Wandering Nomad Family: Our Weekend Trip to Dudhwa National Park

Our Weekend Trip to Dudhwa National Park : Intro

Dudhwa is a real hidden gem for wildlife lovers.

Welcome to Dudhwa

The best part about it is that it still remains accessible and relatively affordable, even for amateur wildlife photographers, unlike the soaring prices in other celebrity parks of central Indian Tiger Reserves. Personally, I feel Karnataka Forests are least affordable.

And it is surprisingly less visited in spite of its proximity to Lucknow, just a drive of about 3 and 1/2 to 4 hours, and from Delhi too. Perhaps its overshadowed by the Jim Corbett National Park. And thank God for that.

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For the uninitiated...

Where is Dudhwa, How big is it?

Well, Dudhwa is located on the Indo-Nepal Border in Lakhimpur-Kheri District of Uttar Pradesh. The nearest town on the Indian side is Palia, and adjoining town of Dhangadi lies on the Nepalese side. It is over 800 sq kms in area.

Map of National Park and Wildlife Sanctuaries of (erstwhile) Uttar Pradesh

Some fun task, trying finding Dudhwa in it and you will know where Dudhwa is...😀
👉Hint for the non Hindi reading readers, look for 2 written inside a black box.

The Dudhwa Tiger Reserve consists of Dudhwa National Park, Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary and Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary. Dudhwa National Park is lies between the Mohana and Suheli rivers. The Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary and Dudhwa National Park are not contiguous and are separated by roughly 15 kms of agricultural land and the Sharda River. The road from Dudhwa to Kishanpur passes through the towns of Palia and Bhira and obviously crosses over the Sharda River.

We had intended to visit only Dudhwa this time around, with intentions of visiting the Katarniaghat sanctuary some time later. But that was pleasantly not to be, more about that later.

The Right Turn

The difficult choice: both equally tempting

Why is Dudhwa special?

There are many many aspects which make the Dudhwa special.

- First of all, Dudhwa is perhaps the best, if not the only, representative of forests and wetlands of the Terai region in India. The Jim Corbett National Park is more a representative of Bhabar (click for more) than Terai, though both these park contain a mix of both the regions. The parks in sub Himalayan West Bengal and lower Assam are located in a zone contiguous to the Terais but are slightly colder and wetter and are called as Duars.

Dudhwa National Park comprises of a mosaic of woodlands, grasslands and wetlands, which are integral ecosystems (click for more) in themselves. Dudhwa's 'Sal' woodlands are a classic example of a climax ecosystem (click for more).

The vegetation of the area is of North Indian moist deciduous type. Dense woodland cover 66% of the area of Dudhwa National Park. The majority trees in addition to Sal consists of Rohini, Asna, Haldu and Kusum. In addition to these, trees like Dhauri, Jigna, Dhak, Khaja, Mahuwa, Tendu, Bahera, Gutel, Siris, Pakar, Bargad and Pipal etc. are also found. Also shrubs like Gandhela and Phalsa etc. do grow in abundance.

However, the Sal forests of Dudhwa have an undergrowth of Tiliacora acuminata (click for more), called as Rangoi (click for more) in the region. This has decreased the value of area in terms of habitat for ungulates. Tiliacora is not a fodder species and it forms dense mats preventing the growth of other species. It also hinders the movement of animals.

The Sal Forests of Dudhwa, finest representative of woodlands of Terai

Now you may be wondering what is Terai, well the Terai(s) are the lowland region lying to the south of Himalayan foothills and on the northern boundary of Indo-Gangetic plains. Terai ( तराई ) in Hindi means wetness, so as the name discloses this geographical region is damp, wet and humid. This is the region in which the streams which have gone underground in the Bhabhar region, re-spout. This climate combined with the fertile alluvial (silt and clay) brought down and deposited (rather dumped) by the big rivers cutting through and hurling down the Himalayas on hitting the amazingly flat basin of Indo-Gangetic plains, sets the stage for these dense dark forests. The Terai region consists of mainly forest of Sal and Teak (many planted too), interspersed with tall grasslands, ox bow lakes and with its fair share of winding rivulets which join into fast flowing wide rivers, just out of hills like the Yamuna, Ganga, Ramganga, Sharda, Ghagra, Rapti and Kosi etc. These forests house potentially dangerous animals like Tigers, Leopards and Elephants in addition to a multitude of others. But this humid climate, dense vegetation and abundant shallow stagnant water bodies also bring along pestering insects with it, most notoriously the malarial mosquito. So thanks to all these factors combined, i.e. dense Jungles, Wild Animals, lack of sustained line of communications (due frequent river crossings, water bodies, swamp and marshes), and the infernal mosquitoes, these areas were understandably considered God forsaken where sane men rarely ventured. This wide berth given to these tracts of lands, resulted in them becoming a safe retreat for dacoits (a band of armed robbers) and poachers. Well, them being favoured by the dacoits added to their aura of being a dangerous place. Things finally started changing when the British in their thirst for hardwood timber for sleeper of railway lines were forced to tap into these resourceful jungles. What followed was massive deforestation and re-plantation of teak. Definitely, the discovery of cure for malaria helped their cause.

