National Parks in Punjab
- Currently, The State of Punjab has no National Park.
Wildlife Sanctuaries of Punjab
Abohar Wildlife Sanctuary
- Abohar Wildlife Sanctuary is located in the Fazilka district of Punjab, close to the intersection of Haryana, Rajasthan & Punjab.
- Unlike other wildlife sanctuaries that are located over public land, the Abohar Wildlife Sanctuary spreads over the private land inhabited by the Bishnoi community.
- It is most famous for Black Buck deer and Blue bull (Nilgai). The Black buck (LC) (the State Animal of Punjab) is considered to be sacred by the Bishnois.
- Major Fauna: Blackbuck (LC); the State Animal of Punjab and blue bull or Nilgai (LC).
- Blackbuck (LC) is considered to be sacred by the Bishnois. They protect both blackbuck deer and blue bull.
Blackbuck
- It is the sole extant member of the genus Antilope found in India.
- It lives mainly in open grasslands or dry deciduous forests.
- The antelope is native to and found mainly in India (with a small population in Nepal and Pakistan).
- It is widespread in the states of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, and other areas throughout peninsular India.
- It has been declared as the state animal by the governments of Punjab, Haryana and Andhra Pradesh.
- Conservation status:
- IUCN Red List: Least concerned.
- Wildlife Protection Act of 1972: Schedule I
- CITES: Appendix III
Harike Lake Wildlife Sanctuary (Ramsar Site)
- It is a large wetland formed after constructing the headworks across Sutlej river.
- The headworks is located downstream of the confluence of the Beas and Sutlej Rivers.
Nangal Wildlife Sanctuary (Ramsar Site)
- It is located in the Shiwalik foothills.
- It occupies a human-made reservoir constructed as part of the Bhakra-Nangal Project.
- Here, Indian and Chinese Prime Ministers formalized ‘Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence’ in 1954.
Bir Aishvan Wildlife Sanctuary
- Bir Aishwan Wildlife Sanctuary is located 3 kilometers from Sangrur city on Sohian Road in District Sangrur of Punjab.
- The sanctuary is home to a variety of wildlife species, including Blue Bull, Jungle Cat, Jackal, Rhesus Monkey, Peafowl, Black and Grey Partridges, Hare, and Spotted Owlet.
Bir Bhadson Wildlife Sanctuary, Bir Bunerheri Wildlife Sanctuary, Bir Dosanjh Wildlife Sanctuary, Bir Gurdialpura Wildlife Sanctuary, Bir Mehaswala Wildlife Sanctuary and Bir Motibagh are all located in Patiala district.
Jhajjar Bacholi Wildlife Sanctuary
- Jhajjar Bachauli Wildlife Sanctuary is located in the District Rupnagar, Punjab.
- It is situated 3 km from Anandpur Sahib city.
- This sanctuary offers a habitat for diverse wildlife species including Sambar deer, Barking Deer, and potentially migratory Leopards.
Kathlaur Kushlian Wildlife Sanctuary
- Kathlour Wildlife Sanctuary is located on the new bypass of the Amritsar–Jammu Highway in Pathankot District, Punjab.
- It is situated on the banks of the Ravi River.
Takhni-Rehampur Wildlife Sanctuary
- The Takhni Rehmapur Wildlife Sanctuary is located near the city of Hoshiarpur in the state of Punjab.
- It is situated in the Shivalik range of the Himalayas.
Ramsar Sites of Punjab
Beas Conservation Reserve
- Beas Conservation Reserve is a 185 km stretch of the Beas River meandering down from the Himalayan foothills. The stretch is dotted with islands, sand bars and braided channels.
- It hosts the only known population in India of the Indus River dolphin (EN). Gharial have been successfully reintroduced the in the Beas River of Punjab where it had become extinct half a century ago.
- Endangered: Masheer/Himalayan Mahseer/Golden Mahseer (EN), Hog Deer (EN), Smooth-Coated Otter (VU).
Gharials
- The Gharial is a fish-eating crocodile is native to the Indian subcontinent.
- India has three species of Crocodilians namely:
- Gharial (Gavialis gangeticus): IUCN Red List- Critically Endangered
- Mugger crocodile (Crocodylus palustris): IUCN– Vulnerable.
- Saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus): IUCN- Least Concern.
- Small released populations are present and increasing in the rivers of the National Chambal Sanctuary, Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary, Son River Sanctuary.
- It is also found at the rainforest biome of Mahanadi in Satkosia Gorge Sanctuary, Orissa.
- Gharials are ‘Critically Endangered’ in the IUCN Red List of Species.
- The species is also listed under Schedule I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.
- Significance: Population of Gharials are a good indicator of clean river water.
Harike Wetland
- Harike Wetland also known as “Hari-ke-Pattan”, with the Harike Lake in the deeper part of it, is the largest wetland in northern India in the border of Tarn Taran Sahib district and Ferozepur district of Punjab.
- It is a shallow water reservoir at the confluence of the Beas and Sutlej rivers.
- It is home to birds visiting from as far as the Arctic and Siberia.
Kanjli Wetland
- Kanjli Wetland, which subsumes the Kanjli Lake, is located on the Bein rivulet in the Kapurthala district of Punjab.
- Kanjli Wetland is a man made Wetland which was created in 1870 by constructing the headworks across the perennial Bien River, a tributary of the Beas River to provide irrigation facilities to the hinterland.
- Kanjli is upstream of Harike wetland located in the Beas river basin.
- It is associated with the first Sikh guru, Shri Guru Nanak.
Keshopur-Miani Community Reserve
- Keshopur-Miani Community Reserve is a dynamic freshwater ecosystem in the district of Gurdaspur, Punjab.
- It is the first-ever notified community reserve of India under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 (amended 2002).
- The Keshopur-Miani Community Reserve lies in the former flood plains of the Rivers Ravi and Beas.
- The Reserve is a mosaic of natural marshes, aquaculture ponds and agricultural wetlands.
- The wetlands lie on the Central Asian Flyway.
- Endangered Species: Sarus Crane, Common Pochard (VU), Spotted Pond Turtle (EN)
Nangal Wildlife Sanctuary
- Nangal Wildlife Sanctuary located in the city of Nangal, in the district of Rupnagar (also known as Ropar) in the state of Punjab.
- It occupies a human-made reservoir of Bhakra-Nangal Project in the Shiwalik foothills.
- Nangal Wetland is situated on the banks of Sutlej River.
- The site is of historical importance as the Indian and Chinese Prime Ministers formalized the “Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence” there in 1954.
- Endangered Species: Indian Pangolin (EN), Leopard (VU), Egyptian Vulture (EN)
Ropar Wetland
- Ropar Wetland, or Ropar Lake, is a man-made freshwater riverine and lacustrine wetland, formed by the construction of a barrage for diversion of water from the Sutlej River.
- The Ropar area itself is of historical importance as the Anglo-Sikh relations and territories were defined by the agreement between Maharaja Ranjit Singh and Lord William Bentinck in 1831 that was signed under the shade of an old Ficus tree on the bank of the Sutlej river.
- Major Fauna: Smooth Indian Otter, Hog Deer, Sambar, Indian Pangolin
Wildlife Sanctuaries of Chandigarh
City Bird Wildlife Sanctuary
- City Bird Sanctuary or Parrot Bird Sanctuary is located in Chandigarh city.
- It is also known as Parrot Bird Sanctuary as it is primarily a habitat of parrots.
Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary
- The Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary is located in the Sivalik Hills of Chandigarh near Sukhna Lake.