Nameri National Park is located in the foothills of the eastern Himalayas in the Sonitpur District of Assam, India, approximately 35 kilometers from Tezpur. The park is about 9 kilometers from Chariduar, the nearest village. Its northern boundary is shared with the Pakhui Wildlife Sanctuary in Arunachal Pradesh. Together, these areas cover more than 1,000 square kilometers (390 square miles), with Nameri National Park itself covering 200 square kilometers (77 square miles). Nameri National Park was established as the second Tiger Reserve in India in the year 2000, following the Manas Tiger Reserve in Assam. It includes two core areas: Nameri National Park and the Sonai-Rupai Wildlife Sanctuary, which is a satellite core of the Nameri Tiger Reserve. The Jia-Bharali River runs along the southern boundary of the park, flowing from the northwest to the southeast. To the east, the Bor-Dikorai River, a tributary of the Jia-Bharali, flows along the southern boundary from the northeast to the southwest.

Rivers

The Kameng River in Assam was well-known during the British era for golden mahseer angling. This activity was officially banned in 2011. The main rivers are Jia-Bhoroli and Bor Dikorai. Other tributaries of these two rivers include Diji, Dinai, Nameri, Khari, and Upper Dikiri. Upper Dikiri begins in the Arunachal Himalayas and flows through Pakke TR and Nameri TR.

History

The park was declared a reserve forest on October 17, 1978. It was established as Nameri Sanctuary on September 18, 1985, covering an area of 137 km (85 mi) as part of the Naduar Forest Reserve. Before this, the area that later became Nameri National Park was used heavily for logging. An additional 75 km (47 mi) was added on November 15, 1998, when it was officially named a National Park.

Flora

Nameri National Park has more than 600 types of plants, including Gmelina arborea, Michelia champaca, Amoora wallichi, Chukrasia tabularis, Lagerstroemia speciosa, Urium poma, Bhelu, agarwood, Rudraksha, Bonjolokia, Hatipolia akhakan, Terminalia myriocarpa, and Mesua ferrea. The park is also home to orchids such as Dendrobium, Cymbidium, and Cypripedioideae.

Fauna

Nameri National Park is home to many animals, including Bengal tiger, Indian leopard, clouded leopard, marbled cat, leopard cat, hog deer, sambar, dhole, gaur, barking deer, wild boar, sloth bear, Himalayan black bear, capped langur, and Indian giant squirrel. The park also has many bird species, such as white-winged wood duck, great pied hornbill, wreathed hornbill, rufous-necked hornbill, black stork, ibisbill, blue-bearded bee-eaters, Old World babblers, plovers, and many others.

In 2005, 374 bird species were recorded in Nameri National Park.

Conflicts and threats

Nameri faces two main threats. The first is ongoing logging activities in the Sonitpur area. The second threat is conflicts between humans and animals. Approximately 3,000 cattle graze in the forest, causing problems. Additionally, a large number of elephants in Nameri lead to conflicts. These conflicts happened mainly because elephant herds damaged crops, destroyed homes, and killed cattle. This occurred when forest cover dropped below 30-40%. In 2001, 18 elephants died.