Banke National Park is located in the
Lumbini Province and was established in 2010 as
Nepal’s tenth national park after its recognition as a "Gift to the Earth".[1] The protected area covers an area of 550 km2 (210 sq mi) with most parts falling in the
Sivalik Hills. The park is surrounded by a buffer zone of 344 km2 (133 sq mi) in the districts of
Banke,
Salyan and
Dang Deukhuri Districts.[2]
Together with the neighboring
Bardia National Park, the coherent protected area of 1,518 km2 (586 sq mi) represents the Tiger Conservation Unit (TCU) Bardia-Banke.[3]
Vegetation
The vegetation in Banke National Park is composed of at least 113 tree species, 107 herbal species and 85 shrub and climber species. Common species include
sal,
axlewood, Semecarpus anacardium,
khair, andTerminalia alata.[4]
^
abcDNPWC (2010).
Banke National ParkArchived 2012-02-15 at the
Wayback Machine Government of Nepal, Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation, Department of National Parks and Soil Conservation
^Napit, R. (2016). Species Diversity, Forest Community Structure and Regeneration in Banke National Park. Nepal Journal of Science and Technology 16(1): 17–30.
^Dhakal, M., Karki (Thapa), M., Jnawali, S. R., Subedi, N., Pradhan, N. M. B., Malla, S., Lamichhane, B. R., Pokheral, C. P., Thapa, G. J., Oglethorpe, J., Subba, S. A., Bajracharya, P. R. & Yadav, H. 2014. Status of Tigers and prey in Nepal. Department of National Parks.
^Subba, S.A., Malla, S., Dhakal, M., Thapa, B.B., Bahadur, L., Bhandari, K.O. and Bajracharya, P. (2014). Ruddy Mongoose Herpestes smithii: a new species for Nepal. Small Carnivore Conservation 51: 88–89.