The Sunderbans National Park

Location: Paraganas district, West Bengal.

The Sunderbans National Park, spread over an area of 1330 sq kms, gets its name from the abundance of Sundari trees in its premises. The Sunderbans National Park is located in the delta of the Brahmaputra River and the Ganges River. It comprises of three wild life sanctuaries at - Sajnekhali, Lothian Island and Haliday Island.

Welcome to the National Park with the largest mangrove swamps in the world and a network of small rivers and streams, and a varied range of both animal and vegetation species. The National Park extends into Bangladesh and is the only Mangrove Tiger land. A Crocodile breeding farm nearby, finds the ideal home for its offspring (baby Crocodiles) in the swamps of the Sunderbans National Park

Sunderbans with its varied vegetation is habitat to various animals including rare and endangered animals. The Sunderbans National Park is famous for its splendid Royal Bengal Tiger, and hosts about 200 of them in the land in India and around 200 tigers in the land extending into Bangladesh. The tigers here have along with their usual diet, fish and crab, which they are able to prey on due to them being good swimmers.

The park is also home to aquatic animals, birds and reptiles. Other than the tiger, the animals found here are the fishing cat, wild boar, different deer species, rhesus monkeys. As you tour along the mangroves you can see crocodiles and the water monitor on the banks of the swamps lazing around in the sun. The other reptiles that can be seen are the Monitor Lizard and the Indian Python.

The aquatic animals that have found a home in the rivers in the Sunderban National Park are the Gangetic Dolphin in the Raimgangal River, various types of fish and two species of Turtles - the Olive Ridley and the Hawksbill. The Olive Ridley turtle is being protected by a programme launched by the Project Tiger. The National Park provides habitat for around 80 - 90 species of fishes and 48 species of crabs.

The Sajnekhali Bird Sanctuary, a part of the Sunderbans National Park, makes for an interesting trip. It’s a visit not to be missed especially by bird lovers. The National Park is an ideal place for water birds like the different species of Storks – Black necked Stork, Asian Open billed stork, greater adjutant stork, the swamp francolin, white collared, black collared and brown collared Kingfishers. Rare migrants like the Asian Dowitcher, purple heron, green heron and egrets also, make this park their home seasonally. The Oriental Hobby, White- Bellied sea eagle, and the peregrine falcon are some of the birds of prey found here.

The Sunderbans forest supports a wide range of trees and shrubs. The forested islands, created by the many rivulets of the Hoogly River in the west and the Teulia River in the east stretch besides the vast stretch of mangrove swamps.

The Sundarbans National Park derives its name from the Sundari trees which cover the major area of the park. Towards the west side of the park, the Goran and Baen which grow only up to 2 m, are the most commonly found trees. The other flora that provides a home to the animals and birds here are the Dhundal, Passur and the Garjan trees. In April and May, the forest seems to be on fire as the Genwa trees with their red leaves take dominance. The khankara trees with their red leaves and the Khalsi tree with its yellow blooms adorn the forest. Clusters of Hental can also be found.