Jim Corbett National Park is nothing less than heaven for those passionate about wildlife. The park attracts wildlife enthusiasts worldwide since it contains unique plants and animals. Numerous unique varieties of flora and fauna can be found in Corbett National Park. Every animal in the park can be seen roaming freely in the Corbett, whether a tiger stalks the jungle or an elephant strolling by the bushes. This national park has diverse plants, including freshwater and mountain flora. The Corbett boasts an astounding variety of flowers covering an area of more than 521 square kilometers. Sal woods, Khair-Sisso forests, mountains, Chaur, rivers, and streams make up Corbett’s different habitat types responsible for the region’s distinctive plant communities.
In addition, Corbett is home to 600 other species of plants, including trees, shrubs, ferns, grass, climbers, herbs, and bamboo, according to an Indian botanical survey. The national park is a popular wildlife destination for visitors looking to unwind from their busy schedules.
The list is astounding and limitless when it comes to flora. A fascinating sight to remember forever is observing long-tailed langurs climbing on Chir pine (Pinus Roxburgh) trees or strolling through the Sal forests. In the Corbett National Park, there are many incredible and imperiled animal species. Here, the abundant natural resources and huge landscapes make for the ideal habitat for wildlife. The park provides the perfect habitat for many magnificent species, including the Asiatic elephant and the Royal Bengal tiger. Corbett is home to a sizable population of the endangered Asiatic elephant and the Royal Bengal Tiger.
Fauna of Jim Corbett National Park
The project’s first tiger reserve in India was Corbett National Park. Due to the healthy population of the wild today, Corbett is one of the best-preserved parks, with 164 tigers and over 600 elephants. As per the recent survey, Corbett reveals the country’s highest population density of tigers at 20 per 100 square kilometers. Below is the list of other famous Fauna found in Jim Corbett.
Mammals
Yellow Throated marten
Asia is the home of the yellow-throated marten (Martes clavicula), a type of marten. Due to its widespread distribution, seemingly steady population, occurrence in various protected areas, and lack of significant threats, it is categorized as a minor concern on the IUCN Red List.
The oldest world’s largest marten, the yellow-throated marten—also known as the kharza and Chuthraul—has a tail more than half its length. Its fur is vividly hued, uniquely combining black, white, golden-yellow, and brown. It is omnivorous, eating everything from fruit and nectar to small deer. Due to its strong body and vivid coloring, the yellow-throated marten is a bold animal with few natural predators.
Indian Pangolin
The Indian pangolin (Manis Crassicaudata) is indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. It is also known as the thick-tailed pangolin and the scaly anteater. Scale color fluctuates according to the hue of the earth in its immediate surroundings. It can also curl into a ball to defend itself from predators like the tiger.
The Indian pangolin consumes ants and termites as an insectivore by using its long claws, which are as long as its forelimbs, to dig them out of logs and mounds. It is nocturnal and spends the day sleeping in underground burrows. They are uncommon across its area, and hunting for its meat and other body parts used in traditional medicine puts it in danger.
Reptiles
Gharial
The gharial (Gavialis gangeticus), commonly known as the gavial or fish-eating crocodile, is one of the longest-living crocodilians and a member of the Gavialidae family. Males reach mature lengths of 3-6 m (9 ft 10 in.–19 ft 8 in.) and females of 2.6–4.5 m (8 ft 6 in.–14 ft 9 in.). The term “gharial” comes from the conspicuous boss adult males have at the tip of their snout, which resembles an earthenware pot called a ghara. The gharial’s long, thin snout and 110 sharp, interlocking teeth make it well-suited to catching fish.
The northern Indian subcontinent is where the gharial most likely evolved. Pliocene strata have yielded fossilized gharial bones in the Shivalik Hills and the Narmada River valley. Currently, it can be seen living in rivers on the plains of the northern Indian subcontinent. The most entirely aquatic crocodilian only emerges from the water to bask and construct eggs on wet sandbanks. Then, at the end of the cold season, adults mate.
Indian Python
The Indian python (Python molurus) is a sizable snake species indigenous to Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent’s tropical and subtropical climates. Other names for it include Asian rock python, Indian rock python, and black-tailed python. Despite being smaller than the Burmese python, its near relative, this snake is among the biggest in the world. It typically grows to 3 meters (9 feet 10 inches) and has a softer coloration than the Burmese python. It is non-venomous, just like all pythons.
