Bihar National Parks, Tiger Reserves, Wildlife Sanctuaries & Ramsar Sites

National Parks Tiger Reserves Wildlife Sanctuaries of Bihar Jharkhand West Bengal Sikkim

Valmiki National Park, Tiger Reserve, Wildlife Sanctuary

• It is located in the foothill ranges of Siwaliks at the Indo-Nepal border. River Gandak (called ‘Narayani’ in Nepal) forms its western boundary. It is the only National Park in Bihar.
• Harha-Masan River system originates from the Valmiki National Park and forms Burhi Gandak River down south.
• Vegetation: Moist deciduous, semi-evergreen, freshwater swamps, alluvial grasslands, savannah and wetlands.
• Major Fauna: Bengal tiger, rhinoceros, Indian flying fox, black bear, sloth bear, leopard, barking deer, spotted deer, hog deer, sambar, clouded Leopard, Indian gaur.
• ‘Tharu’, a scheduled tribe, is the dominant community.

Wildlife Sanctuaries of Bihar

Bhimbandh Wildlife Sanctuary

• It is situated south of the Ganges River, at the northern edge of Chota Nagpur Plateau and west of Santhal Pargana.

Gautam Budha Wildlife Sanctuary

• It is located in Bihar and Jharkhand.

Kaimur Wildlife Sanctuary

• It is located in the eastern part of the Vindhyan Scrap Lands. It is the Bihar’s largest Wildlife Sanctuary and is a tiger corridor.

Kanwar Jheel Wildlife Sanctuary (BS) (Ramsar Site)

• It is Asia’s largest freshwater oxbow lake. It is larger than the Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary (Keoladeo Ghana National Park, Rajasthan).
• Notable Avifauna: White-backed vulture (CR) & Long-billed (Indian) vulture (CR).

Udaipur Wildlife Sanctuary

• It is an oxbow lake in the floodplain of the Gandaki River.

Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Wildlife Sanctuary

• It is a 60 km stretch of the Ganges River from Sultanganj to Kahalgaon in Bhagalpur district, Bihar.
• It is a protected area for India’s national aquatic animal – Gangetic dolphins (EN).

Others

• Barela Jheel Salim Ali Bird Wildlife Sanctuary (Salim Ali-Jubba Sahni Bird Sanctuary): Natural home for migratory birds.
• Kusheshwar Asthan Bird Wildlife Sanctuary: Close to the right bank of River Kosi (Sorrow of Bihar) and Kanwar Lake.
• Nagi Dam Wildlife Sanctuary & Nakti Dam Wildlife Sanctuary: Bird Sanctuaries in Jamui district. They are located close to each other.
• Pant (Rajgir) Wildlife Sanctuary: Located in the ancient city of Rajgir in Nalanda district, Bihar.

Ramsar Sites of Bihar (1)

Kanwar Taal or Kabar Taal Lake

• It lies in the Indo-Gangetic Plain.
• Endangered Avifauna: Red-Headed Vulture (CR), White-Rumped Vulture (CR), Indian Vulture (CR) – and two waterbirds, the Baer’s Pochard (CR) & Sociable Lapwing (CR).