East India

Similipal National Park, in Mayurbhanj district, is one of India's largest tiger reserves and a Biosphere Reserve, named for its abundant simul (silk cotton) trees; it is also notable for hosting a rare population of melanistic (black) tigers, a genetic variant that has drawn recent scientific attention.

Bhitarkanika National Park, in the Brahmani-Baitarani river delta, is India's second-largest mangrove ecosystem after the Sundarbans and holds the country's largest saltwater crocodiles, including some of the biggest individuals recorded anywhere; nearby Gahirmatha beach, part of the same coastal complex, is the world's largest nesting ground for the olive ridley sea turtle.

Sundarbans National Park, the Indian portion of the world's largest contiguous mangrove forest (shared with Bangladesh), is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Tiger Reserve uniquely known for tigers that swim between islands and are capable of preying in brackish water — the only mangrove ecosystem in the world with a significant tiger population; it also faces some of India's most acute climate-change exposure through rising sea levels and cyclone frequency.

Gorumara and Jaldapara National Parks, both in the Dooars region of North Bengal, are the state's key strongholds of the Indian one-horned rhinoceros outside Assam, set in riverine grassland and forest at the Himalayan foothills; both have seen successful rhino population recovery through anti-poaching efforts modelled partly on Kaziranga's example.

Buxa Tiger Reserve, bordering Bhutan and adjoining Manas across the international boundary, forms part of a larger trans-boundary conservation landscape, though its tiger numbers have historically been low compared to central Indian reserves.

Singalila National Park, along the West Bengal–Sikkim–Nepal tri-junction ridge, is a high-altitude trekking corridor (the Sandakphu-Phalut trail) known for red panda and for offering views of four of the world's five highest peaks, including Everest and Kangchenjunga, on a clear day.

Valmiki National Park, in West Champaran along the Nepal border, is Bihar's only national park and tiger reserve, forming a contiguous trans-boundary tiger landscape with Nepal's Chitwan National Park just across the border.

Memory hook (Odisha's two): "Simli's black tiger shook paws with Bhitarkanika's giant crocodile." Similipal → Bhitarkanika.

Memory hook (West Bengal's five): "The Sundarbans tiger swam past Gorumara and Jaldapara's rhinos, through Buxa's gate, up to Singalila's ridge." Sundarbans → Gorumara → Jaldapara → Buxa → Singalila, south to north exactly as they sit on the map.

Memory hook (Bihar, the lone entry): "Valmiki wrote alone" — Bihar has exactly one National Park, so there is nothing to chain, only to remember that it is the answer whenever a question says "Bihar's only."

Practice Recall: Before reading on, name all five of West Bengal's National Parks in this book.

Answer: Sundarbans, Gorumara, Jaldapara, Buxa, Singalila.