Raiganj Wildlife Sanctuary | Burning Issue | Free PDF Download

• The number of winged visitors at the Raiganj Wildlife Sanctuary in West Bengal’s Uttar Dinjapur district has crossed all previous records.
• As per a census carried out by the State Forest Department, the wildlife sanctuary, spread over 130 hectares, recorded 98,532 birds this year
• The sanctuary, which is also known as the Kulik Bird Sanctuary, drawing its name from the river Kulik, attracts a large number of tourists every year, including birdwatchers and wildlife enthusiasts. Situated near Raiganj in Uttar Dinajpur district of West Bengal, the sanctuary is home to 164 bird species.
• What is encouraging is that the number of migratory birds is increasing every year,
• the sanctuary has one of the highest numbers of Openbill stork population not only in India but in Asia and this makes the sanctuary unique.
• “Of the 98,000 birds about 67,000 are Openbill storks.
• Red List Category LC
• 
  • Least Concern
  • Asian openbills are native to the oriental biogeographic region and are largely found in India, Sri Lanka, and certain parts of Indochina. They occupy their entire native range all year round, migrating to specific destinations during breeding season.
  • Then there are cormorants, night herons, little egrets, flycatchers, owls and other species,” he said.

• • Birds visit the RaiganjWildlife Sanctuary in June and stay till November, when the temperature drops.
• the temperature in the sanctuary’s numerous water bodies remains above 40 degrees Celsius during this period.
• “Because of the presence of water bodies, there is a lot of food available for the birds. They primarily feed on fishes and snails,”
• In the year 2012-13, the number of migratory birds was about 58,000. Not only has the number of birds increased, but the number of species has also increased from 50 in 2012-13 to over 120 this year.
• Of the new bird species visiting the sanctuary for the first time in 2018 are the Asian Paradise Flycatcher and Indian Pitta.

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