Located in complete isolation, the state of Nagaland is a popular destination for wildlife lovers of India. With a total forest cover of around 12,966 sq. km, the state"s topographical terrain is characterised by mountains teeming with flora and fauna. This accounts for 78 percent of the total geographical area of the state, which is a host to a large number of species of birds, animals and reptiles. Discussed elaborately are some of the wildlife sanctuaries of Nagaland.
Fakim Wildlife Sanctuary: Close to the Myanmar border, the Fakim Wildlife Sanctuary spreads over a sprawling area of 642 hectares with tropical to sub tropical forests. This sanctuary is adorned with hills, valleys, ridges and gorges. Variance in vegetation has been recorded in the sanctuary. This sanctuary is known for rare species of flora and fauna. Bonsum, Pine, Amari, Uriam, Nahor and Alder are the most common trees of Fakim Wildlife Sanctuary.
The area is blessed with heavy downpour which has resulted in undergrowth shrubs. Some of the other occupants of the sanctuary are animals like tiger, barking deer, hoolock gibbon and Himalayan bear and birds like Indian hornbill, grey pheasant, doves, jungle fowl and tragopan pheasant.
Puliebadze Wildlife Sanctuary: Established in 1980, the Puliebadze Wildlife Sanctuary is situated in the Kohima district of the state. The sanctuary is the natural habitat of Blyth"s Tragopan or the grey- bellied Tragopan. Spreading over an area of 923 hectares, it is known to be an important catchment area in the district. The two most prime features in the area are the Dzuku Valley and Japfu Peak, which are located adjacent to the sanctuary and have been designated as Important Bird Areas (IBA). The Japfu Peak rises to about 3,048 m and is the second highest peak after the Saramati at 3,826 m.
Intanki National Park: Home to the rare Hoolock gibbon, the Intanki National Park is located in the Peren district of the state of Nagaland. The sanctuary was established in 1993 and is also home to a decent number of elephant, tiger, mithun, sambhar, wild dog and sloth bear.
Rangapahar Wildlife Sanctuary: The Rangapahar Wildlife Sanctuary is known to be one of the popular tourist spots of Dimapur. Established as a Reserve Forest in 1986, this wildlife sanctuary is popular for its fauna and the wide variety of medicinal plants.
Singphan Wildlife Sanctuary: One of the recent wildlife sanctuaries of Nagaland, the Singphan Wildlife Sanctuary was established in 2009 and almost a decade later in 2018, it was declared as an elephant reserve. The sanctuary spreads over an area of 2,357 hectares and is known to be the 30th elephant reserve in the country.
The wildlife sanctuaries of Nagaland also serve as a major tourist attraction and facilitate tourism in the state.
