Chakrasila Wildlife Sanctuary

chakrasilla

Chakrashila Wildlife Sanctuary is a wildlife sanctuary falling under Kokrajhar district and some adjacent areas of Dhubri district of AssamIndia. It is famous for the golden langur and is the second protected habitat for golden langur in India.

Chakrashila Hill was first declared as reserve forest in 1966 and on 14 July 1994 it was recognized with the status of sanctuary by the Government of Assam.A local environmental activist group, Nature's Beckon played a vital role for this recognition

The sanctuary covers an area of 45.568 km2 (4556.8 hectares). It is around 6 km from Kokrajhar town, 68 km from Dhubri town and 219 km from Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport, Guwahati. The sanctuary is mainly a hilly tract running north–south and there are two lakes (Dheer Beel and Diplai Beel) on either side, which are integral to the eco-system of the sanctuary. The lower hilly reaches are covered with sal coppice regeneration while middle and upper reaches are covered with mixed deciduous forests.

Different kinds of mammals and birds, twenty-three species of reptiles including snakeslizards and turtles, more than forty species of butterfly are found in this sanctuary. Some species of mammals recorded in this sanctuary are Indian short-tailed mole, Indian flying fox, short nosed fruit bat, Indian false vampire, Indian pipistrellerhesus macaqueChinese pangolinAsiatic jackal and Bengal foxHornbills are also spotted here. It is also a safe haven for a variety of endangered animals.

A total of 119 species of birds have been recorded in the Chakrashila Wildlife Sanctuary. This number includes three globally threatened species.Some of the species recorded here include black francolin (Francolinus francolinus), jungle bush quail (Perdicula asiatica), lesser whistling duckcinnamon bitternIndian pond heroncattle egretpurple heronred-necked falconred-headed vulturegreater spotted eagle, and bronze-winged jacana.