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WILDLIFE
India is home to a rich diversity of wildlife supplemented by an equally rich variety of flora and fauna. The sight and sounds of a majestic elephant, a peacock’s dance, the stride of a camel, the roar of a tiger are unparalleled experiences in themselves. Watching birds and animals in their natural habitats is an experience in itself. The country offers immense opportunities for wildlife tourism. The immense heritage of wildlife in India comprises of more than 70 national parks and about 400 wildlife sanctuaries including the bird sanctuaries.
A paradise for the nature lovers, these forest areas are also crucial for the conversation of the endangered species like the Leopard, Lion, Asiatic Elephant, the Bengal tiger and Siberian Crane. Spread across the length and breadth of India, these reserves and forest areas, right from the Ranthambore National Park in Rajasthan to the Hazaribagh Wildlife Sanctuary in Bihar, from the foothills of Himalayas, the Jim Corbett National Park to six national parks in Andaman; the Indian Wildlife circuit is an Incredible treat, unmatched by any other experience. Elephant, Deer, Panther, Wild buffalo, Wild ass, the one horned Rhinoceros, Porcupine, Snow leopards etc are some of the animals you can sport in The Himalayan region.
India harbors eighty percent of the entire population of the one horned rhinoceros in the world. The Kaziranga Game Sanctuary is an ideal habitat for the rhino and a popular destination with the naturalists and environmentalists as well as the wildlife traveler.
India has its fair share of Tiger Reserves. India’s National Animal, the tiger happens to be a symbol of strength and speed. India boasts of two-dozen Tiger Reserves. The fastest mammal on Earth, the tiger happens to be the joy and pride of India. The Royal Bengal tiger is amongst the most majestic species of the tiger. Sixty percent of the total population of the wild tigers in the world resides in India. Amongst the best-known tiger reserves in India is the Bandhavgarh in Madhya Pradesh. It is often referred to as the crown in the wildlife heritage of India. Tourists at Bandhavgarh can spot Royal Bengal Tigers, cheetals, leopard, gaur, sambhar, and many more faunal species. The highly successful Project Tiger has shown once again that man can only undo in small ways the loss and destruction of natural habitat due to continuous growth and expansion of the population.
Indian wildlife has its share of native birds along with the migratory birds. Several hundred species of birds can be spotted across India. The Himalayan region is well known to be the natural habitat for the Pheasant, griffon vulture and ravens. The Keoladeo Ghana National Park popularly known as the Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary, is home to indigenous water birds, waterside birds, migratory water birds, land migratory birds, and domestic land species. Tourists from far and wide are attracted to the Bird Sanctuary. At the Dudhwa wildlife reserve migratory birds like Egrets, herons, storks and cormorants share space with the ducks, gees and teals. The region of Andaman is home for the rare species of birds like the Narcondum hornbill, Nicobar Pigeon and the Megapode.
Tiger reserves of India
There are 53 tiger reserves in India (21-6-2011) which are governed by Project Tiger which is administered by the National Tiger Conservation Authority. There were an additional six proposed and four approved in principle reserves that are not yet declared. Assam was the place where this project was working since 1800 as a foundation PSH tiger.
