Mukundara Hills National Park

Mukundara Hills National Park is a national park in Rajasthan, India with an area of 759.99 km² (293.43 sq mi). It was established in 2004 and consists of three wildlife sanctuaries: Darrah Wildlife Sanctuary, National Chambal Sanctuary, and Jawahar Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary. It is located in the Khathiar-Gir dry deciduous forests.^[3]

Mukundara Hills National Park
IUCN category II (national park)
Location in Rajasthan Show map of Rajasthan Mukundara Hills National Park (India) Show map of India
Location	Rajasthan, India
Nearest city	Kota
Coordinates	24.868°N 75.856°E / 24.868; 75.856[1]
Area	759.99 km2 (293.43 sq mi)
Established	2004

History

The national park contains large tracts of forests formerly part of the Maharaja of Kota's hunting grounds. The park was embroiled in a political controversy over its nomenclature, when the Bharatiya Janata Party state government revoked the decision that it be called the Rajiv Gandhi National Park.^[4]

Wildlife

Mukundara Hills National Park is mountainous and has a variety of plants, trees and animals. It has grasslands in between and also many dry deciduous trees. There are four rivers that flow in this region, the rivers are Chambal river, Kali river, Ahu river, Ramzan river.

Tree species in the forests of Mukundara Hills National Park include Acacia nilotica, Atrocarpus heterophyllus, Aegle marmelos, Azadirachta indica, Bombax ceiba, Breonia (syn. Anthocephalus), Cassia fistula, Citrus aurantifolia, Delonix regia, Dalbergia sissoo, Phyllanthus emblica, Eucalyptus, Ficus religiosa, Ficus glomerata, Ficus benghalensis.

Bengal tiger, Indian wolf and Indian leopard are the major carnivores in this reserve. Prey species include chital, sambar deer, wild boar and nilgai. Sloth bear and chinkara also inhabit the area. Reptiles include the Mugger crocodile and the gharial.

See also

• Arid Forest Research Institute (AFRI)
• Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education
• Jawahar Sagar Dam
• Wildlife of India