JIM CORBETT NATIONAL PARK IS THE OLDEST NATIONAL PARK IN INDIA AND WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1936 AS HAILEY NATIONAL PARK TO PROTECT THE ENDANGERED BENGAL TIGER. IT IS LOCATED IN NAINITAL DISTRICT OF UTTARAKHAND AND WAS NAMED AFTER JIM CORBETT WHO PLAYED A KEY ROLE IN ITS ESTABLISHMENT. THE PARK WAS THE FIRST TO COME UNDER THE PROJECT TIGER INITIATIVE.
A total of 488 different species of plants have been recorded in the park.Tree density inside the reserve is higher in the areas of Sal forests and lowest in the Anogeissus-Acacia catechu forests.[ Total tree basal cover is greater in Sal dominated areas of woody vegetation.Healthy regeneration in sapling and seedling layers is occurring in the Mallotus philippensis, Jamun and Diospyros tomentosa communities, but in the Sal forests the regeneration of sapling and seedling is poor.
More than 586 species of resident and migratory birds have been categorised, including the crested serpent eagle, blossom-headed parakeet and the red junglefowl — ancestor of all domestic fowl. 33 species of reptiles, seven species of amphibians, seven species of fish and 36 species of dragonflies have also been recorded.