OT Staff
The Indian rhinoceros, pygmy hog, Asian elephant, wild water buffalo and the Bengal tiger can be found in Orang National Park. It is the only stronghold of the rhinoceros on the north bank of the Brahmaputra River.
The wetlands of Orang are an Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA). They are home to the Indian spotted eagle, the red-headed vulture and the bristled grassbird, among 284 other species.
The park has many forests, grasses, and aquatic and non-aquatic plants. The forest species found here include Bombax ceiba, Dalbergia sissoo and Sterculia villosa.
In 2016, the national park was declared a tiger reserve with an estimated population of 24 tigers. A conservation program has since been launched to track the tigers’ movements and behaviours using camera traps.
The park is located in an alluvial floodplain formed by the coming together of several rivers, including the Pachnoi, Belsiri and Dhansiri. This means the park supports a wide range of plant and animal life.
Orang National Park is often referred to as “mini Kaziranga” as it is home to a significant population of the endangered one-horned rhinoceros and shares a similar landscape.
Visitors can explore the wilderness of the park with a river tour organised by the Assam Bengal Navigation company that starts from one end and finishes at the other.
There are plenty of national parks and wildlife sanctuaries that are a stone’s throw from Orang National Park. Here are two of them you should make time for.
Part of the Laokhowa-Burachapori ecosystem, this sanctuary is the habitat of the Indian rhinoceros, the Asiatic water buffalo, the Bengal tiger and the Indian leopard, among others.
Located in the foothills of the Eastern Himalayas, this national park harbours over 600 floral species and provides a habitat for hog deer, sambar deer, dhole, gaur, the great hornbill and the plover.