Orang National Park, Assam - A prefect Place for Wildlife Safari

Often referred to as mini Kaziranga, Orang National Park is situated on the northern banks of the mighty river Brahmaputra. This national park is renowned for its natural beauty and attracts a swarm of tourist from all over the globe. It was established on 13th April 1999 and covers an area of 78.81 sq km and has a similar landscape as Kaziranga National Park, which is made up of grasslands, marshes and streams. Situated about 140 km from Guwahati and 32 km from Tezpur, this national park is inhabited by the one-horned rhinoceros. It is one of the oldest protected areas of Assam, which gained popularity only during the late 20th century.

Orang National Park, Assam

The park has a varied history of habitation and up to 1900 it was colonized by the tribes, when an epidemic disease broke out and the people residing here left the place. In the year 1915, this place was declared as Orang Game Reserve by the British. The game reserve came under the control of the wild life wing of the State Forest Department to meet the requirements of the Project Tiger and in the year 1985, it got the status of a Wildlife Sanctuary. In the year 1992, the park was renamed as Rajiv Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary and finally in the year 1999, it was acknowledged as National Park.

Orang National Park, Assam

Delimited between 26.483°N 92.266°E and 26.666°N 92.45°E within the districts of Darrang and Sonitpur, Orang National Park is a home to a wide variety of flora and fauna. The national park shares its borders with three rivers, namely Dhansiri, Pachoni and Belsiri that meets and merges with river Brahmaputra. It is a major part of the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot and since three major tributaries of the river Brahmaputra passes through this National Park, it is mainly flood plain and suitable for vegetation. The park is home to Asiatic elephant, hog deer, Royal Bengal Tiger and Pygmy Hog besides the Great Indian One-Horned Rhinoceros, which is a dominant species of this park. Blind Gangetic Dolphin, Rhesus Macaque, Leopard cat, Indian Fox, Bengal Porcupine, Small Indian Civet, Indian Pangolin, Jungle Cat, Otter and Fishing Cat are some of the other wildlife found here. Besides these mammalian species, the park is also a home to over 50 species of fish. Great White Pelican, American White Pelicans, Pintail, Ruddy Shelduck, Black-necked Stork, Lesser Adjutant Stork, Bengal Florican, etc. are some of the avifauna found in this national park.