India
is the land to many wildlife sanctuaries and national parks, which are the natural
paradise of many animals and rare species. It has the second largest wildlife
base in the world. In India you can find tropical wet evergreen jungles of the
Ghats in the Indian Peninsula to the alpine forests of the Himalayas.
India
offers many Protected Wildlife Sanctuaries and National Parks
These are all favorite of wildlife conservationists, nature lovers and eco
friendly visitors.
Wildlife National Parks :
The Rajaji National Park is spread across an area
of 820.42 sq Kms. It displays a splendid ecosystem, of the Shivalik ranges
and the Indo gangetic plains. There are distinct varieties of vegetation
displayed at Rajaji National park, ranging from Riverine forests, broad
leaf mixed forests, Chirpine forests as well as scrubs and graasy pastures.
There are as many as 23 species of mammals as well as over 315 species of
avifauna. These include tigers, leopards, jungle cats, Sambar, cheetal,
barking deer, wild boar, sloth, bear, langorr, monitor lizards, python,
king cobra and a wide variety of birds such as pea fowl, hornbill, woodpeckers.
Thrushes, parakeet, kingfisher, Indian roller, finch and others. In winter,
the Rajaji National Park is the home to a large variety of migratory birds,
at the banks of River Ganga.
Corbett National Park India's first national
park and the first wildlife sanctuary. This wildlife sanctuary is located
in the foothills of the Himalayas. Corbett National Park is famous for its
wild population of Tigers, Leopards and Elephants. In 1936, the park was
established in as the Hailey National Park. The Project Tiger first started
here, as it supports a variety of vegetation making it the ideal habitat
for the Tiger and its prey.
Once a popular hunting ground of the British, this park was named in honor
of the late Jim Corbett, the legendary hunter-naturalist turned author and
photographer who most of his years in this area and contributed in setting
up the this park. With the help of the World Wildlife Fund, Project Tiger
was launched in Corbett National Park in 1973 and this park was one of the
first such tiger reserves in the country.
Dudhwa National Park is located near India-Nepal
border in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. The place is ideal for the
wild life photography and for spotting the wild beasts. The wildlife sanctuary
is a dense forest of sal plantation and swampy lands. Almost all kinds of
geographical features can be seen in this place. The place is an ideal place
as tiger reserve since the year 1879 and in the year 1977, Dudhwa became
the national park and that made it to accept tiger projects in 1988. The
place is not only famous for beasts but for the beautiful colorful birds
too. In the winter the migratory birds come and make the swampy lands vibrating
with their sound.
Ranthambore is a national park and tiger
reserve in Rajasthan state of western India. It is located in Sawai Madhopur
district of southeastern Rajasthan; The Park lies at the edge of a plateau,
and is bounded to the north by the Banas River and to the south by the Chambal
River. It is named for the historic Ranthambore fortress, which lies within
the national park. The park covers an area of 392 km², and is famous
for its tiger population, and is one of India's Project Tiger reserves.
Other major wild animals include the leopard, dhole, wild pig, sambar, chital
and the gaur. It is also home to wide variety of trees, plants, birds and
reptiles
Sariska Tiger Reserve is an Indian National
Park located in the Alwar District of the state of Rajasthan. Some of the
wildlife found in the Sariska Tiger Reserve includes the tiger, leopard,
jungle cat, hyena, jackal, chital, sambar, carecal, langur, wild boar, Four
Horned Deer (Chowsingha) and several species of birds. The park is situated
107 km north east of the state capital Jaipur.
Keoladeo National Park (Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary)
in Rajasthan is a famous avifauna sanctuary that sees thousands of rare
and highly endangered birds such as the Siberian Crane come here during
the winter season. Over 230 species of birds are known to have made the
National Park their home. It is also a major tourist centre with scores
of ornithologists arriving here in the hibernal season. It was declared
a protected sanctuary in 1971. It is also a declared World Heritage Site.
The sanctuary hosts a small wintering population of the rare Siberian Cranes.
Other species include the ruddy shelducks, gulls, northern shovelers, northern
pintails, coots, garganey, tufted ducks and common pochard.
Bandhavgarh National Park is one of the
wild life sanctuaries in the Indian state Madhya Pradesh.the National Park
is situated. Bandhavgarh National Park belongs to the Vindhyan mountain
ranges of central India and it boasts to have the highest density of tiger
population in the country.
Bandhavgarh was declared a park in 1968. This is also the site where the famous
WHITE TIGERS of Rewa were discovered.
Wandering through the Bandhavgarh national park on an Elephant Back, the
chances of seeing a tiger are quite good. Among the other wild attractions
include, Nilgai, Chausingha, Chital, Chinkara, Wild Boar and sometimes a
Fox or Jackal.
Kanha National Park, The lush sal and bamboo forests,
grassy meadows and ravines of Kanha provided inspiration to Rudyard Kipling
for his famous novel "Jungle Book". The Kanha National Park in
Madhya Pradesh came into being in 1955 and forms the core of the Kanha Tiger
Reserve, created in 1974 under Project Tiger.
The Park's landmark
achievement is the preservation of the rare hard ground Swamp Deer (Barasingha),
saving it from near extinction. Stringent conservation programs for the overall
protection of the Park's fauna and flora, makes Kanha one of the most well maintained
National Parks in Asia's heightened attraction within the Park is Bamni Dadar,
popularly known as Sunset Point that offers the most awe-inspiring backdrop of
the sunset against grazing Sambhars and Gaurs, magnifying the natural splendor
of the area.
Aside from its diverse wildlife and bird population, the
frequent sightings of Tigers roaming in the wild at Kanha Wildlife Sanctuary remain
the most popular draw.