 kg. The barasinghas have 12 antlers that measure up to 100 cm. Due to their slightly woolly, dark brown to pale yellow cloak, the grasslands acts as the perfect camouflage.
Elephant Rides: The spotting of animals and birds in their natural habitation, and that too sitting on top of an Indian elephant is an experience to treasure for a long time.The Dudhwa National Park is spread around 500 km2 along with a buffer area of almost 100 km2. Dudhwa National Park is home to one of the finest Sal forests in India, some of these trees are more than 150 years old and over 70 feet tall. In 1976, the park had a population of 50 tigers, 41 elephants and 76 bears apart from five species of deer, more than 400 species of birds, crocodiles and some other species of mammals and reptiles.
Dudhwa's birds, in particular, are a delight for any avid bird watcher. The marshlands are especially inviting for about 400 species of resident and migratory birds including the Swamp Partridge, Great Salty Woodpecker, Bengal Florican, plenty of painted storks, sarus cranes, owls, barbets, woodpeckers, minuets and many more. Much of the park’s avian fauna is aquatic in nature, and is found around Dudhwa’s lakes- especially Banke Tal.
Dudwa National Park is a stronghold of the barasingha, swamp deer, which can be spotted in herds of hundreds, this species of deer is found only in India. It is interesting to note that around half of the total Barasinghas on the Earth are present in Dudhwa National Park. Smaller than the sambar, the barasinghas have 12 antlers that collectively measure up to 100 cm.En route to Dudhwa, the unique Frog Temple at Oyal can also be visited. The only one of its kind in India, it was built by the former Maharajas of the Oyal state in the district of Lakhimpur-Kheri. Dedicated to Lord Shiva, the base of the stone temple is built in the shape of a large frog. The temple is at a distance of 10 km from Hargaon on the route to Lakhimpur-Kheri and Dudhwa.
Built in the Indo-Saracenic style by the rulers of the Singhai state, Surat Bhawan Palace is one of the famous palaces of the Terai area. Not far from the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve on the Lakhimpur-Nighasan-Dudhwa route, the palace is set in a large green, 9-acre (36,000 m2) retreat. Expanses of lush lawns, fountains, a swimming pool and interesting architectural details make a visit to the palace worthwhile.Area : 490 km2
Season
Mid November-mid June, the best period being February-April.
Headquarters : Lakhimpur (Kheri), UP, India
Altitude: 150-183 meters Nearest Town: Palia (10 km.) Nearest petrol pump! Hospital / market /bank / Post & Telegraph Office are at Palia
Climate (Dudhwa National Park): Like the rest of north India, Dudhwa also has an extreme type of climate. Summers are hot with the temperature rising up to 40 °C. During winters, the temperature hovers between 20 and 30 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1,600 mm., a hand reared supposedly Bangal tigress acquired from Twycross Zoo in England in July 1976 was trained by Billy Arjan Singh and released to the wild in Dudhwa National Park, India with the permission of India’s then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in an attempt to prove the experts wrong that zoo bred hand reared Tigers can ever be released in the wild with success. In the 1990s, some tigers from Dhudhwa were observed which had the typical appearance of Siberian tigers: white complexion, pale fur, large head and wide stripes. With recent advances in science it was subsequently found that Siberian Tigers genes have polluted the otherwise pure Bengal Tiger gene pool of Dudhwa National Park. It was proved later that Twycross Zoo had been irresponsible and maintained no breeding records and had given India a hybrid Siberian-Bengal Tigress instead. Dudhwa tigers constitute about 1% of India's total wild population, but the possibility exists of this genetic pollution spreading to other tiger groups, at its worst, this could jeopardize the Bengal tiger as a distinct subspecies.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]