P. molurus is found in India, southern Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and Myanmar’s northernmost region. Grasslands, swamps, marshes, rocky hillsides, woodlands, open forests, and river valleys are just a few diverse habitats where it can be found. It requires a constant supply of water. It conceals itself in hollow trees, mangrove thickets, reed beds, and abandoned mammal burrows.
Birds
Crested serpent eagle
In forested areas throughout tropical Asia, you can find the medium-sized crested serpent eagle (Spilornis cheela). Significant variations exist within its broad distribution in the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and East Asia. Some experts prefer to treat many of its subspecies as separate species. The South Nicobar serpent eagle (S. klossi), Andaman serpent eagle (S. elgini), and Philippine serpent eagle (S. holospila) were previously considered subspecies of the Crested serpent eagle. All species’ complex members have giant heads that look manned and crested thanks to long feathers on the rear of the head.
The powerful feet are unfeathered and severely scaled, and the face is naked and yellow where it joins the ceres. They have large wings to fly over the forest canopy, and their tail has prominent white and black bands. They frequently make a loud, piercing, and well-known three- or two-note call. They are classified with the Circaetus snake-eagles in the subfamily Cricetinae because they often consume snakes, which gives them their name.
Red Junglefowl
The Phasianidae family of tropical birds includes the red junglefowl (Gallus gallus). It covers a large portion of South Asia as well as Southeast Asia. Before, it was called the Bankiva or Bankiva Fowl. The gray junglefowl, Sri Lankan junglefowl, and green junglefowl have all contributed genetic material to the chicken gene pool, which is the species that gave rise to the chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus).
The chicken was domesticated from red junglefowl about 8,000 years ago, according to evidence at the molecular level obtained from whole-genome sequencing. This domestication event involved many maternal sources. Since then, people have kept them in captivity in various parts of the world for their meat, eggs, and company.
Flora of Jim Corbett National Park
Surrounded by lush green woods, the Corbett National Park is blessed with some of the best environmental conditions in India. As a result, the flora in Jim Corbett National Park is varied and provides the tourists on tour to the Corbett National Park with an air fragrant with the essence of freshness. Moreover, these vast, distinct varieties of plant kingdoms make the national park a sought-after wildlife destination for those who wish to relax from hectic work schedules throughout the year.
Trees
Sal Tree
The sal tree, Shorea robusta, is a tree in the Dipterocarpaceae family. The names sal, shala, sakhua, and Sarai also know it. The tree is indigenous to Tibet, Nepal, Bangladesh, India, and other Himalayan countries. One of India’s most significant hardwood timber sources is sal, which has robust and coarse-grained wood that is pale when first cut but turns dark brown with time. While the wood is solid and resinous, it is not well suited for planning and polishing and is hence famous for building. The wood is particularly well done for making window and door frames.
In northern and eastern India, the dry leaves of the sal tree are a vital source for the creation of leaf bowls and Patravalis, which are used to serve meals in the Karnataka Canara (Dakshina Kannada, Gokarna) districts of India. Additionally, freshly prepared paan (betelnut preparations) and tiny appetizers like boiling black beans are served on the leaves.
Khair Tree
Senegalia catechu is a thorny, deciduous tree that can reach a height of 15 meters (50 feet). The plant’s name was Latinized to “catechu” in Linnaean taxonomy to designate it as the type species from which the extracts cutch and catechu are derived. The plant is known as Khair in Hindi and Kachu in Malay. It goes by the names Kher, catechu, cachou, cutch tree, black clutch, and black catechu, among others.
The seeds of the tree are an excellent source of protein. Paan is made using Kattha (catechu), an extract of the plant’s heartwood, which gives it its distinctive red color and flavor. The practice of paan involves chewing betel leaf (Piper betel) mixed with areca nut and slaked lime paste throughout India and Southeast Asia.
Flowering Trees
Kachnar (Bauhinia Variegata)
Bauhinia variegata is a species of flowering plant in the legume family, Fabaceae. It is native to an area from China through Southeast Asia to the Indian subcontinent.[2] Common names include the orchid tree (though not belonging to the family Orchidaceae) and mountain ebony.
