Which Is The First National Park In India | List Of Top 10 National Parks In India

National Parks are one of the most crucial aspects of a country. National parks are the home of wildlife and wildlife species. There are more than a hundred national parks in India that occupies approximately 1.1% geographical area of the nation.

In this article, we will talk about the First National Park In India which is commonly known by the name Jim Corbett National Park. Our main focus will be the first national park established in India, a list of national parks in India or the top 10 national parks in India, etc.

So let’s get started with which is the first national park in India. We will try to unveil all the possible information available about the national park and deliver it to you through this valuable piece of content in the simplest language for a better understanding. 

But before moving towards our main agenda I would like to clarify your knowledge about the National Parks. Here I mean what is a national park and how national parks are different from a natural jungle?

What Is A National Park?

National Park is a completely isolated region of an ecologically, geographically, and biodiversity-rich area. Such isolated national parks are under the control of the central government and strongly prohibited in some activities like development, forestry, poaching, hunting, and grazing on cropland. 

The borderline of national parks is clearly defined and under the line, lots of flora and fauna conserved in their natural habitat. Actually, national parks can be defined as – A National Parks are natural habitats for the conservation of wildlife including flora and fauna. 

NOTE: Flora is used to refer to plant life and Fauna is used to refer to animal life.

The First National Park In India

Which is the first national park in India? Jim Corbett National Park was the first national park established in India which has its own interesting history and present reality. It is the oldest national park in the country especially known for the conservation of Tigers. Ahead, we are going to unthread all the details about the Jim Corbett National Park of India.

Jim Corbett National Park History

 Jim Corbett National Park was established in the year 1936 in the Nainital district of Uttarakhand state. Initially, it was known as Hailey National Park but later it got other titles like in near the 1950s it was renamed. At that time it was known as the Ramganga national park.

In the year 1956, the first national park of India was again renamed Jim Corbett National Park in memory of a British naturalist, hunter, sportsman, and writer Jim Corbett. Jim Corbett played an important role in the establishment of the national park and thus titled after his name as to tribute to him as he passed away a year before.

Again in the year 2021, it was announced that in the future Jim Corbett will be restored as the Ramganga national park.

Jim Corbett National Park Geographical Area

Jim Corbett National Park mainly includes two parts – the core area and the buffer area. The core area of the national park is 520 square kilometers and the buffer area is spread in 797.72 square kilometers. The core is referred to as the main Jim Corbett National Park and the buffer area includes the reserved forest and Sonanadi Wildlife Sanctuary.

The first National Park established in India is situated in a northern-east state of the country. It is geographically surrounded by the lesser-Himalayas mountain ranges and the Shivalik mountain ranges.

Jim Corbett National Park Flora And Fauna

There is a recorded number present of Flora and Fauna species in the Jim Corbett National Park. In the highly dense jungle of the national park, a total of 488 different plant species or flora species are recorded along with a total of 586 animal species or fauna species. This makes it a highly biologically diversified natural habitat.

Jim Corbett National Park Reserved Species

The Jim Corbett National Park is famous for its Bengal tigers. The highest numbers of tigers are present in the Jim Corbett National Park across the nation. It could all be possible only because of Project Tiger which was launched in the year 1973 for the active conservation of the tigers in the country.

Along with tigers, you will easily spot many other species including langurs, sloth bears, Asiatic black bears, Indian gray mongooses, jungle cats, elephants, wild boars, chitals (spotted deer), barking deer, and nilgai (Indian antelope), variety of snakes, crocodiles, resident and migrant bird species, shikras, vultures, black partridges, golden orioles, red jungle fowl, black-crowned night herons, peafowl, etc.

Project Tiger

Project Tiger was an initiative for the conservation of Bengal Tigers from extinction by the Indira Gandhi Government that was officially launched in April 1973. The main objective of the project was to restore the damage to the natural habitat of the tigers, to find the component that leading the reduced number of tigers, and re-establishment of a naturally favorable ecosystem for the conservation of tigers or the population of tigers.

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Top 10 National Parks In India

India is the 7th largest country by area and has 28 states and 8 union territories. India is a country with versatile climates and forests. There are so many forests in India that it has at least one national park in each state. The exact number of existing national parks in India is 106 today and they cover approximately 44,402.95 square kilometers (which is 1.35% of the geographical area of the country).

In the list of national parks of India, some national parks always come on the top due to their special attraction points. Here we will not include Jim Corbett National Park which is the first national park established in India. So in the list of national parks of India here we are going to share the top 10 National Parks In India.

