Tour Sansar: Bardia Jungle Safari

Bardia National Park is the largest park in the lowland Terai of Nepal covering an area of 968 sq. km. The park situated in the mid far western Terai, east of the Karnali river was established to protect representative ecosystems and conserve tiger and its prey species. The park offers a variety of experiences in its vast undisturbed wilderness. About 70 % of the forest consists of Sal trees with a mixture of grassland and reverine forests. The park is home to endangered animals such as the Royal Bengal tiger, wild elephant, Greater one-horned rhinoceros, swamp deer, and black duck. The other endangered species include gharial crocodile, marsh mugger and Genetic dolphin. Endangered birds found in the park are Bengal florican, lesser florican and sarus crane. More than 30 different mammals, over 400 species of birds and several species of snakes, lizard and fish have been recorded in the park. In addition to the resident species, several migratory birds visit the park. An elephant ride provides a different view of the park as one can go off the main trail.
What makes a visit to Nepal's Royal Bardia National Park particularly special is not just its large and intact habitat area and its isolated location, but also the presence here of one of the last known herds of wild Elephants in South Asia. The herd, numbering less than two dozen, roams these remote jungles in western Nepal.

Bardia also boasts the greatest number of deer species in Nepal. The six deer species found in the park are: Chital or spotted Deer with its ubiquitous white spots on a brown coat; Hog Deer; similar to but smaller than Chital; Sambhar, the largest Deer on Indian subcontinent with a shaggy coat and thick antlers; Swamp Deer; Barasingha; and reddish-colored Barking Deer, the park's smallest Deer.

Other large mammals are: Gaur, the largest wild oxen in world; wild Boar, an omnivorous black-coated creature with large tusks; the agile sloth Bear, a shaggy black bear with a distinctive white "V" on its chest; Blue Bull or Nilgai, the largest Antelope on the Indian subcontinent; and Himalayan Tahr. Serow and Goral, two goat-Antelope members, are also found. Small mammals include: Langur Monkey, Rhesus Macaque, Jackal, three species of cats (jungle, leopard, and fishing); yellow-throated Marten; Mongoose; and Indian Otter.

Two species of crocodiles swim in the Karnali, Girwa, and Babai Rivers - the blunt-snouted Marsh Mugger and the fish-eating gharial with its long thin snout. These creatures share the water with the fresh-water Gangetic Dolphin. The Karnali also supports the great mahseer, which weigh up to 90 lbs, an angler's prize catch. Birds are the park's most conspicuous fauna with over 300 resident and migratory species. Avid bird-watchers will want to visit the park in November or from February to April when migrants arrive, depart or pass through.

History- Bardia was a royal hunting reserve of Nepal's Rana rulers from 1846 to 1950. In Nepal, wildlife lost whatever protection the royal hunting reserve conveyed when the Rana rule ended in the 1950s. A well-meaning malaria eradication program in the 1950s and 1960s opened the Terai for settlement, and transformed about 75% of the native Terai to agricultural land. Wildlife populations declined with the combination of increased settlement and widespread poaching. Bardia was declared a wildlife reserve in 1976, first measuring 134 square miles (347 km²) and expanded in 1985 to 374 square miles (968 km²), it became a National Park in 1988. The approximately 1500 people who used to live in this valley have been resettled elsewhere. Since farming has ceased in the Babai Valley, natural vegetation is regenerating, making it an area of prime habitat for wildlife.