Uttar Pradesh: Wildlife Sanctuaries and National Parks | Course for UPPSC Preparation - UPPSC (UP) PDF Download

Uttar Pradesh lies in the Northern part of India. It is a home to rich and wide variety of wildlife. Many National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries are located all over the Uttar Pradesh. The largest wildlife reserve in Uttar Pradesh is ‘Dudhwa National Park’. 

National Parks in Uttar Pradesh 

• It was established in 1968 as a wildlife sanctuary for swamp deer. It covers an area of 490 sq km. 
• It was notified as a National Park in January, 1997 by the efforts of Billy Arjan Singh. The National Park is located in the Lakhimpur-Kheri district (Tarai region) of Uttar Pradesh near Indo-Nepal border. 
• In 1988, the park was declared a tiger reserve and brought under the purview of the Project Tiger. Together with Kishanpur wildlife sanctuary and Khaterniaghat wildlife sanctuary it forms Dudhwa Tiger Reserve. 
• Major attraction of Dudhwa National Park are Tigers and Swamp deer. In March 1984, Indian Rhinoceros were reintroduced into Dudhwa from Pobitora sanctuary in Assam and Nepal. Other animal seen here are swamp deer, sambar deer, barking deer, spotted deer, hog deer, sloth bear, ratel jackal, jungle cat, fishing cat, leopard cat, etc. Dudhwa has a stronghold of Barasingha.

Butterfly Park in Uttar Pradesh
The first Butterfly Park was established in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh in 2018, to preserve the ecosystem. A total of 100 species of flowers have been planted in order to attract the butterflies. More than 50 species of butterflies have already been preserved in this park. Around 50 species of flowers are also planted at the periphery of the park and 40 species of evergreen flowers also have been planted, including calendula.  

Wildlife Sanctuaries in Uttar Pradesh 

• It was established in 1957 in Chanduali district of Uttar Pradesh. It has an area of 78 sq km. 
• This sanctuary is situated about 70 km from the historic city of Varanasi. The Karamnasha river, a tributary of Ganga flows through this sanctuary. 
• Prominent fauna of sanctuary includes leopard, hyena, wolf, wild boar, nilgai, sambar deer, chinkara, chital, gharial and python. 

Katerniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary

• It was established in 1976 in Bahraich district. It is a protected area in the Upper Gangetic plain in Uttar Pradesh. 
• It covers an area of 400.09 sq km. Prominent fauna of this sanctuary are gharial, tiger, rhino, Gangetic dolphin, swamp deer, hispid hare, Bengal florican, the white backed and long billed vultures and major flora are sal and teak. 

National Chambal Sanctuary 

• It was established in 1979, located on the Chambal river near the tripoint of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. 
• It covers an area of 5400 sq km. It is also called National Chambal Gharial Wildlife Sanctuary.
• It is a tri-state protected area for the protection of critically endangered gharial, the red crowned roof turtle and the endangered Ganges river dolphin. Some birds also arrive in this sanctuary like flamingoes arrive here in November and ruddy shelduck arrives in September. This sanctuary is also the home to Indian skimmers. 

Hastinapur Wildlife Sanctuary 

• It was established in 1986. It is a protected area in the Gangetic plains of Uttar Pradesh. 
• It covers an area of 2073 sq km across Meerut, Muzaffarnagar, Ghaziabad, Bijnor and Amroha districts.
• The Hastinapur sanctuary lies on the Western bank of the Ganga river. A large part of the sanctuary is settled under this cultivation. 
• Mammals  found here are leopard, wild cats, monkey, fox, wolf, jackals, mongoose, bijju, deers, wild hogs, rabbits, musk-rats and bats etc. 
• Amphibians /Reptiles found here are turtles, python, cobra krait and viper. Crocodiles are also commonly found. 
• Various kind of birds are also found in this wildlife sanctuary, like, Brown Partridges, Black Partridge, Quail, Peacock, Cranes, Spotted Bill, Eagles, White Vultures etc. 

Kachhua (Turtle) Wildlife Sanctuary 

• It was established in 1989 in Varanasi district of Uttar Pradesh. 
• It covers an area of 7 sq km. There are different species of turtles, Ganges dolphin and other water animals in this sanctuary. 
• Fishing and any attempt to temper with the habitat of the animals found in the sanctuary has been declared a cognizable (identifiable) offence under Wildlife Act, 1972. 

Kaimur Wildlife Sanctuary 

• It was established in 1982 in Mirzapur and Sonbhadra districts. 
• It covers an area of 500.73 sq km. Major fauna in Kaimoor Wildlife Sanctuary are Chinkara, leopard, black buck, sambar, etc.  

