Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve

The Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve, 175 sq. kms, lies on the flood plains of Koshi River. The rectangular shaped Reserve is enclosed within the east and west embankments of the Koshi Barrage and is therefore, subjected to seasonal flooding during monsoon. This Reserve, established mainly to preserve the habitats for the last remnant population of wild water buffalo in Nepal, was gazetted in 1976. In addition, the Reserve is home to larger ungulates such as Gaur, Nilgai, Hog Deer, wild Pig, and medium sized predators such as fishing Cat, jungle Cat, and Civets. The Koshi River also supports sparse population of endangered species such as the gangetic Dolphins and gharial Crocodiles.
The Koshi Barrage, the border of east Nepal and India, was completed by the Koshi Project, an undertaking of the government of India, in 1964 to contain the monsoon floods as it became more devastating. The Barrage was also made to irrigate farmlands and thus it created an abundant marsh and littoral habitat making it Nepal’s most important wetland. At an elevation of 75m, the Koshi Barrage is one of the lowest areas in Nepal with 14 species of birds, not found anywhere else in Nepal, recorded here. Because of its great importance as a wetland, the Government of Nepal acceded to the Ramsar Convention in 1987 and thus, Koshi Tappu is included in the list of Wetlands in International Importance.
Because of the open access to the Koshi Barrage area from India, Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve is equally threatened with wildlife-related damages. Also, herders from both India and Nepal have set their base over here for cross-breeding their domestic herds with the wild buffalo for vigor and fodder. Today, feral cattle in the Reserve outnumber wild buffaloes. Both feral and wild buffaloes raid crops by wandering as far as 10 kms from the reserve boundary into the farmlands. The high incidents of crop raiding and the ensuing conflict is a cumulative action of over 100 wild buffaloes, some 500 feral water buffaloes and over 7,000 cattle.