History of Corbett Tiger Reserve: India's First National Park
Few areas of Corbett National Park earlier counted in the princely state of Tehri Garhwal. Some home of Raja Tehri was given to the British company in exchange of help from the East India Company to remove Gurkhas from his state. also, the Boksas, a lineage that lived in the Terai region, settled then and started tilling. But they ordered to leave the land because of the British rule came around in the 1860s.
Major Ramsay gave more power to save this forest in 19th century. In 1868, the British timber department took control of the area and banned farming and construction of cattle stations here. It was declared reserve forest in 1879; Limited activities can be done like felling.
In the early 1900s, British officials like E. R. Stevens and E. A. Smythies advised to make this area a national park. In 1907, the idea of making a game reserve was considered. The work of establishment was started in the 1930s in which Jim Corbett also helped. Hailey National Park was the first Asia's park established in 1963 with the area of 323 square kilometer. At this park, hunting was not allowed, only domestic timber use was permitted. Later, killing or capturing all animals and birds was prohibited.
Between 1954 to 55 demesne name was Ramganga National Park. It was renamed Corbett National Park in honor of Jim Corbett in 1955 to 56. During World War- 2 inordinate coddling and timber slice damaged the park. But latterly in 1991, another 797.72 sq km buffer zone was added which includes Kalagarh timber division and Sonanadi Wildlife Sanctuary. In 1974, this park came the first point for launching Project Tiger. The headquarter of the park is in Nainital district.
Corbett is included in WWF's Terai Arc Landscape Program which aims to protect species such as tigers, Asian elephants, and one-horned rhinoceros by linking protected areas of Nepal and India.
Bio-Diversity Area
There total area is 1,318.54 sq. km – of which 520 square kilometer is the core area and 797.72 sq. km is buffer zone. The core includes Park and buffer includes 496.54 sq. km of reserve forest and 301.18 sq. km Sonanadi Wildlife Sanctuary.
This sanctuary lies within an elongated valley positioned between the Lesser Himalayas and the Shivalik ranges. Its geology includes upper tertiary rocks and sandstone ridges. Valleys like Doons or Duns are typical features here.
Flora in Corbett
Spreading the area more than 520 square kilometres park has the diverse floral. Flora like Sal, Khair, Sisso, Bamboo, Ber, Kachnar, Amaltas make the forest dense and enhance the beauty of the park. More than 75% of the total area is covered by sal timber. Botanical check confirms that park has around 600 species of herbs and trees, bamboo, lawn, climbers, herbs and ferns. Sal and khair are mostly visible in the park while doing safari. Flowers in the park also enhance the beauty of the park flowers found like Amaltas (Yellow flowers), Kachnar (Pink flowers), Dhak (Ornage flowers) and Semal (Red Flowers).
Some artificial herb also planted, this artificial herb can be found around the forest and more plants like Bottlebrush (Callistemon viminalis), Silver Oak (Gravillea robusta), Eucalyptus, Jacaranda (Jacaranda mimosaefolia), Teak (Tectona grandis),
Fauna in Corbett
Corbett Park is not only home for Bengal tigers it is also a home for endangered elephant, Black bear, Sloth Beer, Walking Deer, Hog Deer etc. There are 600 species of aqua fauna and bird like White-Backed Vulture, orange-breasted green pigeon, Hodgson's bushchat, Pallas fish eagle, golden oriole, tawny fish owl, Pitta, Scarlet Minivet and reptile like endangered Ghariyal, mugger Crocodiles etc.
Bengal Tigers are plentiful but not easily visible due to the dense jungle and foliage. Tigers are opportunistic nimrods and take larger creatures like buffaloes and occasionally indeed elephants.
Leopards are mostly found in hilly regions. Small cats like jungle cat, fishing cat, leopard cat are also found. Other mammals include barking deer, sambar, hog deer, sloth bears, Himalayan black bears, mongoose, otters, martens, pangolins and monkeys like langurs and macaques. At night, the sound of owls and nightjars can be heard.
Large herds of Indian elephants are found in summer. Indian python is a dangerous predator here. Crocodiles and gharials were rescued from captive breeding and released in the Ramganga River.
Ecotourism in Corbett
Reserve together promoted wildlife protection and ecotourism. Training program for nature guides was started in 1993, and the topics of natural history, visitor management, and park interpretation were taught. In 1995, another course was started and new guides were recruited. This helps the park staff from guiding and executing management activities.
The government has also organized workshops on ecotourism in Corbett and Garhwal so that localities can benefit from tourism and the park is protected.
Patil & Joshi (1997) suggest that April–June is the best time for Indian tourists, while November–January is best for foreign tourists. Riley & Riley (2005) say that the best chance of seeing tigers is from April to mid-June when you go on a safari with elephants and mahouts.
In 1991, around 3,250 vehicles visit 42,215 visitors in the park. This caused high impact in the park’s ecosystem like soil tampering destroyed many small plants and soil moisture. Noise pollution, littering, general disturbance & use of fuelwood collected from forest this was the major concern.
In 2007, naturalist and photographer Kahini Ghosh Mehta made the first travel guide film on Corbett, "Wild Saga of Corbett", which showed how tourists can also contribute to conservation.
We hope that the history of Corbett National Park has been beautifully explained covering all the historic moments.