Other Major Wildlife Sanctuaries of Uttar Pradesh 

Bird Sanctuaries of Uttar Pradesh 

• It was established in 1990. It covers an area of 28.94 sq km. It is the largest natural flood plain wetland of India in Sant Kabir Nagar district of Eastern Uttar Pradesh. 
• It provides a wintering and staging ground for a number of migratory waterfowls and a breeding ground for resident birds.  
• This is also used for farming activities as it is connected to Bakhira Canal. The Siberian birds travel across 5,000 km to get to these wetlands at the time of winter.

Okhla Bird Sanctuary 

• It was established in 1990 and it covers an area of 4 sq km. The bird sanctuary is located at the Okhla barrage over Yamuna river. 
• It is situated in Noida, Gautam Buddh Nagar district. It is known for over 300 birds, especially water birds. 
• Important species are two critically endangered species of white rumped vulture and Indian vulture, nine vulnerable species like Baikal teal, baer’s pochard, sarus crane, sociable lapwing, Indian skimmer, Pallas’s fish eagle, lesser bristled grassbird and finn’s weaver. 

Patna Bird Sanctuary 

• It was established in 1990. It is a protected sanctuary in Etah district of Uttar Pradesh. 
• It is the smallest bird sanctuary in Uttar Pradesh with a wetland area of only 1.09 sq km . About 2 lakh birds of 300 different species inhabit this sanctuary. 

Parvati Aranga Bird Sanctuary

• It was established in 1990. It is located in Gonda district. It covers an area of 10.84 sq km. 
• Important fauna of this sanctuary include Northern Pintail, bar-headed goose, red-crested Pochard, tufted duck, etc. 

Jai Prakash Narayan Bird Sanctuary 

• It was established in 1991. It is located in Ballia district. It covers an area of 34.32 sq km. 
• Generally, foreign and local migratory bird visit this sanctuary during winters. It is also known as Surha Taal Bird Sanctuary. 

Lakh Bahosi Bird Sanctuary 

• It was established in 1998. It is located in Farrukhabad district. It covers an area of 80.24 sq km. It is the largest bird sanctuary in the state. This sanctuary is home to various migratory birds from November to March. 
• Jackal, blue bull, mongoose, fishing cat and monkeys may also be spotted here.

Other Major Bird Sanctuaries 

Tiger Reserves of Uttar Pradesh 

• It is a protected area spread across the Lakhimpur-Kheri and Bahraich districts and comprises Dudhwa National Park, Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary and Katerniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary. 
• It covers an area of 1093.79 sq km. It shares North-Eastern boundary with Nepal. 
• The Dudhwa Tiger Reserve was declared in the year 1987. The protected area is home for tigers, leopards, swamp deer, cheetal, elephants, sambar, barking deer and around 400 bird species. 

Pilibhit Tiger Reserve 

• It was established in 2008, in Pilibhit district, Lakhimpur-Kheri district and Bahraich district of Uttar Pradesh. 
• It lies along Indo-Nepal border in the foothills of Himalayas and plains of the Terai in Uttar Pradesh. 
• The total area of the reserve is 602.79 sq km. The North-Eastern boundary of the reserve is the river Sharda which defines the Indo-Nepal border. 
• Pilibhit Tiger reserve is home to large number of rare and threatened species which includes Bengal tiger, Indian leopard, swamp deer, hispid hare and Bengal floricans. 

Amangarh Tiger Reserve

• It is a protected area in Amangarh in Bijnor district. It has an area of 80.06 sq km. It was declared as a Tiger reserve in 2012.
• Amangarh Tiger reserve was originally a part of the famed Jim Corbett National Park. After state of Uttarakhand was carved out of Uttar Pradesh, Jim Corbett went to Uttarakhand and Amangarh remained in Uttar Pradesh. 
• Jim Corbett National Park is the oldest National Park in India which was established in 1936. 
• The Amangarh tiger reserve is home to tigers, elephants and a wide variety of other wild animals. 
• It is a tiger reserve under Project Tiger in India. The other two Tiger reserves in Uttar Pradesh are Dudhwa Tiger Reserve and Pilibhit Tiger Reserve.

Wetlands in Uttar Pradesh 

• Upper Ganga River (Brijghat to Narora Stretch) 
  It is a shallow river stretch of the great Ganges with intermittent small stretches of deep water pools and reservoirs upstream from barrages. It was recognised as Ramsar Site in 2005. The river provides habitat for IUCN Red listed Ganges river dolphin, gharial, crocodile, 6 species of turtles, 82 species of fish and more than hundred species of birds. Major threats are sewage discharge, agricultural runoff, intensive fishing, etc.  

