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Popular Wildlife sanctuaries of India
India is an incredible country where visitors can relish all
from vibrant culture, traditions to rich bio-diversity. India is the only country where you will find 441 wildlife sanctuaries, 80 National
Parks and 28 Tiger Reserves. These sanctuaries are referred
as "Wildlife Sanctuaries" (IUCN Category IV Protected Area). Among these, the 28 Tiger Reserves are governed by
Project Tiger and are of special significance in the conservation of the tiger . Some wildlife sanctuaries
are specifically named "Bird Sanctuary", eg. Keoladeo Ghana National Park (Rajasthan)
before attained National Park status. Many National Parks were initially Wildlife Sanctuaries. Some popular sanctuaries of India are:
Kaziranga Wildlife Sanctuary
Kaziranga Wildlife Sanctuary located on the southern banks of the
Brahmaputra River, Kaziranga National Park is one of the finest and most
picturesque wildlife parks in India. Kaziranga Wildlife Sanctuary is
world famous for being the natural habitat of the Great one-horned Rhinoceros and Wild Buffalos.
Great one-horned Rhinoceros Indian Elephants
Spread over an area of approximately 430 sq km, chiefly comprising of the swamps and tall thickets of elephant
grass and patches of evergreen forest, Kaziranga National Park offers
ideal habitat for a variety of wildlife including the world renowned and
endangered Indian One-horned Rhinos. Kaziranga was officially declared a
wildlife sanctuary in 1940 and attained the status of a national park in
1976. Later in 1985, the park was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The determined efforts of the Indian government and wildlife officials,
the almost distinct population of one-horned Rhinos has risen from merely 12 in early 1990's to more than a thousand Rhinos now.
Kaziranga Wildlife Sanctuary lies in the region of very heavy rainfalls.
The favorable climate with plenty of rainfall supports the growth of a
very rich flora in Kaziranga National Park. The flora in Kaziranga National Park chiefly constitute of dense and tall elephant
grass intermixed by small swamplands left behind by the receding floodwaters of the river Brahmaputra. The swamps have an abundant cover
of water lilies, water hyacinth and lotus, providing a beautiful look to
the surroundings of the park. Kaziranga National Park is also dotted with the large patches of semi-evergreen forests.
Kaziranga Wildlife Sanctuary has sizable population of the Wild Buffalos
and Indian Elephants. Kaziranga National Park Small include the majestic Tigers, the main predator of the sanctuary
and the only natural enemy of the Rhinos, Barasinghas (Swamp Deer), Hog
Deer, Barking Deer, Sambar, Pygmy Hog, Sloth Bears, Jungle Cats, Otters, Hog Badgers, Leopard Cats, Chital, Para, Leopard, Gibbons, Capped
Langur, Rock Python, Monitor Lizards, and the odd birds in Kaziranga National Park include the Black Kite, Brahminy Kite,
Black-Shouldered Kite, Blue-breasted Quail, Himalayan Griffon, Grey-Headed Fishing Eagle, Grey Peacock Pheasant, Pallas's Fishing
Eagle, Oriental Honey Buzzard, White Tailed Eagle to name a few. The prominent migratory birds that visit the park during winters are Graylag
Geese, Bar-Headed Geese, Ruddy Shelduck, Gadwall, Falcated Duck and
Red-Crested Pochard. An exciting and enjoyable Elephant Safari is another major attraction
for tourists visiting Kaziranga National Park.
The nearest airport from Kaziranga National Park is Jorhat (90
km). Guwahati, the major airport in the region lies at a distance of about 215 Km.
The nearest railhead from Kaziranga National Park is Furkating, situated at a distance of about 75 Km.
Kaziranga National Park is well connected by road to major towns of the region. The NH-37 (National Highway) passes from the main
gate of the park at Kohora. The private buses connect the national park
to the major cities like Guwahati, Tezpur and Upper Assam.
Gir Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park
Asiatic Lions
Gir Wildlife Sanctuary is located in the south-west fringes of the Saurashtra Peninsula, The Gir
National Park is a home to about 300 Asiatic Lions which is their last
surviving population. This area flanked with three unique reserves, the Nalsarovar Lake and Sanctuary; the Rann of Kutch and the
Flamingo Islands is an attractive tourist spot in Gujarat. |
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Gir National Park is one of the biggest habitats
for animals situated in Junagarh district of Gujarat. Earlier Gir Wildlife Sanctuary
was the royal hunting grounds of the Nawab of Junagadh, later
it earmarked as a protected forest by the Government bodies. In 1900, the lion was declared a protected animal but it was only in the
year 1952 that it found it's place among the 13 rare protected animals.
In 1966, 600 sq km were initially demarcated as the Gir forest area, which was later increased to 1150 sq km. The park
with it's core area of approximately 300 sq km was officially declared a national park in 1975.
Gir is not just about Lions, the second most seen predator
is Leopard. Other animal residents of the Gir national park are Sambar, Chital, Nilgai, Chowsingha, Chinkara Gazelle, Wild Boar,
Langur, Jackal, Panthers, Wild Cats and Hares and Hyena.
