Jim Corbett National Park & Celebrating International Tiger Day
International Tiger Day is celebrated every year on 29th July since 2010. The theme of this day is set as “Their survival is in our hands” which is exactly the reason behind the inception of this day. Tigers are amongst the endangered animals in the world. This day was conceptualised with a purpose of spreading awareness about their decreasing population globally.
There are many tiger species worldwide such as Bengal tigers, Siberian tigers and Sumatran tigers etc. Tiger is the National animal of India and is also home to the largest numbers of tigers in the world. India is home to Royal Bengal Tigers. But in the last few decades, their population has decreased drastically due to various reasons.
Some of these reasons are:
Habitat loss : Due to deforestation, tigers have lost their home. They can’t dwell without their natural habitat.
Poaching : Poaching is illegal but it happens as there is a huge demand for all body parts of tigers.
Climate change: Climate change affects their habitat. Rise in sea level is wiping out Sundarbans where the maximum tigers from India are inhabited.
Taking proper actions against above problems will ensure the safety of these striped beauties. Increase in forest, taking strict actions against poaching could be some of the obvious solutions. “Project Tiger” was launched by then PM Indira Gandhi to curb the situation and since then the things are improving, making Project Tiger the most successful animal conservation projects in the world. India has in total 51 tiger reserves. Some of them include Bandipur in Karnataka, Kanha , Ranthambore, Sundarban, Pench, Bandhavgarh and Jim Corbett.
As Jim Corbett is one of the biggest national parks of India, let’s learn some interesting facts about Jim Corbett National Park.
Jim Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand was earlier named as Hailey National Park. It was renamed in 1957 to honour Jim Corbett, the tiger conservationist.
It is not only India’s but even Asia’s first and oldest national park.
“Project Tiger” was first started in here in 1973.
Corbett National Park has the highest density of tigers among all national parks in India. It houses more than 250 tigers.
The park is equally famous for Asiatic elephants and one-horned rhinos.
Birdlife International has declared Jim Corbett Park as ‘Important Bird Area’. It contains more than 500 different species of birds, making it the richest bird region in India.
The park has a very diverse landscape containing, grasslands, hills, river and lakes. Almost 73% of the national park is covered in forests.
As Jim Corbett now opens for tourists for the first time in 2021, let’s visit and fall in love with this enchanting place and the beast.
