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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