Data Zone
Country/territory: Nepal
IBA criteria met: A1, A3, A4i (2005)
For more information about IBA criteria, please click here
Area: 96,800 hectares (968.00 km2)
| IBA conservation status | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year of assessment (most recent) | State (condition) | Pressure (threat) | Response (action) |
| 2011 | very poor | medium | medium |
| For more information about IBA monitoring, please click here | |||
Site description (2005 baseline)
Royal Bardia National Park is situated in southwest Nepal, 396 km west of Kathmandu in the Bardia district of Bheri Zone. Much of the park is in the bhabar zone and consists of a broad alluvial plain that slopes gently away from the foothills of the Himalayan Churia Range in the northeast to India in the southwest. The Babai and Geruwa are two large rivers that flow into the park, the latter being a branch of the Karnali River. About 70% of the park is covered by sal Shorea robusta forest; there are also riverine forests of Khair Acacia catechu and Sissoo Dalbergia sissoo in the lowlands and Terminalia-Anogeissus deciduous forest and Chir Pine Pinus roxburghii forest in the hills. The other main habitats of the park are grassland and savannah.
Key biodiversity
A total of 426 species of birds has been recorded in the national park including 11 globally threatened species (Tiger Tops in prep.). The park is particularly important for Bengal Florican. Over half of Nepal's near-threatened birds have also been found, including eight wetland species. Bardia has large areas of dry tropical forests and is known to support significant populations of species characteristic of the Indo-Malayan Tropical Dry Zone biome. There are also extensive dry subtropical forests that support significant populations of species characteristic of the dry Sino-Himalayan Subtropical Forest biome.
Non-bird biodiversity: A total of 37 species of mammals has been recorded in the national park (Upreti 1994). Globally threatened species of wildlife include the Ganges River Dolphin Platanista gangetica, Asiatic Wild Dog Cuon alpinus, Smooth-coated Otter Lutrogale perspicillata, Tiger Panthera tigris, Asian Elephant Elephas maximus, Barasingha Cervus duvauceli, Nilgai Boselaphus tragocamelus, Gharial Gavialis gangeticus and Mugger Crocodile Crocodylus palustris (Upreti 1994, Hilton-Taylor 2000). The Indian Rhinoceros Rhinoceros unicornis has been re-introduced from Chitwan and 50 individuals survive here (Shiva Raj Bhatta verbally 2000).
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Bardia National Park (Nepal). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/bardia-national-park-iba-nepal on 22/12/2024.