Sukla Phanta Wildlife Reserve
Encyclopedia
Sukla Phanta Wildlife Reserve is a protected area in the Terai
of the Far-Western Region, Nepal
, covering 305 km² (117.8 sq mi) of open grassland, forests, riverbeds and tropical wetlands at an altitude of 174 to 1386 m (570.9 to 4,547.2 ft). It was gazetted in 1973 as Royal Sukla Phanta Wildlife Reserve. A small part of the reserve extends north of the East-West Highway
to create a corridor for seasonal migration of wildlife into the Sivalik Hills. The Syali River forms the eastern boundary southward to the international border with India
, which demarcates the reserve’s southern and western boundary.
The Indian Tiger Reserve Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary
is contiguous in the south; this coherent protected area of 439 km² (169.5 sq mi) represents the Tiger
Conservation Unit (TCU) Sukla Phanta-Kishanpur, which covers a 1.897 km² (0.732435794850039 sq mi) block of alluvial grasslands and subtropical moist deciduous forests.
al with mean annual rainfall of 1579 mm (62.2 in) that occurs from June to September and is highest in August. The winter months of December and January are fairly cold with daytime temperatures of 7–12 °C (44.6–53.6 °F) and occasional frost. From February onwards temperatures rise up to 25 °C (77 °F) in March and reaching 42 °C (107.6 °F) by end of April. When the first pre-monsoon
rains reach the area in May, humidity increases.
. Khagra Reed (Phragmites karka)
and Saccharum spontaneum
grow in the marshes of the seven small lakes. The dominant forest type is Sal. Khair
and Sissoo
grow alongside rivers.
The extensive open grasslands and wetlands around the lakes of the reserve are habitat for a wide range of faunal species. In the rivers, lakes and ponds 27 fish
species, the globally threatened Mugger crocodile
and Indian Rock Python have been recorded as well as the Monitor Lizard
, Indian Cobra
, Common Krait
and Oriental Ratsnake
.
, Indian Leopard
, Sloth Bear
, Swamp Deer
, Asian Elephant
and Hispid Hare
. Great One-horned Rhinoceros
were translocated from Chitwan National Park to establish a third viable population in the country.
The congregation of Swamp Deer on the reserve's phantas is the largest in the world; the population of Hispid Hare may be of international significance.
A total of 423 bird species has been recorded in the reserve that supports the highest population of Bengal Florican
s in Nepal. It is the western limit of Swamp Francolin
, Jerdon's Bushchat
, Rufous-rumped Grassbird
, Chestnut-capped Babbler
and Jerdon's Babbler
; the north-western limit of Yellow-eyed Babbler
; the eastern limit of Finn's Weaver
and the most important regular wintering site of Hodgson's Bushchat
.
During a survey carried out in January 2005, a total of 19 Hodgson’s bushchats
were recorded, and a year later only 8 males.
Terai
The Terai is a belt of marshy grasslands, savannas, and forests located south of the outer foothills of the Himalaya, the Siwalik Hills, and north of the Indo-Gangetic Plain of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and their tributaries. The Terai belongs to the Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands ecoregion...
of the Far-Western Region, Nepal
Far-Western Region, Nepal
Far-Western Region is one of Nepal's five development regions. It is located at the western end of the country with headquarters at Dipayal.It comprises two zones :* Mahakali* Seti...
, covering 305 km² (117.8 sq mi) of open grassland, forests, riverbeds and tropical wetlands at an altitude of 174 to 1386 m (570.9 to 4,547.2 ft). It was gazetted in 1973 as Royal Sukla Phanta Wildlife Reserve. A small part of the reserve extends north of the East-West Highway
East-West Highway (Nepal)
East-West Highway in Nepal is a national highway that runs across the country from Mechi district in the east to Mahakali district in the west. It has the total length of 1024k.m....
to create a corridor for seasonal migration of wildlife into the Sivalik Hills. The Syali River forms the eastern boundary southward to the international border with 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...
, which demarcates the reserve’s southern and western boundary.
The Indian Tiger Reserve Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary
Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary
The Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary is a part of the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve near Mailani in Uttar Pradesh, India. It covers an area of 227 km2 and was founded in 1972.-Fauna:* Tiger* Leopard* Swamp Deer* Hog Deer* Barking Deer* Bengal Florican...
is contiguous in the south; this coherent protected area of 439 km² (169.5 sq mi) represents the 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...
