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Encyclopedia of Tours and Travel to Himachal Pradesh, featuring information on Fairs & Festivals, Wildlife, Excursion, Adventure & Weather of Himachal Pradesh. |
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Wild Life
Himachal Pradesh has a varied topography, climate and forest cover and is endowed with a vast variety of flora and fauna. From times immemorial, this tract is known for its wilderness, landscapes, beautiful forests and wildlife. In Himachal Pradesh, out of the total geographical area of 55,670 sqkm, the forest area as per legal classification is 37,691 sqkm. At present there are 32 Sanctuaries, 2 National Parks and 3 Games Reserves. The 63.9 % of the total area is under the thick forest cover. The vegetation is a blend of the Ban Oak Forest, Moist Deodar Forest, Western Mixed Coniferous Forest, Moist Temperate Deciduous Forest, Himalayan Alpine Pastures, and Rhododendron Scrub Forest. The lower ranges have the growth of blue pine while the higher altitudes have firs. The flora includes pine, cedar, deodar, bamboo, spur, oak etc. There are around 1200 species of bird and 359 species of animals in Himachal Pradesh. The major species of wildlife in the state are Snow Leopard, musk Deer, Blue Sheep, Ibex, Wolf, Leopard, Rhesus macaque, Common Langur, Himalayan Black Bear, Goral, Muntjac and Serow. Two National Parks and a few Wildlife Sanctuaries have been established in Himachal Pradesh to protect the unique fauna of the state. The park has the largest remaining population of Himalayan Tahr in the Himachal Pradesh. The State of Himachal Pradesh has declared two areas of very high ecological, geo-morphological and biodiversity significance as National Parks with the objective to accord its wildlife resources the highest legal protection status available to wildlife in the country. A National Park is an area established under section 35 (4) of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and no right is allowed within the National Park. Once constituted, boundaries of the National Park can be altered only on a resolution of the State Legislature. Grazing is prohibited in these areas and the general public is legally restrained from destroying, exploiting, or removing any wildlife from the National Park, or destroying or damaging the habitat of any wild animal, or depriving any wild animal of its habitat in the Park. National Parks have a clearly defined core and buffer zones. Whereas, the core zone is free from any local rights and acts as sanctum sanctorum to allow wildlife to enjoy protected natural habitat, the buffer zone absorbs most of the impact of human activities. Process to settle rights in the two National Parks in the State is in progress. The National Parks in the State beckon the visitors to enjoy the serene natural surroundings, experience the wilderness and understand the dire necessity of joining hands to conserve Nature in its pristine state.
With a view to conserve the total range of wildlife available in the state, the Government of Himachal Pradesh has declared 32 areas, covering all the agro-climatic zones in the state and having significant ecological, geomorphological and biodiversity value, as Wildlife Sanctuaries. A Wildlife Sanctuary is established under sections 18-26 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and admits rights to the extent as allowed by the Collector at the time of settlement in concurrence with Chief Wildlife Warden of the State. Finally notified boundaries of the Wildlife Sanctuaries, like National Parks, can not be altered without resolution of the State Legislature. General public is legally restrained from destroying, exploiting, or removing any wildlife from the sanctuary, or destroying or damaging the habitat of any wild animal, or depriving any wild animal of its habitat in the sanctuary.
These Wildlife Sanctuaries provide a very good opportunity to the visitor to enjoy and experience the wilderness of the state.
Wild Plants
Zoos and Aviaries form an integral part of the programme to conserve wildlife ex situ and also fulfil the objective to showcase the animals for entertainment and education of the general public, for carrying out scientific studies on Red Listed species and for breeding of such species so as to maintain their gene pool. In Himachal Pradesh, the varied agro-climatic zones necessitate the setting up of these ex situ conservation centres across different zones to keep the captive animals in as natural a habitat as possible. As on now, there are three recognized zoological parks at Kufri, Renuka and Gopalpur and three aviaries (pheasantries) at Shimla, Sarahan and Chail. The zoos and aviaries in the state are located at vantage points and have over the years contributed a lot in creating awareness about the very beautiful but less known Himalayan animals.
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