!Kaziranga National Park Kaziranga National Partk is the first and the oldest National Park in Assam situated in Golaghat and Nagaon Districts. This is a World Heritage site. It was declared a National Park in 1974. Originally established as a reserve forest in 1908, Kaziranga was declared a sanctuary in 1916 to counter extensive poaching of the rhinoceros. In 2007, it was declared a tiger reserve under the Central Government's Project Tiger scheme. Thick forests, tall elephant grasses, rugged reeds, marshes and shallow pools are the main features of this Park. It is spread over an area of 858 sq km located in the floodplains on both sides of the Brahmaputra river. Patches of mixed deciduous forests are interspersed with vast stretches of savannah grasslands, wetlands and chars of river islands formed by the shifting course of the Brahmaputra. The park is divided into five ranges - Central (entry point at Kohora), Western (entry point at Bagori), Eastern (at Agratoli), Western-most Burha Pahar (at Ghorakati) and Northern. The first four lie on the southern side of the river while the last is on the northern bank. It is officially counted as the most successful conservation initiative in the sub continent in the 20th century (Kaziranga Centenary: Celebrating the Century's Greatest Success Story, 2005). The one horned Indian Rhinoceros, Elephant, Indian bison, Swamp Deer, Samber, Hog Deer, Sloth Bear, Tiger, Leopard cat, Jungle cat, Hog badger, Capped langur, Hollock gibbon (the only ape found in the Indian sub continent), Jackal, Goose, Hornbills, Ibis, Cormorants, Egret, Heron fishing eagle etc. are found here. During Winter a large number of migratory birds also visit this Park. The Park is the abode to more than 70% of One Horned Rhinoceros in the world. Highest density of tigers' prey including the large prey biomass of tiger found in the country. It also harbours more than 60% of India's wild buffalo population along with the only population of the Eastern Swamp deer and seven species of turtles and tortoises. The park also has a sizeable population of birds. Home to 25 Globally Threatened and 21 Near Threatened species of birds. Huge flocks of pelicans and rose-ringed parakeets can be spotted here besides crested serpent eagles, grey-headed fishing eagles, red jungle fowl, Bengal floricans, bar-headed geese and whistling teals. More than 150 perennial water bodies are located inside the Park, where water level fluctuates temporally resulting in the generation of a very rich aquatic floral diversity. More than 32 species of flora have so far been identified. More than 60 species of fishes have been recorded and is the breeding ground of many of the local species.