The Dudhwa National Park is a national park in the Terai belt of marshy grasslands of northern Uttar Pradesh, India. It stretches over an area of, with a buffer zone of. It is part of the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve in the Kheri and Lakhimpur districts. It is located on the Indo-Nepal border in the Lakhimpur Kheri District, and has buffers of reserved forest areas on the northern and southern sides. It represents one of the few remaining areas of the diverse and productive Terai ecosystem, supporting many endangered species, obligate species of tall wet grasslands and species of restricted distribution.
Like most of northern India, Dudhwa has an extreme humid subtropical with dry winters type of climate. Summers are hot with temperatures rising up to. During winters from mid-October to mid-March, temperatures hover between. The months of February to April are ideal for visiting the park. Prevalent winds are westerly. The hot wind Loo blows strongly from mid-April up to end of May. Monsoon starting in mid-June and lasting up to September accounts for 90% of the rainfall of. Temperatures range from between a minimum of in winter to a maximum of up to in peak summer.
Habitat
The area of the park falls within the Upper Gangetic plains and is a vast alluvial plain ranging in altitude from in the farthest southeast to in the extreme north. The park's mosaic of high forest interspersed with grasslands is characteristic of the Terai ecosystems in India and the area is, probably, the last prominent remnant of this type of ecosystem. The forests, especially the sal forests, have always been very dense and can be categorized into northern tropical semi-evergreen forest, northern Indian moist deciduous forest, tropical seasonal swamp forest and northern tropical dry deciduous forest. The main flora comprises sal, asna, shisham, jamun, gular, sehore and bahera. The grasslands comprise about 19% of the park. The wetlands constitute the third major habitat type and include the rivers, streams, lakes and marshes. While many of the major wetlands are perennial with some amount of surface moisture retained round the year, some dry up during hot summer. The park is home to one of the finest forests in India, some of these trees are more than 150 years old and over tall.
Fauna
Major attractions of Dudhwa National Park are the tigers and swamp deer. Billy Arjan Singh successfully hand-reared and reintroduced zoo-born tigers and leopards into the wilds of Dudhwa. Some rare species inhabit the park. Hispid hare, earlier thought to have become extinct, was rediscovered here in 1984. In March, 1984 Indian rhinoceros was reintroduced into Dudhwa from Pobitora Sanctuary in Assam and Nepal. The other animals to be seen here include swamp deer, sambar deer, barking deer, spotted deer, hog deer, sloth bear, ratel, jackal, civets, jungle cat, fishing cat, leopard cat. Dudhwa National Park is a stronghold of the barasingha. Around half of the world's barasinghas are present in Dudhwa National Park. Smaller than the sambar deer, the barasinghas have 12 antlers that collectively measure up to. One can spot herd of these rare animals passing through open grasslands. These animals are smaller than sambar deer and weigh around 180 kg. Due to their slightly woolly, dark brown to pale yellow cloak, the grasslands acts as the perfect camouflage.
Birds
The park has rich bird life, with over 350 species, including the swamp francolin, great slaty woodpecker and Bengal florican. Dudhwa also boasts a range of migratory birds that settle here during winters. It includes among others, painted storks, black and white necked storks, sarus cranes, woodpeckers, barbets, kingfishers, minivets, bee-eaters, bulbuls and varied night birds of prey. There are also drongos, barbets, cormorants, ducks, geese, hornbills, bulbuls, teal, woodpeckers, heron, bee-eaters, minivets, kingfishers, egrets, orioles, painted storks, owls. Dudhwa's birds in particular are a delight for any avid bird watcher where bengal florican is most popular between bird watchers. The marshlands are habitat for about 400 species of resident and migratory birds including the swamp francolin, great slaty woodpecker, Bengal florican, plenty of painted stork, sarus crane, several species of owl, Asian barbet, woodpecker and minivets. Much of the park’s avian fauna is aquatic in nature and found around Dudhwa’s lakes such as Banke Tal. The endangered white-rumped vulture has been sighted in a group of 115 individuals.