Kachnar is a local name in the Indian subcontinent for the edible buds collected from the tree; it is widely used in many subcontinent recipes. Traditional Kashmir curry is prepared using Kachnar buds, yogurt, onions, and native spices. Kachnar buds are also eaten as a stir-fried vegetable and used to make achaar, a pickle in many parts of the Indian subcontinent. It shows good antioxidant and anticancer activity.
Semal (Bombax ceiba)
Like other trees in the genus Bombax, Bombax ceiba is sometimes called cotton. More precisely, it is often called the Ceiba pentandra, Malabar silk-cotton tree, red silk-cotton, red cotton tree, or ambiguously silk-cotton or kapok.
This Asian tropical tree has a tall, straight trunk and deciduous leaves in the winter. Red blooms with five petals do so before the new foliage emerges in the spring. When the capsule is ready, it contains white cotton-like fibers. To stop animal attacks, its trunk is spiked. Its wood is too soft to be extremely useful, even though its sturdy box suggests that it is helpful for timber. In Nepal and India, the fluffy white fibers are carded into thread and sewn into clothing. The fibers are also used to make pillows in North India. The name ngaio hot noodle soup of Shan State and Northern Thailand and the Kaeng khae curry in Thailand contain the dried cores of the Bombax ceiba flower (Thai: ). Its blossom buds, known as “Marathi Moggu,” are also used as a spice and an herbal remedy in Southern Indian cuisine.
Shrubs
Ber (Ziziphus mauritiana)
Ziziphus Mauritiana, sometimes called Indian jujube, Indian plum, Chinese date, Chinese apple, ber, and dunks, is a tropical fruit tree species in the Rhamnaceae family. It is frequently mistaken for the closely related Chinese jujube (Z. jujube). However, Z. Mauritiana favors tropical to subtropical regions, while Z. Jujuba prefers temperate climes.
Ziziphus Mauritiana is a spiny, evergreen shrub or small tree with a trunk diameter of 40 cm, a spreading crown, stipular spines, and numerous drooping branches. It can grow as high as 15 m. The fruit comes in a variety of sizes and shapes. Depending on the type, it can range in shape from 1-2.5 in (2.5-6.25 cm) in length and can be oval, obovate, oblong, or round.
Maror Phali (Helicteres isora)
The names Marori, Marorphali, Marod Phali, Enthani, Mriga-shinga, Kevani, Varkari, Dhiniani, Valumbirikai, Atmora, and East Indian Screw tree are the most popular names for Helicteres isora. Its names in Sanskrit are Avartani and Mriga-shinga, which translate to “deer’s horn,” respectively. The tree’s unusually twisted pods (fruits) gave rise to its given name. The pods are bizarre-looking distorted capsules of five strands tightly twisted together to resemble screws. Its lengths range from one inch to two and a half inches. Helicteres isora has important therapeutic qualities in several portions of the plant. The plant can be used more effectively if its qualities are known. These also point out the circumstances in which we should forgo using it internally. For instance, the stem bark and roots are anti-galactagogues, suppressing lactation. As a result, breastfeeding should not be done while using it.
Grasses
With more than 70 species identified, grasses are the largest category of plant species in Jim Corbett National Park. They live in a variety of environments, particularly chairs. They consist of Kansi, Themeda arundinacea, Baib or Bhabar, Narkul, Tiger Grass, Khus Khus, and Spear Grass, all of which have appeared, sharp blades that stick to clothing and pierce the skin.
Bamboo
Bamboo forests are the predominant vegetation in various Jim Corbett National Park areas. The dominant bamboo species is male, with clumps of thick stems and shiny, papery stem sheaths. Bamboos have an unusual flowering cycle. Once every several decades, the entire bamboo population in the forest blooms simultaneously. All plants die simultaneously after fruiting, blooming, and seed dispersion.
Experience the splendor of nature on your upcoming holiday with a Jim Corbett Safari. The diversity of flora and fauna can be seen in Jim Corbett, Uttarakhand. The jungle has its beauty, where you feel best, even isolated, staying at your cottage and eyeing its magnificence. If you wish to visit Jim Corbett National Park, Indian Visit has your back. Plan your tour with us and customize it to your preference.