List of some important Tiger Reserves in India
S.No. |
State |
Tiger Reserve |
No. of Tigers |
Total Area (km2) |
1 |
Assam |
Kaziranga Tiger Reserve |
32 |
859 |
2 |
Assam |
Nameri Tiger Reserve |
27 |
344 |
3 |
Arunachal Pradesh |
Pakhui Tiger Reserve |
26 |
862 |
4 |
Andhra Pradesh |
Nagarjunsagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve |
14 |
3568 |
5 |
Bihar |
Valmiki Tiger Reserve |
18 |
840 |
6 |
Chhattisgarh |
Guru Ghasidas National Park |
51 |
2899 |
7 |
Karnataka |
Bandipur Tiger Reserve |
79 |
866 |
8 |
Kerala |
Periyar Tiger Reserve |
10 |
925 |
9 |
Tamil Nadu / Kerala |
Annamalai Tiger Reserve |
29 |
1019 |
10 |
Madhya Pradesh |
Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve |
63 |
1162 |
11 |
Madhya Pradesh |
Kanha Tiger Reserve |
60 |
1945 |
12 |
Madhya Pradesh |
Panna Tiger Reserve |
22 |
542 |
13 |
Madhya Pradesh |
Pench Tiger Reserve |
19 |
758 |
14 |
Rajasthan |
Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve |
45 |
1334 |
15 |
Rajasthan |
Sariska Tiger Reserve |
4 |
866 |
16 |
Tamil Nadu |
Mudumalai National Park |
36 |
321 |
17 |
Uttar Pradesh |
Dudhwa Tiger Reserve |
101 |
811 |
18 |
Uttarakhand |
Corbett Tiger Reserve |
134 |
1316 |
19 |
West Bengal |
Sunderbans Tiger Reserve |
256 |
2585 |
20 |
Uttar Pradesh |
Pilibhit Tiger Reserve |
43 |
1089 |
21 |
Odisha |
Sunabeda Tiger Reserve |
44 |
856 |
22 |
Madhya Pradesh |
Ratapani Tiger Reserve |
45 |
674 |
23 |
Goa |
Mhadei Tiger Reserve |
52 |
|
For complete list please refer: - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_reserves_of_India
National Parks of India
National parks in India are IUCN category II protected areas. India's first national park was established in 1936 as Hailey National Park, now known as Jim Corbett National Park. By 1970, India only had five national parks. In 1972, India enacted the Wildlife Protection Act and Project Tiger to safeguard the habitats of conservation reliant species. Further federal legislation strengthening protections for wildlife was introduced in the 1980s. As of April 2012, there were 102 national parks. All national park lands then encompassed a total 39,919 km2 (15,413 sq mi) km², comprising 1.21% of India's total surface area. A total of 166 national parks have been authorized. Plans are underway to establish the remaining scheduled parks. All of India's national parks are listed below alongside their home state or territory, area and the date that they were established.
List of some important national parks in India
No |
Name |
State |
Area (in km²) |
1 |
Bandhavgarh National Park |
Madhya Pradesh |
448.85 |
2 |
Bandipur National Park |
Karnataka |
874.20 |
3 |
Campbell Bay National Park |
Andaman and Nicobar Islands |
426.23 |
4 |
Chandoli National Park |
Maharashtra |
317.67 |
5 |
Jim Corbett National Park |
Uttarakhand |
1318.5 |
6 |
Desert National Park |
Rajasthan |
3162 |
7 |
Dudhwa National Park |
Uttar Pradesh |
490.29 |
8 |
Eravikulam National Park |
Kerala |
97 |
9 |
Gir Forest National Park |
Gujarat |
258.71 |
10 |
Great Himalayan National Park |
Himachal Pradesh |
754.40 |
11 |
Gugamal National Park |
Maharashtra |
361.28 |
12 |
Marine National Park, Gulf of Kutch |
Gujarat |
162.89 |
31 |
Hemis National Park |
Jammu and Kashmir |
4400 |
13 |
Harike Wetland |
Punjab |
86 |
14 |
Hazaribagh National Park |
Jharkhand |
183.89 |
15 |
Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park |
Tamil Nadu |
117.10 |
16 |
Kanha National Park |
Madhya Pradesh |
940 |
17 |
Kaziranga National Park |
Assam |
471.71 |
18 |
Keoladeo National Park |
Rajasthan |
28.73 |
19 |
Madhav National Park |
Madhya Pradesh |
375.22 |
20 |
Manas National Park |
Assam |
500 |
21 |
Mount Abu Wildlife Sanctuary |
Rajasthan |
288.84 |
22 |
Nanda Devi National Park |
Uttarakhand |
630.33 |
23 |
Panna National Park |
Madhya Pradesh |
542.67 |
24 |
Pench National Park |
Madhya Pradesh |
758 |
25 |
Periyar National Park |
Kerala |
305 |
26 |
Rajaji National Park |
Uttarakhand |
820 |
27 |
Ranthambore National Park |
Rajasthan |
392 |
28 |
Sanjay Gandhi National Park |
Maharashtra |
104 |
29 |
Sariska Tiger Reserve |
Rajasthan |
866 |
30 |
Satpura National Park |
Madhya Pradesh |
524 |
31 |
Silent Valley National Park |
Kerala |
237 |
32 |
Sultanpur National Park |
Haryana |
1.43 |
33 |
Sundarbans National Park |
West Bengal |
1330.12 |
34 |
Valley of Flowers National Park |
Uttarakhand |
87.50 |
For complete list please refer: - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_national_parks_of_India |