Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary is a wildlife sanctuary on the southern bank of the Brahmaputra in Morigaon district in Assam, India. It was declared as wildlife sanctuary in 1987 and covers 38.85 square km, consisting grassland and wetland habitat.
Legend has it that the Pobitora is named after the late teenage daughter of King of Mayong. The sanctuary was once only a forest with a lot of rhinos living in it; in 1971, it was turned into a reserve forest to protect the rhinos.
Pobitora has a wide variety of animals found. These include the Indian rhinoceros, golden jackal, wild boar, feral water buffalo, barking deer, Indian leopard and rhesus macaque.
Pobitora is a bird watcher's paradise. It is an Important Bird Area and home for more than 2000 migratory birds which are a delight to spot in the winter season.
After Kaziranga, Pobitora is perhaps the most well known destination to watch the Indian rhinoceros in its wild glory. Its close proximity to Guwahati also makes it an attractive weekend getaway for nature lovers.
Pobitora has the highest density of rhino population in the world. This is a fact that points to Pobitora's successful rhino conservation efforts.
Compared to Kaziranga, Pobitora is often considered a better option to watch rhjinos up close. The high rhino population in the area provides ample opportunity to observed them from a closer range than what is available in Kaziranga.
Pobitora is also referred to as the Bharatpur of the East because of its varied birdlife and around 280 species of birds of various species both resident and migratory are recorded here at Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary. .
It is often called 'Mini Kaziranga' because of the similar landscape and the sizeable population of the one-horned rhino. .