In 1973, the area was gazetted as Royal Shukla Phanta Wildlife Reserve, initially comprising 155 km2 (60 sq mi), and extended to its present size in the late 1980s.

[5] Shuklaphanta National Park covers 305 km2 (118 sq mi) of open grasslands, forests, riverbeds and tropical wetlands at an elevation of 174 to 1,386 m (571 to 4,547 ft).

[8] The climate of the region is subtropical monsoonal with a mean annual rainfall of 1,579 mm (62.2 in) occurring from June to September and peaking in August.

Acacia catechu and Dalbergia sissoo grow alongside rivers, and sal (Shorea robusta) is the dominant tree species in the forest.

[10] During camera trapping surveys carried out in three cold seasons, 11 tigers (Panthera tigris) and nine leopards (P. pardus) were identified in the southern part of the national park.

[15] In 2011, the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) was thought to migrate seasonally from Uttar Pradesh through the park and beyond, with 3–5 individuals staying in far-western Nepal.

[16] The park and its buffer zone provide only about 352 km2 (136 sq mi) suitable elephant habitat with sufficient natural vegetation cover close to water sources.

[18] The Indian crested porcupine (Hystrix indica) was recorded mainly in grasslands and exhibited a nocturnal activity pattern in winter.

[12] The singing bush lark (Mirafra cantillans) and Finn's weaver (Ploceus megarhynchus) were first observed in the park's grasslands in May 1996.

[20] In 2001, the national park supported the largest population of the Bengal florican (Houbaropsis bengalensis) in Nepal with 20–28 individuals estimated to live in the grasslands.

The black-necked stork (Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus) and red-headed vulture (Sarcogyps calvus) visit the park occasionally.

Between November 2019 and spring 2020, six additional species were observed comprising little forktail (Enicurus scouleri), wood snipe (Gallinago nemoricola), great barbet (Psilopogon virens), Laggar falcon (Falco jugger), Indian nuthatch (Sitta castanea) and black-breasted thrush (Turdus dissimilis).

[23] The mugger crocodile (Crocodylus palustris) was observed at Rani Tal, one of the natural lakes in the east of the national park.