Kaziranga, Assam's World Heritage park of the one-horned rhinoceros

Background

Kaziranga National Park in Assam is on the UNESCO World Heritage List, with a date of inscription of 1985 under natural criteria (ix) and (x), and a World Heritage reference number of 337. UNESCO gives the property area as 42,996 ha. The List's description opens: "In the heart of Assam, this park is one of the last areas in eastern India undisturbed by a human presence. It is inhabited by the world's largest population of one-horned rhinoceroses, as well as many mammals, including tigers, elephants, panthers and bears, and thousands of birds." The statement of Outstanding Universal Value calls it the single largest undisturbed and representative area in the Brahmaputra Valley floodplain, made up of wet alluvial tall grassland interspersed with numerous broad shallow pools fringed with reeds and patches of deciduous to semi-evergreen woodlands. UNESCO credits the park with taking the Indian one-horned rhinoceros from the brink of extinction to the single largest population of the species, and records significant populations of tigers, elephants, wild water buffalo and bears, aquatic species including the Ganges River dolphin, and an important role for migratory birds.