In 1893, this mountainous area between the Chindwin and Myittha Rivers was declared a reserved forest and selectively logged for teak. It was little disturbed when surveyors of the Food and Agriculture Organization and the United Nations Development Programme visited it in the early 1980s, who were invited by the Government of Myanmar to assist in identifying suitable areas for national parks and nature reserves. In 1984, they proposed to establish a tract of 1,606 km2 (620 sq mi) as Alaungdaw Kathapa National Park.[3] Its name honours a legendary monk who lived there in historical times. The national park was gazetted in 1989 and demarcated with an area of 617 km2 (238 sq mi).[2] Its actual area reported by Myanmar's Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation is 541.6 km2 (209.1 sq mi).[1]
^Leimgruber, P.; Oo, Z. M.; Aung, M.; Kelly, D. S.; Wemmer, C.; Senior, B.; Songer, M. (2011). "Current status of Asian elephants in Myanmar". Gajah. 35: 76–86. S2CID38256840.
^Bauer, A. M. (2003). "Descriptions of seven new Cyrtodactylus (Squamata: Gekkonidae) with a key to the species of Myanmar (Burma)". Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences. 54 (25): 463–498. S2CID129933095.