NITC: IT Agency of Government of Nepal

Bardiya National park is the largest national park in the lowland Terai covering an area of 968 sq.km. The park situated in Nepal's Western Terai was established for protecting the representative ecosystems and conserving the habitat of tiger and its prey species. Initially, a small area was gazetted as the Karnali Wildlife Reserve in 1976. At that time, 1500 households of the Babai valley were relocated outside the park allowing the vegetation and wildlife to flourish. In 1982, it was renamed as Bardiya Wildlife Reserve, and in 1984 it was extended to its current size. The reserve was given the status of a National Park in 1988. Greater One-horned Rhinoceros were translocated from Chitwan National Park to Bardia National Park in 1986, 1991, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002. In 1997, an area of 327 km2 surrounding the park was declared as a buffer zone, which consists of forests and private lands. The park and local communities jointly manage the buffer zone.