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Precious treasures at a height - The Great Himalayan National Park is a hotspot for biodiversity and is home to some of the most vulnerable and endangered species. In all, there are 375 recorded faunal species within the park. We must protect them.
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Sep 25, 2012, 9:02:51 PM9/25/12
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Precious treasures at a height
By Gautam Pandey
Op-Ed
The Pioneer
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
The Great Himalayan National Park is a hotspot for
biodiversity and is home to some of the most vulnerable
and endangered species. In all, there are 375 recorded
faunal species within the park. We must protect them
It was only a few years ago when I literally stumbled
into the Tirthan Valley in Himachal Pradesh and found
myself at a gateway leading to one of India�s �youngest�
national parks � The Great Himalayan National Park. A
pair of White Capped Red Starts flitted along the banks
of the Tirthan river which kept me company as I walked
the 10 km stretch to the park entrance from where all the
treks begin.
The park was officially declared in 1999, and has over
the years expanded by incorporating adjoining �protected
areas� and wildlife parks into its fold, bringing the
total area under administration to 1,171 sq km.
More recently, in 2010, both the Sainj and Tirthan
Wildlife Sanctuaries were also added to the GHNP, but
will only be formally incorporated once the process known
as �settlement of rights� is completed. Covering a large
area, the GHNP is contiguous with the Pin Valley National
Park (675 sq km) in Trans-Himalaya, the Rupi Bhabha
Wildlife Sanctuary (503 sq km) in Sutlej watershed and
the Kanawar Wildlife Sanctuary (61 sq km).
Such a large, unbroken and protected expanse of
wilderness is like an Eden for flora and fauna to
flourish. Geographically speaking, the park seems to
encompass almost everything from dense oak and walnut
forests, alpine valleys and meadows to patches of high
altitude pink rhododendrons which finally give way to a
treeless rocky and glacial terrain at 6,100 metres at
it�s highest point.
The GHNP is a hotspot for biodiversity and is home to
some of the most vulnerable and endangered species. In
all, there are 375 recorded faunal species
within the park, a number which is likely to increase, as
research and studies indicate. These include the Snow
Leopard, the Himalayan Black and Brown Bear, the Royle�s
Vole, the Himalayan Tahr, the leopard, the Himalayan Pit
Viper, the Musk deer, the Monal and the Western Tragopan,
to name just a few.
The Western Tragopan, which is also on the logo of the
GHNP, is considered to be the rarest of pheasants in the
world. Juju Rana, as it is locally known, literally
translates as the king of birds. According to local
legend, when the creator was making the world she decided
to make something special. So she asked all the birds to
give one feather each and from that she created the Juju
Rana. It is this biodiversity and its uniqueness that has
got the GHNP nominated to the status of a Unesco World
Heritage Site.
Continues here:
http://dailypioneer.com/columnists/item/52526-precious-treasures-at-a-height.html
Jai Maharaj, Jyotishi
Om Shanti
By Gautam Pandey
Op-Ed
The Pioneer
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
The Great Himalayan National Park is a hotspot for
biodiversity and is home to some of the most vulnerable
and endangered species. In all, there are 375 recorded
faunal species within the park. We must protect them
It was only a few years ago when I literally stumbled
into the Tirthan Valley in Himachal Pradesh and found
myself at a gateway leading to one of India�s �youngest�
national parks � The Great Himalayan National Park. A
pair of White Capped Red Starts flitted along the banks
of the Tirthan river which kept me company as I walked
the 10 km stretch to the park entrance from where all the
treks begin.
The park was officially declared in 1999, and has over
the years expanded by incorporating adjoining �protected
areas� and wildlife parks into its fold, bringing the
total area under administration to 1,171 sq km.
More recently, in 2010, both the Sainj and Tirthan
Wildlife Sanctuaries were also added to the GHNP, but
will only be formally incorporated once the process known
as �settlement of rights� is completed. Covering a large
area, the GHNP is contiguous with the Pin Valley National
Park (675 sq km) in Trans-Himalaya, the Rupi Bhabha
Wildlife Sanctuary (503 sq km) in Sutlej watershed and
the Kanawar Wildlife Sanctuary (61 sq km).
Such a large, unbroken and protected expanse of
wilderness is like an Eden for flora and fauna to
flourish. Geographically speaking, the park seems to
encompass almost everything from dense oak and walnut
forests, alpine valleys and meadows to patches of high
altitude pink rhododendrons which finally give way to a
treeless rocky and glacial terrain at 6,100 metres at
it�s highest point.
The GHNP is a hotspot for biodiversity and is home to
some of the most vulnerable and endangered species. In
all, there are 375 recorded faunal species
within the park, a number which is likely to increase, as
research and studies indicate. These include the Snow
Leopard, the Himalayan Black and Brown Bear, the Royle�s
Vole, the Himalayan Tahr, the leopard, the Himalayan Pit
Viper, the Musk deer, the Monal and the Western Tragopan,
to name just a few.
The Western Tragopan, which is also on the logo of the
GHNP, is considered to be the rarest of pheasants in the
world. Juju Rana, as it is locally known, literally
translates as the king of birds. According to local
legend, when the creator was making the world she decided
to make something special. So she asked all the birds to
give one feather each and from that she created the Juju
Rana. It is this biodiversity and its uniqueness that has
got the GHNP nominated to the status of a Unesco World
Heritage Site.
Continues here:
http://dailypioneer.com/columnists/item/52526-precious-treasures-at-a-height.html
Jai Maharaj, Jyotishi
Om Shanti
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