Conservation Unit (TCU) Sukla Phanta-Kishanpur, which covers a 1.897 km² (0.732435794850039 sq mi) block of alluvial grasslands and subtropical moist deciduous forests.
History
The area was a favorite hunting ground for Nepal's ruling class and was declared a Royal Hunting Reserve in 1969. In 1973 the area was gazetted as Royal Sukla Phanta Wildlife Reserve, initially comprising 155 km² (59.8 sq mi), and extended to its present size in the late 1980s. A buffer zone of 243.5 km² (94 sq mi) was added in May 2004.Climate
The climate of the region is subtropical monsoonMonsoon
Monsoon is traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation, but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with the asymmetric heating of land and sea...
al with mean annual rainfall of 1579 mm (62.2 in) that occurs from June to September and is highest in August. The winter months of December and January are fairly cold with daytime temperatures of 7–12 °C (44.6–53.6 °F) and occasional frost. From February onwards temperatures rise up to 25 °C (77 °F) in March and reaching 42 °C (107.6 °F) by end of April. When the first pre-monsoon
Monsoon
Monsoon is traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation, but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with the asymmetric heating of land and sea...
rains reach the area in May, humidity increases.
Vegetation
The prevalent vegetation of the reserve is sukla phanta – grassland, which covers about 16 km² (6.2 sq mi) in area and is the largest patch of continuous grassland in Nepal. The main grass species include Imperata cylindrica and Heteropogon contortusHeteropogon contortus
Heteropogon contortus is a tropical, perennial tussock grass with a native distribution encompassing Southern Africa, southern Asia, Northern Australia and Oceania. The species has also become a naturalised weed in tropical and subtropical regions in the Americas and East Asia. The plant grows to ...
. Khagra Reed (Phragmites karka)
Phragmites
Phragmites, the Common reed, is a large perennial grass found in wetlands throughout temperate and tropical regions of the world. Phragmites australis is sometimes regarded as the sole species of the genus Phragmites, though some botanists divide Phragmites australis into three or four species...
and Saccharum spontaneum
Kans grass
Kans grass is a grass native to South Asia. It is a perennial grass, growing up to three meters in height, with spreading rhizomatous roots....
grow in the marshes of the seven small lakes. The dominant forest type is Sal. Khair
Acacia catechu
Acacia catechu also commonly called Mimosa catechu, is a deciduous, thorny tree which grows up to in height. The plant is called khair in Hindi, and kachu in Malay, hence the name was Latinized to "catechu" in Linnaean taxonomy, as the type-species from which the extracts cutch and catechu are...
and Sissoo
Dalbergia sissoo
Dalbergia sissoo, known as Shisham, is an erect deciduous tree, native to the Indian Subcontinent. It is also called sissoo, sisu, sheesham, tahli and sometimes referred to as Indian Rosewood. It is state tree of Punjab state and provincial tree of Punjab province...
grow alongside rivers.
Fauna
Fish
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...
species, the globally threatened Mugger crocodile
Mugger Crocodile
The mugger crocodile , also called the Indian, Indus, Persian, or marsh crocodile, is found throughout the Indian subcontinent and the surrounding countries...
and Indian Rock Python have been recorded as well as the Monitor Lizard
Bengal monitor
The Bengal monitor or common Indian monitor, is a monitor lizard found widely distributed over South Asia. This large lizard is mainly terrestrial, and grows to about 175 cm from the tip of the snout to the end of the tail...
, Indian Cobra
Indian Cobra
Indian Cobra or Spectacled Cobra is a species of the genus Naja found in the Indian subcontinent and a member of the "big four", the four species which inflict the most snakebites in India. This snake is revered in Indian mythology and culture, and is often seen with snake charmers...
, 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....
and Oriental Ratsnake
Ptyas mucosus
Dhaman or Oriental Ratsnake Ptyas mucosus is a common species of colubrid snake found in parts of South and Southeast Asia. Growing to nearly two metres, they are large snakes and their colour varies from pale browns in dry regions to nearly black in moist forest areas...
.
Mammals
Current checklists include 46 species of mammals, 18 of which are protected under CITES such as the Bengal TigerBengal Tiger
The Bengal tiger is a tiger subspecies native to the Indian subcontinent that in 2010 has been classified as endangered by IUCN...
