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A 175 sq km sanctuary in the Himalayan foothills of Sonitpur district, Assam, named after two of the four rivers that flow through it.
Sonai Rupai Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected area in the north-western part of Sonitpur district in Assam, lying along the foothills of the Great Himalayan Range. It covers 175 square kilometres and was declared a sanctuary in 1998. Four rivers flow through it — the Gabharu, Gelgeli, Sonai and Rupai — and the sanctuary takes its name from the last two. It is known chiefly for Indian bison and elephant, and also supports tiger and leopard. Its vegetation is largely evergreen forest interspersed with grasslands.
Type: PhenomenonLocation — north-western Sonitpur district, Assam, along the foothills of the Great Himalayan Range.
Area — 175 square kilometres.
Declared a sanctuary — 1998.
Rivers — the Gabharu, Gelgeli, Sonai and Rupai flow through it; the sanctuary is named after the last two.
Vegetation — mostly evergreen forest, with grasslands also common.
Wildlife — known for Indian bison (gaur) and elephant, with tiger and leopard also present.
Climate — subtropical, with hot and humid summers and heavy summer rainfall that frequently causes floods and river overflows.
Frequency: Assam's protected areas appear regularly in UPSC Prelims environment questions and in SSC and railway general awareness.
Assam, Sonitpur district (north-western part)
175 square kilometres
1998
Foothills of the Great Himalayan Range
Gabharu, Gelgeli, Sonai and Rupai
Indian bison (gaur), elephant, tiger, leopard
Mostly evergreen forest with grasslands
Sonai Rupai's value lies in its position rather than its size. Sitting in the Himalayan foothills of northern Assam, it forms part of a belt of protected forest between the plains of the Brahmaputra valley and the hills of Arunachal Pradesh, and that belt is the corridor along which elephants move seasonally between the two. Elephant movement through this landscape is a recurring source of human-wildlife conflict in Sonitpur district, which has seen some of Assam's most serious incidents, so the integrity of sanctuaries like Sonai Rupai has direct consequences for surrounding villages as well as for wildlife. The four rivers crossing the sanctuary make it hydrologically active, and the heavy summer rainfall that causes flooding also sustains the grassland-and-evergreen mosaic on which gaur and elephant depend.
Sonai Rupai Wildlife Sanctuary — north-western Sonitpur district, Assam.
Area 175 sq km; declared a sanctuary in 1998.
Located along the foothills of the Great Himalayan Range.
Four rivers flow through it: Gabharu, Gelgeli, Sonai and Rupai.
Named after the Sonai and Rupai rivers.
Known for Indian bison (gaur) and elephant; tiger and leopard also present.
Vegetation: evergreen forest with grasslands.
In the north-western part of Sonitpur district in Assam, along the foothills of the Great Himalayan Range.
It is named after two of the four rivers that flow through it — the Sonai and the Rupai. The other two are the Gabharu and the Gelgeli.
It covers 175 square kilometres and was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1998.
It is known chiefly for Indian bison (gaur) and elephant, and also supports tiger and leopard.