The public will have to wait a little longer to visit the North Rim at Grand Canyon National Park this year. Like other parts of the West, northern Arizona received an abundance of snow over the winter, and park officials say pushing back the opening from mid-May to June 2 will give them more time to plow the main state road that leads to the rim and allow staff to reopen visitor facilities. This image provided by the National Park Service shows a view from the North Rim at Grand Canyon National Park, Ariz., on Nov. 17, 2022. (Jesse Barden/National Park Service via AP) “We appreciate the patience and cooperation of our neighbors and visitors with this delay as our partners and park staff work to open the North Rim roads, trails and facilities safely,” Superintendent Ed Keable sai...
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The Bhitarkanika National Park played host to over one lakh migrant water birds this monsoon, a rise of seven per cent, as the sanctuary re-established itself as one of the most congenial breeding grounds in Odisha for the winged guests, officials said on Sunday. The arrival of these avian species at the wildlife sanctuary in Kendrapara district was delayed this time as the spell of rain was not uniform, he said. "Still, we've spotted an impressive congregation of the monsoon birds along the mangrove covers of the park," the official said. The enumerators counted 1.16 lakh birds this year in comparison to 1.09 lakh in 2021. Prominent among those arriving for nesting are herons, darters and egrets. Minimal human interference, ideal climatic conditions and the river syst...
Read MoreA wildfire threatening the largest grove of giant sequoias in Yosemite National Park more than doubled in size in a day, and firefighters were working in difficult terrain Sunday to protect the iconic trees and a small mountain town as the U.S. weathers another very active year for fires. Campers and residents near the blaze were evacuated but the rest of the sprawling park in California remained open, though heavy smoke obscured scenic vistas and created unhealthy air quality. “Today it’s actually the smokiest that we’ve seen,” Nancy Phillipe, a Yosemite fire information spokesperson, said Sunday. “Up until this morning, the park has not been in that unhealthy category, but that is where we are now.” A firefighter protects a sequoia tree as the Washburn Fire burns in Mariposa Gr...
Read MoreThrongs of tourists gleefully watched the legendary Old Faithful geyser shoot towering bursts of steaming water while others got stuck in “bison jams” on picturesque valley roads as visitors returned Wednesday for the partial reopening of Yellowstone National Park after destructive floods. Park managers raised the gates at three of Yellowstone’s five entrances for the first time since June 13, when 10,000 visitors were ordered out after rivers across northern Wyoming and southern Montana surged over their banks following a torrent of rainfall that accelerated the spring snowmelt. The cost and scope of the damage is still being assessed, Yellowstone Superintendent Cam Sholly said Wednesday. Visitors walk on boardwalks in the Upper Geyser Basin in Yellowstone National Park, Wyo., Wedn...
Read MoreAlbanian officials on Monday declared the Vjosa River and its tributaries a future national park, a move aimed at preserving what they called one of the last wild rivers in Europe. The Albanian Ministry of Tourism and Environment signed an agreement with the California-based Patagonia environmental organization to draft an “integrated and sustainable plan” for the new park. FILE - People raft on the Vjosa River near Permet, Albania, June 25, 2019. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File) “This is an opportunity to protect one of Europe’s rivers, really one of the crown jewel rivers of Europe,” Ryan Gellert of Patagonia told The Associated Press. Patagonia, along with other environmental groups EcoAlbania, Riverwatch and EuroNatur, will help organize and fund a panel of international and l...
Read MoreA popular hiking trail to an oasis in Joshua Tree National Park in California has been temporarily closed so bighorn sheep can get undisturbed access to water. “The park is under extreme drought conditions and herds in the area are increasingly reliant on the oasis spring to survive the hot summer months,” a park statement said. The Fortynine Palms Oasis spring is surrounded by palms in mountains on the northern side of the park. FILE PHOTO: In this Jan. 10, 2019 photo, people visit Joshua Tree National Park in Southern California's Mojave Desert. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong,File) The closure started June 1 and will remain in effect until summer monsoon rains provide enough increase the availability of water for the bighorns. An estimated 100 to 200 desert bighorn live in th...
Read MoreThe population of one-horned rhinoceros at the Kaziranga National Park has registered an increase of 200, taking the total to 2,613, an official said on Tuesday. The four-day rhino census recorded 903 females, 750 males and 170 of undetermined sex in the adult category of above six years. In the sub-adult category of three to six years, 146 females, 116 males and 103 whose sex could not be determined were found. The park's director Jatindra Sarma said 279 rhinos in the juvenile category (one to three years) and 146 calves (less than one year) were also recorded. During the last census in 2018, 2,413 rhinos were recorded. The census was conducted from March 25 to 28, the official said. Altogether, 64 enumerators, 12 independent observers and 49 media observers participat...
Read MoreAssam's Kaziranga National Park received over 2.20 lakh visitors in 2021-22, the highest in the last 12 years, and the revenue earned from tourist footfall surpassed Rs 4 crore, according to official data. The number of foreign tourists visiting this UNESCO World Heritage Site has dipped in the last two years owing to the COVID-19 pandemic and related restrictions. As per data, annual footfall from 2010-11 to 2014-15 ranged from 1 lakh to 1.32 lakh. Between 2015-16 and 2020-21, the number of yearly visitors did not exceed 1.88 lakh. In 2021-22, the park registered as many as 2,20,760 tourists. In terms of revenue, the year 2017-18 recorded maximum earnings at Rs 5,60,66,795. The next two years saw a marginal dip, though the annual earnings remained over Rs 4.80 crore. The rev...
Read MoreThe Bhitarkanika National Park in Odisha reopened for visitors on Wednesday after being closed for ten days to carry out the annual census of estuarine crocodiles. The basic objective behind the closure of the national park in Kendrapara district was to avoid human interference during the exercise, Rajnagar Mangrove (Wildlife) Divisional Forest Officer J D Pati said. Noise pollution from human activity distracts wildlife and poses a hindrance for carrying out the census, Pati said. "Our emphasis is on ensuring safe and comfortable sojourn of visitors who throng here in large numbers to savour the warmth of the ecosystem and unique environs of its wetlands," he said. The national park is home to 70 per cent of the country's estuarine crocodiles, conservation of which starte...
Read MoreA rare albino salt-water crocodile has been recently sighted at Odisha's Bhitarkanika National Park, a forest officer said on Friday. Rajnagar Mangrove (Wildlife) Divisional Forest Officer J D Pati said that the albino crocodile was sighted in the hatchery and rearing complex of crocodiles at Dangmal in the national park. Forest personnel have named it 'Sweta'. The national park is now home to three captive albino crocodiles. The three-year-old female crocodile was born in the hatchery from the eggs collected from the wild, he said. "During my visit to the hatchery on Wednesday, I discovered this albino crocodile and advised the forest personnel to take proper care of this whitish-coloured crocodile," researcher Sudhakar Kar said. It takes some years for the whitish comple...
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