Sunderban National Park

The four Sunderbans national parks have been lumped together as they all share common features of the estuarine mangrove ecosystem. The main attractions of the Sunderbans are the Tiger, of which the delta harbor large reptiles like the Monitor Lizard, Estuarine Crocodile and the Olive Ridley Turtle, for which there is a conservation programme in the Indian park. The Leopard, Indian Rhinoceros, Javan Rhinoceros, Swamp Deer, Hog Deer and Water Buffalo have all become locally extinct from the delta in recent decades.

Sunderbans national park is located at the South Eastern tip of the 24 Paraganas district in the state of West Bengal. It got its name from one of the mangrove plants known as Sundari (Heritiera Minor). The Sundarbans are a part of the world's largest delta formed by the rivers Ganges,Brahmaputra and Meghna. Sundarban is a vast area covering 4262 square kms in India alone, with a larger portion in Bangladesh. 2585 sq. kms of the Indian Sundarban forms the largest Tiger Reserve and National Park in India. The total area of the Indian part of the Sundarban forest, lying within the latitude between 21°13'-22°40' North and longitude 88°05'-89°06' East, is about 4,262 sq km, of which 2,125 sq km is occupied by mangrove forest across 56 islands and the balance is under water.

The park is surrounded by a buffer zone of 885 square kilometers. This also mainly consists of mangrove forests. The core area of the park has it's own natural boundaries with the river Matla on it's West, the river Haribhanga on it's East, with Netidhopani and Gosba in the North.

Best Season (Sunderban National Park):

The best time to visit Sunderbans is during winters between December and February.although the park is open for longer from September to March. This is the period when the maximum migratory birds are also present here.

Access(Sunderban National Park) :

The Sunderbans are not easily accessible. To get to the Sunderbans national park in India the nearest airport is Calcutta, the nearest railway station is Canning, and the nearest town is Gosaba. From the park headquarters at Canning take the country motor launch (5 hours)

to Sajnekhali.

 

Wild Animals in Sunderban National Park:

Sundarban mangrove forest is the single largest home of the Royal Bengal Tiger( Panthera tigris ).
Sundarban is also the only mangrove forest in the world having the tiger as its indigenous population. As per 2004 census, the tiger population in Indian Sundarban is around There are 58 species of mammals, 55 species of reptiles and around 248 bird species.
Sundarbans also harbors a good number of rare and globally threatened animals including Estuarine Crocodile ( Crocodilus porosus ), Fishing Cat ( Felis viverrina ), Common otter ( Lutra lutra ), Water Monitor lizard ( Varanus salvator ), Gangetic Dolphin ( Platinista gangetica ), Snubfin dolphin ( Orcella brevirostris ), River Terrapin (Batagur baska ), marine turtles like Olive Ridley ( Lepidochelys olivacea ), Green Sea Turtle ( Chelonia mydas ), Hawksbill Turtle ( Eritmochelys imbricata ). Six species of Shark and Ray, which are found here, are included in Schedule I of Wildlife (Protection) Act. These indicate that Sundarban Reserved Forest is a natural biodiversity hot spot.
Other mammals comprise of Wild boars, Spotted deer, Porcupines and Rhesus macaque. Among the reptiles, the King cobra, the common cobra, Banded krait, Russells Viper comprise the community of venomous reptiles, while the Python, Chequered Kil-Back, Dhaman , Green Whip Snake and several other species constitute the non-venomous snakes.

Birds in Sunderban National Park :

 There are about 248 bird species found in Sunderban national park including a large number of migratory birds from higher latitudes that visits the park in winter months Herons, Egrets, Cormorants, Storks, Green Pigeons, Sand Pipers, Large and Small Spoonbills, Darters, Seagulls, Teal, Partridges, great variety of Wild Geese and Ducks.

Key to birding in Sundarbans national park is overcoming the geographic and physical hurdles because of its difficult terrain as well as the limited view one gets from a noisy boat.

The main species of birds in Sunderban national park are:

Small Minivet Black-hooded Oriole Mangrove Whistler Cinnamon Bittern Swamp francolin Grey-headed fishing eagle Brown fish owl Osprey Purple Sunbird Pale-billed Flowerpecker Loten's Sunbird Striated Babbler Striped Tit-Babbler Brown-cheeked Fulvetta Lemon-rumped Warbler Brown-winged kingfisher Purple heron, egrets Asian open bill stork Greater adjutant stork Black-capped kingfisher Asian dowitcher Northern eagle owl Common Woodshrike Gull-billed Tern

Common Flameback Fulvous-breasted Woodpecker Peregrine falcon White-collared kingfisher Northern Pintail White-bellied sea eagle White ibis Black-necked stork Green-backed heron Pallas's fish eagle, Scaly-breasted Munia Tree Pipit Yellow Wagtail Baya Weaver House Sparrow Purple Sunbird Pale-billed Flowerpecker Loten's Sunbird Striated Babbler Striped Tit-Babbler Brown-cheeked Fulvetta Lemon-rumped Warbler Indian Scimitar Babbler Ashy Prinia Red-whiskered Bulbul Asian Pied Starling Blue-throated Flycatcher .