, Indian Leopard
Leopard
The leopard , Panthera pardus, is a member of the Felidae family and the smallest of the four "big cats" in the genus Panthera, the other three being the tiger, lion, and jaguar. The leopard was once distributed across eastern and southern Asia and Africa, from Siberia to South Africa, but its...
, Sloth Bear
Sloth Bear
The sloth bear , also known as the labiated bear, is a nocturnal insectivorous species of bear found wild within the Indian subcontinent. The sloth bear evolved from ancestral brown bears during the Pleistocene and shares features found in insect-eating mammals through convergent evolution...
, Swamp Deer
Barasingha
The Barasingha or Swamp deer is a deer species currently found in isolated localities in north and central India, and southwestern Nepal, and is extinct in Pakistan and Bangladesh....
, Asian Elephant
Asian Elephant
The Asian or Asiatic elephant is the only living species of the genus Elephas and distributed in Southeast Asia from India in the west to Borneo in the east. Three subspecies are recognized — Elephas maximus maximus from Sri Lanka, the Indian elephant or E. m. indicus from mainland Asia, and E. m....
and Hispid Hare
Hispid Hare
The Hispid hare Caprolagus hispidus, also called Assam rabbit is a leporid native to South Asia, whose historic range extended along the southern foothills of the Himalayas. Today, the habitat of hispid hares is highly fragmented with an area of occupancy of less than extending over an estimated...
. Great One-horned Rhinoceros
Indian Rhinoceros
The Indian Rhinoceros is also called Greater One-horned Rhinoceros and Asian One-horned Rhinoceros and belongs to the Rhinocerotidae family...
were translocated from Chitwan National Park to establish a third viable population in the country.
The congregation of Swamp Deer on the reserve's phantas is the largest in the world; the population of Hispid Hare may be of international significance.
Birds
Bengal Florican
The Bengal Florican , also called Bengal Bustard, is a very rare bustard species from tropical southern Asia. It is the only member of the genus Houbaropsis...
s in Nepal. It is the western limit of Swamp Francolin
Swamp Francolin
The Swamp Partridge or Swamp Francolin is a species of partridge found in parts of India, Nepal and Bangladesh mostly in the Ganges and Brahmaputra valleys.-Description:From Frank Finn's The Game Birds of India & Asia :...
, Jerdon's Bushchat
Jerdon's Bushchat
The Jerdon's Bushchat is a species of bird in the Muscicapidae family.-Distribution:Jerdon's Bushchats have an extremely large range and are native to Bangladesh, China, India, Laos, Nepal, Thailand and Vietnam. They are possibly extinct in Myanmar.Still present in small numbers at Inle Lake, Shan...
, Rufous-rumped Grassbird
Rufous-rumped Grassbird
The Rufous-Rumped Grassbird is a species of babbler in a monotypic genus in the Timaliidae family. It was formerly placed in the Old World Warbler family Sylviidae.-Distribution and habitat:...
, Chestnut-capped Babbler
Chestnut-capped Babbler
The Chestnut-capped Babbler is a passerine bird of the Timaliidae family. It is monotypic within the genus Timalia.-Distribution:...
and Jerdon's Babbler
Jerdon's Babbler
Jerdon's Babbler is an endangered passerine bird from South Asia. Formerly placed in the Timaliidae family – hence the common name "babbler" –, the genus Chrysomma and its relatives are actually closer to the typical warblers and parrotbills in the Sylviidae.-Description:Measuring...
; the north-western limit of Yellow-eyed Babbler
Yellow-eyed Babbler
The Yellow-eyed Babbler Chrysomma sinense is a passerine bird species found in open grass and scrub in south Asia. Its common name refers to its traditional placement with the Old World babbler family Timaliidae...
; the eastern limit of Finn's Weaver
Finn's Weaver
Finn's Weaver or Finn's Baya is a species of weaver bird found in the Ganges and Brahmaputra valleys in India and Nepal. Two races are known; the nominate from the Kumaon area and salimalii from the eastern Terai....
and the most important regular wintering site of Hodgson's Bushchat
Hodgson's Bushchat
The White-throated Bush Chat, , also known as Hodgson's Bushchat, is an Old World flycatcher in the genus Saxicola....
.
During a survey carried out in January 2005, a total of 19 Hodgson’s bushchats
Hodgson's Bushchat
The White-throated Bush Chat, , also known as Hodgson's Bushchat, is an Old World flycatcher in the genus Saxicola....
were recorded, and a year later only 8 males.