Dudhwa National Park is a protected area located in the Terai region of wet, grassy lands in northern Uttar Pradesh, India. The park covers an area of 490.3 square kilometers, with an additional buffer zone of 190 square kilometers. It is part of the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve, which includes the Kheri and Lakhimpur districts.

History

The area now known as Dudhwa National Park was created in 1958 as a wildlife sanctuary to protect swamp deer. In January 1977, it was officially designated a national park because of the work of Billy Arjan Singh. In 1987, Dudhwa National Park, along with Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary and Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary, was named Dudhwa Tiger Reserve to protect tigers.

Geography

Dudhwa National Park is located in the Lakhimpur Kheri district of Uttar Pradesh. The park lies within the Upper Gangetic plains and covers a large flat area. The land rises from 150 meters (490 feet) in the southeast to 182 meters (597 feet) in the north.

The park has a humid subtropical climate with dry winters. From mid-October to mid-March, temperatures range from 20 to 30 degrees Celsius (68 to 86 degrees Fahrenheit). Annual temperatures vary between 6 degrees Celsius (43 degrees Fahrenheit) in winter and 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit) in summer. The main winds come from the west, but during the rainy season from June to September, winds often come from the east.

Fauna

Dudhwa National Park is home to many different types of wildlife, including swamp deer, sambar deer, barking deer, spotted deer, hog deer, Bengal tiger, Indian elephant, Indian rhinoceros, Indian leopard, sloth bear, honey badger, golden jackal, Viverrinae, jungle cat, fishing cat, and leopard cat. Billy Arjan Singh helped raise and release zoo-born tigers and Indian leopards back into the wild in Dudhwa.

The number of barasingha increased to 6,137 in 2022, compared to 3,691 in 1977. The number of chital rose from 22,408 to 36,636, barking deer from 1,284 to 2,560, and Indian hog deer from 3,169 to 5,351. The leopard population also grew significantly, reaching 93 in 2025, up from 34 in 2022. In 1984-85, Indian rhinoceros from Assam and Nepal were reintroduced into Dudhwa National Park. In 2024, there were 46 rhinos in the park.

Hispid hare, once believed to be extinct, was found again in 1984.

Dudhwa National Park is home to more than 400 bird species, including both birds that live there year-round and those that migrate. These include Indian peafowl, ducks, geese, hornbills, heron, hawk, bee-eaters, minivets, kingfishers, painted storks, sarus cranes, swamp francolin, woodpeckers, barbets, bulbuls, Bengal florican, Asian barbets, drongos, cormorants, teal, egrets, orioles, painted stork, fishing eagle, and owls. The white-rumped vulture and red-headed vulture, both Critically Endangered species, have been seen in the park.