Bhutan - Lindsay Brown [70]
Royal Manas National Park
The 1023-sq-km Royal Manas National Park in south-central Bhutan adjoins the Jigme Singye Wangchuck National Park to the north and India’s Manas National Park and Manas Tiger Reserve to the south. Together they form a 5000-sq-km protected area that runs from the plains to the Himalayan peaks.
The area has been protected as a wildlife sanctuary since 1966 and was upgraded to a national park in 1988. It is the home of rhinos, buffalos, tigers, leopards, gaurs, bears, elephants and several species of deer. It is also home to several rare species, including the golden langur, the capped langur and the hispid hare. The 362 species of birds in the park include four varieties of hornbills. Unfortunately, because of security concerns related to separatist groups in India, at the time of research it was not possible to visit Manas.
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The Bhutan Trust Fund for Environmental Conservation (www.bhutantrustfund.org) was established with an endowment from conservation organisations and various government aid agencies of more than US$30 million. The fund uses its investment revenue to supplement (and eventually to replace) external donor financing for Bhutan’s environmental management.
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Jigme Singye Wangchuck National Park
The 1400-sq-km Jigme Singye Wangchuck National Park protects the range of hills that separates eastern and western Bhutan – the Black Mountains. It is important because it protects virgin forests of the Himalayan foothills, which have been largely cleared in neighbouring Nepal and India.
Plant life in the park includes a wide range of broadleaf species, conifers and alpine pastures. Animals include tigers, Himalayan black bears, leopards, red pandas and golden langurs, and an amazing 449 species of birds have been catalogued. The Phobjikha valley, wintering place of black-necked cranes, is included in the park.
Phibsoo Wildlife Sanctuary
A 278-sq-km area was set aside in 1974 as a wildlife reserve and upgraded to the Phibsoo Wildlife Sanctuary in 1993. On the southern border of Bhutan, about 50km east of Phuentsholing, it was established to protect the only remaining natural sal forest in Bhutan. Several protected species thrive in the sanctuary, including chital deer, elephants, gaurs, tigers, golden langurs and hornbills.
Thrumshing La National Park
The 768-sq-km Thrumshing La National Park lies between Bumthang and Mongar. It was set aside to protect old-growth temperate forests of fir and chir pine. It is also home to red pandas and several endangered bird species including the Rufous-necked hornbill, the Satyr tragopan and the chestnut-breasted partridge.
Bomdeling Wildlife Sanctuary
The 1545-sq-km Bomdeling Wildlife Sanctuary protects most of the area of Trashi Yangtse Dzongkhag. Within the reserve is a large area of alpine tundra. The sanctuary protects the habitat of blue sheep, snow leopards, red pandas, tigers, leopards, Himalayan black bears and musk deer. It also protects the Bomdeling area, which is an important wintering ground of the black-necked crane.
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Between March and May the hillsides are ablaze with the deep red flowers of the etho metho, the country’s most famous rhododendron. There are 46 species of rhododendron that occur throughout the country at altitudes between 1200m and 4800m, ranging from small shrubs to 20m trees.
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Sakten Wildlife Sanctuary
The Sakten Wildlife Sanctuary protects several species endemic to the east; it is also renowned as the only reserve in the world created to protect the habitat of the yeti. It’s in the easternmost part of the country, where 650 sq km of temperate forests of blue pine and rhododendron are protected.
Khaling Wildlife Sanctuary
In far southeastern Bhutan, 273 sq km have been set aside as the Khaling Wildlife Sanctuary. Wild elephants, gaurs, pygmy hogs, hispid hares and other tropical wildlife are protected here. This sanctuary adjoins a comparable reserve in India.
Torsa Strict Nature