Zoological Park in Uttar Pradesh 

• Kanpur Zoological Park 
  It is one of the oldest Zoological park of India. It was established in 1974 in Kanpur district of Uttar Pradesh. It covers an area of 76 sq km. 
• Nawab Wajid Ali Shah Zoological Park 
  It was established in 1921 in Lucknow, the capital city of Uttar Pradesh. It covers an area of 0.29 sq. km. 
• Development of Babbar Sher Fertility Centre 
  It is situated in Etawah district of Uttar Pradesh. It covers an area of 11 sq km. 
• Night Safari Park 
  World’s fourth and India’s first Night Safari Park is established in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh.

Schemes for Wildlife Conservation in Uttar Pradesh 

• Project Tiger 
  It is a tiger conservation programme launched on 1st April, 1973. The project aims at ensuring a liable population of Bengal Tiger in their natural habitats, protecting them from extinction and preserving areas of biological importance as a natural heritage. The Dudhwa Tiger Reserve, Amangarh Tiger Reserve and Pilibhit Tiger Reserve are covered under project tiger. 
• Endangered Species Breeding Centre 
  It was established in 1984 in Kukrel forest area of Lucknow. The aim of the centre is to save species (black deer) from extinction and to stabilise the population of the species. 
• Turtle Rehabilitation Scheme 
  It was implemented by Government of India in 1986 under the Ganga Action Plan. Aim of the scheme is to conserve the turtles. 
• Project Elephant 
  It is a centrally sponsored programme launched in 1992. It provides financial and technical support to wildlife management efforts by states for their free ranging populations of Wild Asian Elephants. The project aims to ensure long term survival of viable conservation reliant population of elephants in their natural habitats by protecting the elephants, their habitats and migration corridors.  
  In Uttar Pradesh, three forest division i.e. Shiwalik, Bijnor social forestry and Najibabad forest division have been identified for the project where elephants are in abundance.

Elephant Hospital in Uttar Pradesh
India’s first Elephant Hospital was opened in November, 2018. It is located in Agra, in the Farah block of Mathura near the Elephant Conservation and Care Centre (ECCC) run by Wildlife Save Our Souls (WLSOS). It covers an area of 12,000 square feet. The hospital has modern medical facilities for treatment of injured elephants in distress like Wireless Digital X-ray, Laser treatment, Dental X-Ray, Thermal imaging, Ultrasonography, Hydrotherapy, Tranquilisation Equipment and Quarantine facilities. 

• Sarus Conservation Society 
  The State Government has established Sarus Protection Society with the core objective of study, ecology and support to activities that would ensure survival of the Sarus. Special projects have been funded by the society for improving the habitat in favour of Sarus and in promoting Sarus conservation consciousness across the state. According to the census in 2013, the number of Sarus have gone upto almost 12000 in the state. The Sarus Protection Society is supporting extensive educational programmes in all the areas of Uttar Pradesh which are rich in wetlands. 
• Uttar Pradesh State Biodiversity Board
  Under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, the State Biodiversity Board was constituted in order to regulate access to biological resources of the country with the purpose of securing equitable share in benefits arising out of the use of biological resources.  
• Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats (IDWH) 
  It is a centrally sponsored scheme launched during the 11th plan period to provide technical and financial assistance to state/union territory for protection of wildlife habitat.
  The activities covered under the scheme includes capacity building wildlife research and evalution, anti-poaching activities, wildlife veterinary care, addressing man-animal conflicts and promoting eco-tourism. It is connected to all wildlife sanctuaries of Uttar Pradesh in the year 2002-03. 
• National Plans for Conservation of Aquatic Ecosystems (NPCAE) 
  It was launched in 2013 by merging two established scheme i.e. National Lake Conservation Plan and National Wetland Programme. Its objective is to protect wetland, natural habitat and to monitor the water quality. 
• Development of Eco-Tourism 
  It is implemented in Lakh Bahosi, Unnao, Kannauj and Nawabganj districts, where the natural beauty of landscape, the forest and wildlife is available in abundance. The aim of the scheme is to attract tourist by making eco-friendly facilities. 
• Forest Cover Enrichment Scheme 
  With the objective of Enrichment of forest cover in the open forest area and degenerating forest region, a four year scheme with collaboration of NABARD is proposed for 18 districts (Agra, Aligarh, Bareilly, Meerut, Saharanpur, Moradabad, Jhansi, Banda, Kanpur, Lucknow, Faizabad, Gonda, Varanasi, Mirzapur, Allahabad, Gorakhpur, Basti and Azamgarh).