Protected Area Information
Name: Shukla Phanta National Park (IUCN Category: II)
Established.: 1976
Area (km2): 305.00
Buffer Zone (km2): 243.50 (IUCN Category: VI)
Description:
Shukla Phanta National Park was managed as a hunting reserve at the beginning in1969. It has been gazetted as a Wildlife Reserve in 1976 and as National Park currently (2017), covering an area of 305 sq. km. It lies in the extreme south-western section of Nepal's Terai in Kanchanpur District. The National Park shares a common boundary with the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh in the south and west which is formed by the Mahakali (Sarda)river, a major tributary of the Ganges. It is bordered on the eastern side by the Chaudhar River and to the north by a forest belt and cultivations. A total of 24 mammal species are recorded by Schaff (1978b), a total of 350 species of birds of which 180 are breeding species (Inskipp, 1989), Bhatt and Shrestha (1977) provide an annotated list of 14 species of fish, Schaaf (1978b) recorded 10 species of ectoparasites and biting flies. Although, the area of the National Park is small, it supports a wide range of biodiversity which is nationally and globally important. The vegetation types primarily include sal forest, sal savanna, which is part of continuum between climax forest and grassland that is maintained by fire and floods. The National Park supports the largest population of Bengal florican Houbaropsis bengalensis.
Read More:http://shuklaphantanationalpark.gov.np/