The proliferation of fire arms, the abundance of wildlife and lack of policing gave a free run to poachers in these jungle, almost wiping out the wildlife completely in majority of cases. Dudhwa is a miracle that somehow survived this onslaught of deforestation and poaching, but it just about managed to do so and that was majorly thanks to a gentlemen named ''Billy'' Arjan Singh (click for wiki).

But, these land still did not find much favour with the plainsmen of India. Though, those desperate made these their home. Tharu (click for more) are one such people. Other such example are the now affluent, Sikhs found all along the borders of these forest in the Palia and adjoining area.

At a demonstrative set up of Tharu residence

Tharu Household items

- The grassland called as 'Phanta' in these regions are generally in or around old river beds which are now dried up on surface or have formed Ox-Bow lakes. These lakes are called as 'Taals'. 'Phanta'(s) are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants. However, its ecosystem are under transformation through invasion by tree species. They remain maintained as grasslands only because of intrusion by frost and fire, which exterminate the seedlings of trees. 22% of area of Dudhwa is covered by 'Phanta'(s). Grasslands offer the best habitat conditions for all animals. A vast number of insect and grass species found here are the food for birds, frogs, snakes and other wildlife. Grasslands extend from the shores of lakes and wetlands thereby offering easy access to water and also cover to deer and predators, all of whom congregate in the grasslands. The 'Phanta'(s) are the abode of many endangered wildlife such as the Swamp Deer, Tiger, Hispid Hare, Swamp Partridge and Bengal Floricans etc.

Dudhwa's main grasslands have assorted species of grass like 'Munj', 'Kans', 'Rutwa', 'Meyari' along with 'Sandaur', 'Sarkhera', 'Narenga' and 'Khas'.

Grasslands or Phantas

- Wetlands or 'Taal'(s)

The most prominent wetlands in Dudhwa are Bankey Taal, Bhadraula Taal, Kakraha Taal, Kaimaya, Mutna, Nagra Taal, Amha Taal and Bhadi Taal. Beside lakes or 'Taal'(s), Dudhwa has rivers, streams and marshes. Apart from Mohana and Suheli rivers, Nakaua, Newra, Joraha and Nagrol are the major streams of the Park.

Taals

Deers of Dudhwa

Dudhwa Tiger Reserve has a sizeable population of the Swamp Deer (Barasingha), which is one of the most important species of Dudhwa NP and is Vulnerable (Threatened). Of the seven species of true deer found in India, five occur in the reserve. Apart from the Swamp Deer, Sambhar, Cheetal, Hog Deer and Barking Deer are found in Dudhwa.

Tigers of Dudhwa

Campfire legend has it that many Tigers of Dudhwa are larger, with significantly larger heads and paler skins than a nominate Royal Bengal Tiger. This is claimed to be because they are supposedly containing a mutant gene of Siberian Tigers, introduced into the population by Tara (click for more), the hand reared tigress of 'Billy' Arjan Singh successfully, though controversially, returned to the wild.

Tigers of Dudhwa

Varied species of Dudhwa

In addition to the Tiger, Dudhwa is also home to the successfully reintroduced one horned Rhinoceros, the only ones outside Duars and Assam in India. Some of the endangered species like Bengal Florican and the Hispid Hare are also found here. It also has Elephants, Wild pigs, Rhesus monkeys, Langurs, Sloth bears, Blue bulls, Porcupines, Otters, Turtles, Pythons, Monitor lizards, the Mugger and Gharial etc.

Of the nearly 1300 birds found in the Indian subcontinent, over 450 species can be seen in Dudhwa Reserve. These include Hornbill, Red Jungle Fowl, Pea fowl, Bengal Florican, Fishing eagle, Serpent eagle, Osprey, Paradise flycatcher, Woodpeckers, Shama, Indian Pitta, Orioles, Emerald dove etc. During winter the vast and varied water bodies attract a large variety and number of migratory birds making the reserve a favourite haunt of bird watchers.

In all it is said that Dudhwa is home for over 38 species of mammals, 16 species of reptiles and numerous species of birds.

But the best part about Dudhwa remains its non-commercial ambience and good old world kind of feel...

Coming up are our further posts on this trip, the links will come live as and the posts go live, posing a collage of teasers for each of the upcoming posts.

index

1. Dudhwa : Some Basic Info

2. Day 1 Part I - Reaching Dudhwa

3. Day 1 Part II - The Evening Safari

4. Day 2 Part I - The Morning Safari

5. Day 2 Part II - The Machan

6. Day 2 Part III - The Drive to Kishanpur

7. Day 2 Part IV - Machaan at Jhadi Taal, Kishanpur

8. Day 2 Part V - TIGER Kishanpur

9. Day 3 Part I - Misty morning in Machaan

10. Day 3 Part II - Museum and Miscellaneous

11. Day 3 Part III - Drive Back

Hope you enjoyed going though this post. Request continue following and sharing our pics, posts and logs to motivate us keep posting...Love and regards

#dudhwa #dudhwanationalpark #dudhwatigerreserve #kishanpurwildlifesanctuary #katarniaghatwildlifesanctuary #terai #Sal #woodlands #grasslands #phanta #taal #tharu #tara #billyarjansingh #rangoi #forest

PS: Please contact us in case want a higher resolution of any of the pics posted.

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