Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary

I always had a desire to photograph One Horned Rhino & Water Buffalo. It got materialised as we planned to visit Pakke Tiger Reserve in Arunachal Pradesh for Pakke Bird Count. Nearest airport was Guwahati , so planned exclusive for photographing Adjutant Storks at Dipor Bil & Rhino at Pobitora WLS as we could not make it to Kaziranga in just one day.

One Horned Rhino

Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary is situated in the flood plains of River Brahmaputra in the district of Morigaon. The natural boundary of the Pobitara wildlife sanctuary is the Garanga Beel on the south and the river Brahmaputra on the North, rest are artificial boundaries surrounded by 27 villages.

One Horned Rhino

Pobitara harbors the highest density of One Horned Rhino in the world and second highest concentration of Rhino in Assam after Kaziranga National Park.

One Horned Rhino

Rhinoceros unicornis is the Scientific name & Indian Rhinoceros, Greater One-horned Rhino, Great Indian Rhinoceros are the common names. It is listed as Vulnerable under IUCN .

The diet includes mainly grasses, some fruits, leaves, shrubs and tree branches. The species also utilizes mineral licks regularly. Males are solitary, with unstructured, overlapping territories. The females solitary unless occurring with young.

The riverine composition of forest with vast grassland in 15.9 sq. Km of the PA is the ideal habitat for Rhino.This species prefers these alluvial plain grasslands.

The Sanctuary is situated about 35 Km. from Guwahati via Chandrapur. The other approach road from the city is 52 Kms of which 32 Kms is along the National Highway No.-37 and 18 Kms along the state road.

We had booked our stay at Maibong Resort (run by Nipen Nath  +919845612196 ) which is near the forest gate. Safari bookings were made through them ,  We had opted morning Jeep safari only.

Flock of Spot Billed Ducks

The bird life at Pobitora is very rich with several unique resident birds. Their number is augmented by migrants in winter. A census done in Jan 2012 showed that there were 26 species of birds at Pobitora. There were approximately 7000 resident birds including about 100 Cranes and approximately 5000 migratory birds. Other reports and websites suggest that it has 375 species of birds.

Crested Serpent Eagle

If visiting on a day trip, enjoy the bird life there and also walk around the wildlife sanctuary. It is a pleasant place for a walk.

Rhino horn is made of compressed keratin fibres, the same material that is found in fingernails and hair!

Wild Water Buffalo

Asian Wild Water Buffalo ( Bubalus bubalis) weighs up to more than a ton. The Asian Buffalo is a massive powerful animal with a wider horn span than any other bovid. These crescent-shaped ribbed horns are heavy-set at the base tapering to a narrow tip and are larger in males than females, sometimes spanning over two metres. Large splayed hooves are also advantageous for walking in the muddy marshy ground on which these buffaloes graze. The animal has a sparse covering of long ashy-grey to black hair with dirty-white ‘stockings’ up to the knees. The tail is relatively long and bushy at its tip and a distinctive white ‘V’ marks the lower neck.

Wild Water Buffalo is listed under “Endangered” in IUCN Redlist.

Date of visit: 3rd Nov 2013.