Jim Corbett National Park (The land of Roars, Trumpets and Songs)
Jim Corbett National Park is one of the finest tiger reserves of India which has always fascinated the wildlife enthusiast from India and abroad.
The significance of biodiversity and wildlife of the area which now comprises Corbett national park was recognized long time back, which can be understood by the fact that Jim Corbett National Park (created in 1936) was the first National Park not only in India but also in the mainland Asia. The park was initially named Hailey National Park (with area of only 325 sq. km.) but after the end of British rule in India the name was changed in 1954 to Ramganaga National Park- after the river which is the life line of reserve. The National Park was again named to Jim Corbett National Park in 1956, after the death of Jim Corbett- in memory of the noted hunter turned conservationist of the area. On April 1, 1973, Project tiger was launched at Dhikala with the help of WWF and Corbett was one of the 8 original tiger reserves, today there are 48.
Corbett Tiger Reserve ( area of 1288.32 Sq Km) spreads over three districts of Uttarakhand i.e., Pauri, Nainital and Almora. It comprises of Corbett National Park ( area of 520.82 Sq Km), Sonanadi Wildlife Sanctuary in the NW (area of 301.18 Sq Km) and Buffer forest (area of 466.32 Sq Km). Geographically it is located between the Shiwalik Hills and the Terai of Himalayas. The habitat of Corbett national park comprises of hills, marshy depressions, riverine belts, grasslands and large lakes.
It has a healthy habitat of not only one of the largest populations of Royal Bengal tiger but also good population of other charismatic species like elephants and leopard as well as rare species like Otters and the Ghariyal. The Corbett Tiger Reserve is one of the most sought after destinations for the wildlife enthusiasts and more than 5 lakh tourists visit the tiger reserve every year , the highest among all protected areas in India. It is home to approximately 110 tree species, 50 mammal species and 25 reptile species. In addition with over 550 species of birds (including over 50 species of raptors) Corbett is one of the richest bird regions of the Country and has been declared as an ‘Important Bird Area’ (IBA) by Birdlife International.