Sundarbans National Park
Sundarbans National Park
Sundarbans National Park, in the state of West Bengal, is the largest
habitat of the Royal Bengal Tigers and is home to one of the world's
largest estuarine mangrove forest. The mangrove forests consist of Genwa, Dhundal,
Passur, Garjan and Kankra among a variety of other trees, which can thrive in
the saline water. Sundarbans was declared by UNESCO as a Biosphere Reserve and a World Heritage Site (Natural) in 1997.
The total geographical area of Sundarban is 2,585 sq kms. Besides, the Royal
Bengal Tigers, the forest is also home to a variety of fauna including
the largest deltaic crocodiles, dolphins, the king corba, lizards, pythons, olive ridley, chequered killback, gangetic gharial (alligator),
giant turtle and deer: and a variety of resident and migratory birds including heron, egret, cormorant, fishing eagle, seagull, kingfisher,
whimbrel, black-tailed godwit, little stint, easter knot, curlew, sandpiper, golder plover, pintail and whistling teal.
Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary
The Periyar National Park and Tiger Reserve is situated high in the
ranges of the Western Ghats, in south Indian state of Kerala. The major attractions at Periyar are - Elephants, Tiger, Nilgiri Tahr, Nilgiri
Langur. Periyar wildlife sanctuary in Kerala flaunts a picturesque lake at the heart of the sanctuary. F7ormed with the building of a dam in
1895, this reservoir runs around the contours of the wooded hills, serving water to the local wildlife round the year.
Though Periyar Kerala is a Tiger Reserve, tourists visit this place to view the Indian
elephants, who wander freely in the sanctuary in a huge group, consisting of old, adult and baby elephants.
The Periyar National Park was declared the Project Tiger in the year 1972.
Indian Tiger
The International Airport is Chennai International Airport. Domestic Airport is Kochi (Cochin) at 200 km or Madurai in Tamil Nadu at 140 km.
The nearest Railways station is Kottayam (114 km). Kumily is the nearest town from Periyar is well served by both
state and private buses from Kottayam, Ernakulam and Madurai in Tamil Nadu. |
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Kanha National Park
Kanha National Park is located in Mandla district, Madhya Pradesh state
supports 22 species of mammals, including tigers, leopards, chital,
large, long-tailed deer, and barasingha, and about 200 species of birds.
Here a Kanha museum and stumps
of two giant sal trees that are worshipped daily, known as Raja Rani are attraction for vistors.
Bandhavgarh National Park
Bandhavgarh National Park is situated in Umaria district of Madhya Pradesh and is famous for
tigers, leopards and several other wildlife species. People from across the globe admire the sanctuary during their Wildlife Tours in India.
Here, you can stay in the Wildlife Resorts of Bandhavgarh that are best and serve you with their flawless services.
Ranthambore National Park
Ranthambore National Park & Wildlife Sanctuary, which covers an area of around 400 sq km, is
one of the finest tiger reserves in the country. The park's abandoned
fortress, lakes and above all, around 40 majestic tigers, have made it one of the most filmed wildlife reserves in the world.
The park is also home to animals like the jackal, mongoose, sloth bear and leopard.
Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary
Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary is located in the northwestern state of Rajasthan India and is famous worldwide for its
avifauna and birds watching.
Tal Chappar
Wildlife Sanctuary
The
Wildlife Sanctuaries Talchaper lies in Churu District, Rajasthan
is is famous for black-bucks. Talchhapar wildlife sanctuary is a unique sanctuary having a good population of
Black buck in a small area of 719 ha. The sanctuary houses nearly 1680 Black Bucks in a small area.
Black bucks
Manas Wildlife Sanctuary
Manas Wildlife Sanctuary, located in Kamrup district of
Assam. It is the only Indian Wildlife Sanctuary placed in the list of 34 endangered ones across
the world. The Wildlife Sanctuary is spread over 519.77 square kilometres with a core area of 360
square kilometres, situated at the foothills of the Himalayas. A part of it extends to Bhutan as Royal Manas National Park.
The national park has the distinction of being a national park, a World
Heritage Site, a biosphere, a Project Tiger Reserve, an elephant reserve
and an internationally acclaimed birding location. The Wildlife Sanctuary
The Manas River - a tributary of Brahmaputra flows through the Wildlife Sanctuary.
Manas Wildlife Sanctuary was established in 1928. Hunting and killing of
wildlife became banned here with the British government declaring it a
protected area. It was declared as a tiger reserve, under Project Tiger,
in 1973. It got the status of a World Natural Heritage Site in 1985 and
in 1990 was elevated to the status of a national park.
The Wildlife Sanctuary is home to a great variety of wildlife, including tiger,
golden langur, wild buffalo, hispid hare, pigmy hog, capped langur, elephant, gaur, hog deer, etc. It is also home to 20 species of birds
and animals that are highly endangered, including the red panda, Assam
roofed turtle, hispid hare, golden langur and pygmy hog. It also houses as many as 380 species of birds, including the endangered
Bengal florican. The other birds are - giant hornbills, jungle fowls,
bulbuls, brahminy ducks, kalij pheasants, egrets, pelicans, fishing eagles, serpent eagles, falcons, bee-eaters, etc. |
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