Kuldiha WLS is a beautiful mixed deciduous forest spreads over 282 square kilometers homing a vast variety of wildlife inside it’s dense and dark shelter. The Kuldiha stream along with it’s tributaries and branches made a beautiful network of freshet inside the forest. Moreover, strategically placed watchtowers in different parts inside the forest have aided in viewing animals of Kuldiha – the enthusiasm of Wildlife lovers.
The Kuldiha Forest itself is the best attraction to watch out for. The forest is also the home to Tenda Elephant Sanctuary and a Tiger Sanctuary. Around 32 varieties of mammals are found here.
Animals of Kuldiha
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- Asiatic Elephant
- Indian Bison (Gaur)
- Spotted Deer
- Mouse Deer
- Sloth Bear
- Indian Pangolin
- Porcupine
- Indian Palm Civet
- Leopard
- Monitor Lizard
- Indian Wild Dog (Dhole)
- Indian Giant Squirrel
- Wild Boar
Kuldiha WLS is a Birder’s Paradise. Significantly, the Kuldiha sanctuary with its rich biodiversity plays host to a number of exotic bird species. A major attraction for tourists is a number of foreign birds. According to reports, 254 varieties of birds are found in Kuldiha sanctuary. In winter, thousands of migratory birds fly from Andaman and Nicobar islands, the surrounding of Himalayas, Bangladesh, South Africa, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Birds of Kuldiha region are found to be staying around water bodies at Gadasimulia, Kanjipani, Mechhakund, Chemachata and Rissia inside the wild life sanctuary. Jodachua is the place every Bird Lover’s must visit while at Kuldiha. Different type of Bird’s and their colourful existence will be a great capture for Photographers.
Birds of Kuldiha
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- Heart Spotted Woodpecker
- Pin Stripped Tit Babbler
- Crimson Sunbird
- Malabar Trogon
- Pale Capped Pigeon
- Scaly Thrush
- Asian Paradise Flycatcher
- Blue Bearded Bee-eater
- Malabar Grey Hornbill
- Large Cuckooshrike
- Indian Pitta
- Black Throated Thrush
- White Bellied Drongo
- Crested Tree Swift
- Emerald Dove
- Racket Tailed Drongo
- Black Headed Cuckooshrike
- Indian Grey Nightjar
- Jungle Owlet
- Brown Fish Owl
- Orange Breasted Green Pigeon
- Indian Golden Oriole
- White Rumped Shama
- Golden Fronted Leafbird
- Varnai hanging parrot
- Blue bearded kingfisher
- Velvet-fronted nuthatch
- Pin-striped tit babbler
- Black crested bulbul
- Black-naped monarch
- Rosy minivet
- Forest wagtail
- Yellow rumped flycatcher
- … many many more
Image Courtesy: birdwatcherssociety.org
The outshoot of the Mysterious Simlipal National Park was declared as a Wild Life Sanctuary “Kuldiha” in the year 1984. This Wild Life Sanctuary with it’s own secrets lies in the district of Balasore, in the state of Odisha. This beautiful mixed deciduous forest spreads over 282 square kilometers homing a vast variety of wildlife inside it’s dense and dark shelter.
The Kuldiha stream along with it’s tributaries and branches made a beautiful network of freshet inside the forest. Housing a vast variety of birds (about 282 species) along with the big shots like Elephants, Bisons, Sloth bear, Giant Squirrel, King Cobras, Leopards and many more ungulates, this sanctuary has achieved it’s own glory well beside Simlipal.
Nevertheless, as it is connected with Simlipal via Nato and Sukhupada Hill ranges, some mysterious feature of that forest also reflects in here. As a result the last Royal Bengal Tiger sighting was also evident from this place in the year 2009.
Red earthen trails running through the dense and dark woods, make the whole journey inside Kuldiha, irresistible for Nature lovers and Jungle crazy people.
Moreover, strategically placed watchtowers in different parts inside the forest have aided in the enthusiasm of Wildlife lovers and Bird Watchers too. The Serene and Vast beauty of Rissia Dam, along with the glimpse of Simlipal Range over it takes people away to a different dimension during sunset. The Tenda Dam and Garsimulia Watch towers are the pride of this area where you can experience the Elephant Bath with a bit of luck obviously.
Quick Facts about Kuldiha
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- Tents available at Rissia in Kuldiha Wildlife Sanctuary.
- The sanctuary is spread across 272.75 square km in the Chota Nagpur Plateau region.
- It was declared a sanctuary on 4 January 1984.
- Nearest airport is Biju Patnaik International Airport (212 kms).
- Nearest railway station is Balasore (42 kms).
- Distance from Kolkata (287 kms)
- The total road length in the Sanctuary is 116.5 Km.
