The Orang National Park

Orang National Park is a national park in India located on the northern bank of the Brahmaputra River in the Darrang and Sonitpur districts of Assam. It covers an area of 79.28 km2 (30.61 sq mi). It was established as a sanctuary in 1985 and declared a national park on 13 April 1999. It is rich in flora and fauna, including great Indian rhinoceros, pygmy hog, Asian elephant, wild water buffalo and the Bengal tiger. It is the only stronghold of the rhinoceros on the north bank of the Brahmaputra.

history

The park has a chequered history of habitation. Up to 1900, it was inhabited by the local tribes. On account of an epidemic disease, the tribal population abandoned the area. In 1919 the British colonial authorities declared it as Orang Game Reserve vide notice No. 2276/R dated 31 May 1915. The game reserve came under the control of the wildlife wing of the State Forest Department to meet the requirements of Project Tiger. It was established as a wildlife sanctuary in 1985, vide notification No. FRS 133/85/5 dated 20 September 1985. The park was renamed the Rajiv Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary in 1992; however, this action had to be reversed due to public pressure against the renaming. Finally, the sanctuary was declared a National Park in 1999, vide notification No. FRW/28/90/154 dated 13 April 1999.

Geography

The Orang National Park, encompassing an area of 78.81 square kilometres (30.43 sq mi), lies on the north bank of the Brahmaputra River, delimited between 26.483°N 92.266°E and 26.666°N 92.45°E within the districts of Darrang and Sonitpur. Pachnoi river, Belsiri river and Dhanshiri River border the park and join the Brahmaputra. During the monsoon season, the park becomes a veritable flood plain with the many streams overlapping each other. These flood plains constitute twelve wetlands in the park, apart from the twenty-six artificial water bodies.

It has a fairly flat terrain tending north to south with a gentle slope. The elevation in the park varies from 45 metres (148 ft) to 70 metres (230 ft). It is bounded on its south and east by islands and spill channels of the river. The flat alluvial land is seen as two distinct terraces; the lower terrace is of recent origin on the bank of the Brahmaputra River and the other, upper, terrace is to the north, separated by a high bank running through the park. The whole park is encircled by inhabited villages thus subjecting it to biotic anthropogenic pressure. It has fox holes built by the villagers on its west.

Since royal Bengal tigers are also under serious threat in the park, a conservation programme sponsored by WAZA (World Association of Zoos and Aquariums) institutions and Busch Gardens has been launched. It is a closely managed tiger program called the Species Survival Plan (SSP), with the objective to improve the genetic diversity of managed animal populations. Under this programme, the project titled "Ecological Monitoring of Wild Tigers in Orang National Park, Assam, India" has been launched, in association with AARANYAK, a non-governmental organisation in India. With this funding, camera traps and geo-spatial technology are used by local researchers to monitor tiger density in the park. Community participation to help manage, mitigate and prevent conflict between humans and tigers is also envisaged.