Bhubaneswar, April 26 -- https://images.odishatv.in/uploadimage/library/16_9/16_9_0/recent_photo_1722242694.jpg
In a recent notification, the Odisha government granted national park status to Similipal, officially recognising it as the state's newest and largest national park, spanning 845.70 square kilometres in Mayurbhanj district.
The designation, finalised after a 60-day statutory process, elevates Similipal, already the state's biggest tiger reserve, to become its second national park after Bhitarkanika.
Similipal National Park, the 107th in the country, forms the core of the 2,750-square-kilometre Similipal Tiger Reserve, established in 1973 under Project Tiger.
Recognised as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve since 1994, it hosts 55 mamm...