1. Kanha National Park – Kanha National Park is situated in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the largest national park in central India spreading over 940 square kilometers. Kanha National Park is known for being one of the tiger-reserved parks. Along with tigers, there are many other species you will spot like the Indian leopard, dhole, sloth bear, Bengal fox, Indian jackal, barasingha, gaur, blackbuck, 300 bird, etc. Kanha Tiger Reserve, also known as Kanha–Kisli National Park cab be concluded always at the top of the list of top 10 National Parks In India.
2. Bandhavgarh National Park – Bandhavgarh National Park is also situated in Madhya Pradesh but 255 km away from Kanha National Park. It is spread over 1,536 square kilometers of area. Bandhavgarh National Park is known for the conservation of White Tigers, Bengal Tigers, Leopards, Sambar, Barking Deer, Nilgai, Wild Boar, Gaur, Chausingha and Chinkara, the Asiatic jackal, Bengal fox, sloth bear, ratel, grey mongoose, striped hyena, jungle cat, leopard, tiger, etc.
3. Kaziranga National Park – Kaziranga National Park is situated in Assam. It is spread over 1090 square kilometers of area. It is known for the conservation of one-horned rhinos. Along with it Kaziranga National Park Royal Bengal Tiger, Asian elephant, wild water buffalo, and swamp deer are the most commonly found animals.
4. Nagarhole National Park – Nagarhole National Park is situated in the South Indian state of the country named Karnataka. It is spread over 848 square kilometers. Surrounded by the Nilgiri and Brahmagiri mountain ranges, this National Park is filled with teak trees and Sandalwood trees. This is also one of the selected national parks for Project Tiger and hence Bengal tigers can be seen often here. Apart from that  Leopards, Asiatic elephants, migratory birds, reptiles, guars, deer, Antelopes, wild dogs, bears, and several other smaller, common and rare animals and birds will be spotted. 
5. Ranthambhore National Park – Ranthambhore National Park is situated in the Rajasthan state. It is spread over 1334 square kilometers and includes Ranthambore fort as its landmark. Along with Bengal tigers, Indian leopard, Indian elephant, Wild water buffalo, Gaur, nilgai, Barasingha, Blackbuck, Chinkara, Chousingha, wild boar, sambar, Indian muntjac, Indian hog deer, Spotted deer, striped hyena, Dhole, Indian wolf, Bengal fox can often be spotted there.
6. Periyar National Park – Periyar National Park is situated in Kerala state. It is spread over 925 square kilometers out of which 305 square kilometers is the core area. You will see many wild animals in the Periyar National Park including gaur, sambar, wild pig, Indian giant squirrel, Travancore flying squirrel, jungle cat, Dhole, sloth bear, Nilgiri tahr, lion-tailed macaque, Nilgiri langur, Salim Ali’s fruit bat, stripe-necked mongoose, Nilgiri marten, Asiatic elephants, etc.
7. Gir National Park – Gir National Park is situated in the Gujrat state. It is spread over 1410 square kilometers and makes it one of the largest national parks in India’s list of top 10 national parks. Gir National Park is known for the protection of Asiatic lions. You will spot many wild animals in the Gir National Park including chital, nilgai, sambar, four-horned antelope, chinkara, wild boar, blackbucks, porcupine, hare, pangolin, etc.
8. Sunderbans National Park – Sunderbans National Park is situated in West Bengal state of India and it is also spread in the nearby country Bangladesh. Sunderbans are spread over 1330 square kilometers including the region of Bangladesh. Sunderbans are the shelter of many endangered species including estuarine crocodiles and Ganges River dolphins. Along with Bengal tigers, you will easily spot animals like Leopards, Rhinoceros, Wild Buffaloes, Wild Hogs, Wild Cats, Barasinga, Spotted Deer, Hog Deer, Barking Deer, Monkeys, etc.  
9. Nanda Devi Biosphere & Valley of Flowers National Parks – Nanda Devi Biosphere & Valley of Flowers National Parks is situated in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand state. This national park is spread over 6407.03 square kilometers and is divided into two zones – core zone and buffer zone. The core zone includes Nanda Devi Biosphere and the buffer zone includes Valley of Flowers National Park but remembers both are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. You can spot Snow leopards, Asiatic black bears, Himalayan brown bears, Himalayan musk deer, Bharal, Himalayan tahr, etc. here.
10. Sariska National Park – Sariska National Park is situated in the Alwar district of Rajasthan. It is spread over 881 square kilometers. You will see diversified wildlife here like in every national park including tigers, leopards, Hyenas, Caracals, Jungle cats, Ratel, Nilgai, Sambar deer, Spotted deer, langur, Rhesus macaque, Four-horned antelope, Wild pigs, Indian civet, Rufous-tailed hare, etc.

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Final Words

The conservation of wildlife is very necessary for the restoration of the ecosystem. Every big and small animal and plant plays a very crucial role in the ecosystem. There is only one predator who is constantly ruining all the naturally set systems – HUMANS. Human intervention is destroying the habitat and favorable living conditions of many wild animals. So it is very necessary to establish such National Parks and human interference should be completely banned on them.

First National Park established in India was Jim Corbett National Park and it was also established with the intention of conservation of wildlife including flora and fauna. The government should take strict actions against the people who violate the rules made for the national park and hunt, etc. in the national park.

Hope the information we shared through this write-up was useful for you. Thanks for reading and do not forget to share it with your friends who love wildlife.

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