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Site description (2004 baseline):

Rajaji National Park is situated in the Shiwalik hills and outer Himalayas of Uttaranchal state in India. Its 82,000 ha are spread over the districts of Dehra Dun, Haridwar and Pauri Garhwal. The tract is mainly hilly, traversed by a number of alternating steep ridges and valleys. The River Ganga bisects the Park. Rajaji NP was set up to protect the habitat of the Asian elephant Elephas maximus and Tiger Panthera tigris. Three wildlife sanctuaries - Rajaji, Chilla and Motichur, and the surrounding reserve forests, were merged to create this Park. The Park area to the west of the River Ganga belongs to the Shiwalik range and has a prominent northwest to southeast ridge running through it (Pandey et al. 1995). The area north of this ridge slopes gently into the Dehra Dun Valley and is covered with dense Sal Shorea robusta forests. Champion and Seth (1968) classified it as Moist Shiwalik Sal Forest. The area south of the ridge has a jagged topography with a number of steep ridges which emerge from the main Shiwalik ridge and have narrow valleys between them, which in monsoon turn into swift rivers. The dry river beds are locally called Rau. The ridges are grassy, with occasional trees. On the south of the main ridge there is Dry Shiwalik Sal Forest, with Anogeissus latifolia on the slopes, associated with Sal in some places. Some areas of the Park are under plantations of Tectona grandis, Ailanthus excelsa, and Haplophragma adenophyllum. The Park has one of the finest examples of the bhabar forest zone in India i.e. the belt between the Himalaya and the terai.

AVIFAUNA: A total of 312 bird species has been recorded. Of these, 151 are residents, 87 migrants, and 49 are altitudinal migrants, 7 are local migrants, while the status of the remaining 18 is unknown. For some species, Rajaji forms the western edge of their range, e.g. Great Pied Hornbill Buceros bicornis and Golden-fronted Leafbird Chloropsis aurifrons (Pandey et al. 1995). The Common Green Magpie Cissa chinensis, a denizen of Broadleaf Evergreen and Moist Deciduous forest, has been reported from the forest adjoining Rajaji NP, which links it with Corbett NP. Rajaji NP is extremely rich in forest birds. For example, it has 11 species of woodpeckers, 5 species of barbets and 3 species of hornbills, including the Near Threatened Great Pied Hornbill. Under the Western Himalayas Endemic Bird Area, Stattersfield et al. (1998) have listed Brooks’s Leaf-warbler Phylloscopus subviridis and Tytler’s Leaf-warbler P. tytleri as restricted range species. Both species are winter migrants to the Park (Pandey et al. 1995). According to BirdLife Internationals (undated) classification of biomes, Rajaji NP occurs in Sino-Himalayan Subtropical Forest (Biome-8). However, it has more species of Biome-7 (Sino- Himalayan Temperate Forest) than Biome-8, especially in winter when the birds move down into these forests. A total of 112 species has been identified in Biome-7, and Rajaji NP has 12 of them, all recorded in winter. There is a barrage on the River Ganga near Haridwar city. The backwaters of the reservoir, as well as a small stretch of the River Ganga, lie in the Rajaji NP. These water bodies attract a lot of resident and migratory waterbirds in winter. Thirteen species of birds have been identified at the reservoir, including Darter Anhinga melanogaster, Painted Stork Mycteria leucocephala, Black-necked Stork Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus, Ferruginous Pochard Aythya nyroca and Black-bellied Tern Sterna acuticauda, birds considered as Near Threatened by BirdLife International (2001).

OTHER KEY FAUNA: The area is highly important as the western limit of the Asian Elephant Elephas maximus and the Tiger Panthera tigris. Some other large mammals in Rajaji NP include Leopard Panthera pardus, Spotted deer Axis axis, Sambar Cervus unicolor, Nilgai Boselaphus tragocamelus and Goral Nemorhaedus goral. This Park is a good place to see Goral (Johnsingh 2001). The forests east of River Ganga are occasionally visited by Sloth Bear Melursus ursinus and Asiatic Black Bear Ursus thibetanus in winter.

MAIN THREATS: Fragmentation due to roads and canals; Poaching, particularly along its southern boundary; Illicit felling on the periphery; Invasive species such as Lantana.

A major community, the Gujjar, lives inside the Park in scattered deras (settlements). The resettlement of Gujjars has been a major issue related to Rajaji NP for nearly two decades, with the matter being taken to the Supreme Court. Despite clear directives from the Court, their resettlement has not been completed. Rajaji does not have a natural buffer around much of its boundary. The areas adjoining the Park have high densities of human settlements that depend on the forest resources of the Park. There are also human-animal conflicts. The villages surrounding the Park require large-scale eco-development programmes. For Rajaji NP buffer zone, the creation of areas that are free from human habitation and constitute ideal habitat for Asian Elephant and Tiger, has been suggested (Johnsingh pers. comm. 2003, A. S. Negi pers. comm. 2003). Another major issue is the fragmentation of the Park by canals, roads, railway lines, army ammunition dump and three settlements of people displaced by the Tehri Dam. Fortunately the people of Khand Gaon III, which is in the Chilla-Motichur corridor, have agreed to move and the army has agreed to shift the ammunition dump which is also in the corridor area. The Forest Department has identified land for them. But the decisions are far from being implemented in the field. These are sensitive socio-political issues, which need careful and timely attention. Rajaji NP has serious problems pertaining to weed infestation and introduction of exotics. Vast areas in the southern flat terrain as well as riverine areas of Motichur are infested with Lantana. Decline in habitat quality increases the problem of crop raiding by elephants (Williams et al. 2001). Weed problem needs urgent attention.

Key contributors: A. J. T. Johnsingh and S. P. Goyal.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Rajaji National Park (India). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/rajaji-national-park-iba-india on 22/11/2024.