Bardia
National
Park is
the
largest
park in
the
lowland
Terai
covering
an area
of 968
sq. km.
The park
situated
in
Nepal’s
Western
Terai
was
established
to
protect
representative
ecosystems
and
conserve
tiger
and its
prey
species.
Initially,
a small
area was
gazetted
as the
Royal
Karnali
Wildlife
Reserve
in 1976.
When
this
area was
protected,
approximately
1500
people
of the
Babai
valley
were
resettled
outside
the park
allowing
the
vegetation
and
wildlife
to
flourish.
In 1982,
it was
renamed
as
Bardia
Wildlife
Reserve,
and in
1984 it
was
extended
to its
current
size.
The
reserve
was
given
the
status
of a
National
Park in
1988.
What
makes a
visit to
Nepal's
Bardia
National
Park
particularly
special
is not
just its
large
and
intact
habitat
area and
its
isolated
location,
but also
the
presence
here of
one of
the last
known
herds of
wild
Elephants
in South
Asia.
The
herd,
numbering
less
than two
dozen,
roams
these
remote
jungles
in
western
Nepal.
Bardia
also
boasts
the
greatest
number
of deer
species
in
Nepal.
The six
deer
species
found in
the park
are:
Chital
or
spotted
Deer
with its
ubiquitous
white
spots on
a brown
coat;
Hog
Deer;
similar
to but
smaller
than
Chital;
Sambhar,
the
largest
Deer on
Indian
subcontinent
with a
shaggy
coat and
thick
antlers;
Swamp
Deer;
Barasingha;
and
reddish-colored
Barking
Deer,
the
park's
smallest
Deer.
Other
large
mammals
are:
Gaur,
the
largest
wild
oxen in
world;
wild
Boar, an
omnivorous
black-coated
creature
with
large
tusks;
the
agile
sloth
Bear, a
shaggy
black
bear
with a
distinctive
white
"V" on
its
chest;
Blue
Bull or
Nilgai,
the
largest
Antelope
on the
Indian
subcontinent;
and
Himalayan
Tahr.
Serow
and
Goral,
two
goat-Antelope
members,
are also
found.
Small
mammals
include:
Langur
Monkey,
Rhesus
Macaque,
Jackal,
three
species
of cats
(jungle,
leopard,
and
fishing);
yellow-throated
Marten;
Mongoose;
and
Indian
Otter.
Two
species
of
crocodiles
swim in
the
Karnali,
Girwa,
and
Babai
Rivers -
the
blunt-snouted
Marsh
Mugger
and the
fish-eating
gharial
with its
long
thin
snout.
These
creatures
share
the
water
with the
fresh-water
Gangetic
Dolphin.
The
Karnali
also
supports
the
great
mahseer,
which
weigh up
to 90
lbs, an
angler's
prize
catch.
Birds
are the
park's
most
conspicuous
fauna
with
over 300
resident
and
migratory
species.
Avid
bird-watchers
will
want to
visit
the park
in
November
or from
February
to April
when
migrants
arrive,
depart
or pass
through. |
Itinerary
In 
