Nature and Life - Episode 180 (Madhupur National Park)

Sal (deciduous) forest is a traditional forest of Bangladesh.
Once it was famous as the biggest forest of the country.
Presently this forest is surviving, in a fragmented form, in the middle and northern side of the country.
Madhupur National Park has been declared within Modhupur Sal forest to maintain the dignity and to uphold the ecosystem of Sal forest.
It is such a park where local biodiversity are being conserved in a natural environment.
This park is attracting numerous visitors and also unveiling ways for various biological education and research.
Madhupur National Park is sited in Madhupur Upazila of Tangail District, 125 km. far from Dhaka city.
It was declared as National Park in 1982 with 20,837 acres area.
Soil of this park is bit Acidic.
Moreover, due to the presence of iron and aluminium, this park has reddish or yellowish soil.
Rainfall rate is very low in here.
As a result, flowing water is rare in here.
Hence, this park has rough soil.
That is why this park has different ecosystem compared to other forests of our country.
Diversified plants are there in this park with Sal trees as the dominant plant.
Sal trees occupy the most areas of this park.
Since these trees shed leaves in winter, this park becomes pale in winter.
Dried leaves cover the whole ground of the park.
But new leaves appear in April-May.
Gradually the whole park becomes green again.
Beside Sal, Queen Flower, White Siris tree, Arjun, Golden shower tree, Silk Cotton etc. plants are also there in this park.
Large volume of herbs and shrubs grow in some places of the park.
Various flowers bloom in here and the whole park becomes colorful.
Various climbers grow in here.
They spirally climb host trees to grow upwards.
Apart from these, various species of orchids are also found in here.
Various ferns, fungus and medicinal plants also grow in here.
Among medicinal plants Emblic Myrobalan, Black Myrobalan, Beleric Myrobalan, Butterfly tree and Indian Snakeroot are mentionable.
Numerous wildlife survive here under the shelter of these plants.
Horgoja and Banyan type trees supply a large portion of food for these wildlife.
This park has the largest population of Capped Langur of our country.
They roam and feed in group.
Numerous Monkeys can also be seen in the park.
These social animals are common throughout the park.
This park is also home to various mammals like: Squirrel, Jackal, Mongoose, Porcupine, Deer etc.
Presence of various species of birds keep the park resonant.
Sweet calls of White-rumped Shama echoes throughout the park.
Leafbird, Barbet, Owl, Woodpecker, Bee-eater, Weaver, Parakeet etc. are also common in this park.
These birds play vital role in pollination of the plants in here.
The park becomes colorful & sonorous due to these birds.
This park is also home to various reptiles and amphibians.
Many species of snakes and frogs can be seen in here.
The ecosystem here is rich with invertebrates like: Butterfly, Moth, Spider and insects.
They roam throughout the park.
They keep the ecosystem lively by helping in pollination.
But the increased human population around the park is affecting the ecosystem of the park.
This park has recently been harmed by human activities like: deforestation, forming agricultural land inside forest, illegal hunting of wildlife etc.
But various Government initiated forest conservation projects, which also involve local people, are vitally contributing in biodiversity conservation in here.
The pressure on forest resources needs to be mitigated by encouraging forest dependent people for alternate livelihood.
Sustainable use of forest resources needs to be ensured by implementing apt economic system.
Only then the valuable resources and biodiversity of Madhupur National Park will be conserved.