Information About Dudhwa

Attraction :
To wildlife watchers in India, Dudhwa is Billy Arjan Singh country. Long before the rest of the world had even heard of this amazing wilderness, Billy, a tough and determined man, chose to make Dudhwa his home with the express purpose of saving its tigers. With its fine sal forests and dense thickets that open abruptly into magnificent grasslands, the habitat has become one of India's most vibrant and exciting wildlife reserves -- and one of the most vulnerable. Dudhwa is often called The Last Terai, since it holds remains of the dense forests that once existed along the foothills of the Himalayas. An aura of mystery and prehistoric nostalgia envelops you as you enter Dudhwa. In these forests lurks the unexpected. Here species threatened across India continue to thrive. It is also one of the best spots on earth to watch birds. But life is not easy in Dudhwa. It has always been a land where you have to struggle to succeed.

The area comprising the forest was once the playground of the big game hunters. Full of jheels (lakes) and marshland -- which have now been converted to paddy and sugarcane fields -- this was once the heart of the most extensive swamp deer ranges. Called barasingha, or 12-pointed deer, the animals had caught the imagination of the huntsmen. Predictably, their population dwindled in the crossfire of hunting and habitat loss. Today, as the grass bursts forth after the monsoon in the protected confines of the park, the barasingha herds can be seen raising their antlers skywards, assured of survival at least for now.

The barasingha is a vital prey species for the tiger. These deer originally triggered conservation efforts here and the fact that both predator and prey continue to be relatively safe in Dudhwa speaks volumes for Project Tiger's essential strategy: Save the habitat if you want to save the wildlife. Among Dudhwa's successes is the introduction of a small herd of Indian one-horned rhinoceri into the Park (which shares a border with Nepal) in 1984 with the active involvement of the then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi.

Terrain : Dudhwa's terai belt abuts the Nepal border. The habitat is nurtured by the Sharada river and its tributaries. The Mohana arm to the north flanks the Park and from there one can see the Himalayas, a mere 30 km away. The Suheli river forms the Southern boundary and both eventually flow into the Ganges.

The park covers an area of 498.29 km and the topography is rather flat, with a small 32-metre drop differentiating the extreme northern and southeastern corners. An unusual absence of surface stones and rocks typify the soil structure. The forest soaks in 1,600 mm of rain annually and because it is well vegetated, ground water level is high along most of the forested terai.

History : Before Independence, Dudhwa was an untamed land of marshes, grasslands and dense forests. Menacing malarial mosquitoes, recurrent plague and oppressive famines were associated with the region, making it rather inhospitable to humans, but perfect for wildlife. By the 1950s, the marshes and grasslands were largely replaced by sugarcane and paddy. Under the guise of crop protection, the tiger and the gond, which is the local name for the barasingha, suffered terribly at the hands of poachers.

In 1968, Billy Arjan Singh, operating out of his farm in Kheri, which he christened 'Tiger Haven', began his battle to protect Dudhwa. His efforts resulted in an area of 212 sq km being declared as 'Dudhwa Sanctuary' in the same year. With protection, the habitat improved and soon people began to talk of the magic spell woven by nature, with help from Billy. It was only a matter of time before Dudhwa's fame spread and it was declared a National Park in 1977. Thereafter, no disturbance or non-wildlife oriented land management of any kind was legally permitted. But it took another 10 years before it was brought under the purview of Project Tiger.

Legand : Dudhwa, even to the uninitiated, is the story of Billy Arjan Singh's lifetime devotion to the cats that hope to survive here. Both Billy and Dudhwa have been the focus of conflict and debate. The story of Tara the tigress, hand reared and released by Billy Arjan Singh into Dudhwa's wilds, is a legend. This experiment was mired in controversy with experts suggesting that the 'tame' zoo-born tigress had turned man-killer and that she would would have to be fed by humans till the day she died. Billy's contribution to the tigers of Dudhwa is nevertheless irrefutable.