Journeys in India: Kaziranga

India can parallel Africa’s Big Five animal for animal. Africa has its Big Cats-Lion and Leopard and so does India, though India’s lions are confined to just one park. Actually, when it comes to Big Cats, India has the biggest in the tiger. Point India. The megaherbivores also match African elephant to Asian, Cape and Asiatic Buffalo and Africa’s rhinos mirrored to the Indian Rhino. The big difference is the Big Five can be found in many African parks while no Indian park has more than two except in one small state at the extremes edge of India. And in that state of Assam there is one great park where all 3 of the giants can be found as well as the leopard and tiger. Join us today as we explore Kazaringa National Park-Land of the Giants.
Kazaringa National Park was established in 1968 though the area has been protected since the early 1900’s. Today it is home to one of the last populations of the Indian or one horned rhino, wild water buffalo and Asiatic Elephant. These are big animals that need large territories and huge areas for grazing to survive. That is available here in the state of Assam. Assam is located in far and I do mean far eastern India in that split of land that extends out of peninsula like a finger. It is a culturally, ethnically and linguistically distinct area. To reach Kazaringa National Park you have to fly into the nearest major airport in the city of Guwati. Then hop aboard a van or car and drive between 4 and 6 hours, depending on the park gate you staying near. It isn’t easy to get to Kazaringa, but that’s why it is as wild as it is.
Kazaringa gets its name from a couple of potential sources. Legendarily it comes from two young lovers from opposing local tribes-a boy named Kazi and a girl called Ranga who fell in love but their romance was forbidden by their families so they feld into the forest together, never to return. On the other hand, historians believe it comes from the Karbi word Kajir-a-rang which means the village of Kajir a common feminine name from a time when a female may have ruled the area. I like to believe the romantic story, but you can pick for yourself.
The park is a moist, almost swampy mix of savannah and forest. The abundance of rivers and marshlands makes it a prefect habitat for our big three-the rhino, water buffalo and elephant. Along with those megafauna, the park supports 35 species of mammals and over 500 species of birds. In fact, the area surrounding Kazaringa has become a magnet for birders seeking out rare Asian birds.
The park has four gates. Each is between a half an hour to a hour apart. This is a huge park measuring some 166 square miles or about the size of a large city. Within each gate there are miles of dirt roads ideally laid out for jeeps to get close to areas where wildlife congregate.
And this park keeps track of their megafauna doing census work on a yearly basis. These are animals that poachers literally aim for and protection is job one. The numbers for the park are impressive with over 1800 rhinos, 1400 water buffalo and 1250 elephants. That translates into 12,000 tons of wildlife in just those three species. That is a lot of weight for a park to support, even a park as large as Kazaringa.
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