Major Sanctuaries and National Parks                           -by Anil Benipuri

India with southeastern Asia, forms part of the Oriental Region, one of the six great Zoological realms into which the earth has been divided to study the distribution of its animal life.       

In their distribution of their wild life few regions of the earth exceed India in interest. 350 species of mammals, 1200 species and 2100 subspecies of birds and more than 20,000 species of insects inhabit our forests and wilderness areas. In its diversity of life forms, India is the second largest country of the world!

The mammals include the mighty elephant to the smallest of deer in the world, the Mouse Deer. The largest of the wild ox, the Indian Gaur and colourful birds from the peacock and monal pheasant to the smallest Tickels Flower Pecker are the legacy, which India has inherited in its forests.

Varying climatic conditions and a unique geographical location have contributed towards this diversity and variety of life forms. The geographical variations are characterized by The lofty Himalayan ranges in the north, the deserts of Rajasthan, the lush rainforests of Assam and the Malabar coast and the cold and arid plateau of Ladakh. An ocean that stretches south to the bleak Antarctica washes the shores.

The wildlife of India is derived not only from species, which are found in no other country in the world, but also from forms which are descendents of ancestors that migrated into India from the regions around it.

Decline of wild life is a global phenomenon. Over population and the consequent pressure on land due to development have taken an increasingly heavy toll of the country’s wilderness. This century alone has seen the extinction of several species of the magnificent wild life. Chief among them being the cheetah. Emperor Akbar used to maintain a contingent of a thousand cheetahs trained to hunt. The last three surviving cheetahs were spotted and shot dead at night in 1948 in the erstwhile state of Korea, North of Bastar, Madhya Pradesh. The Asiatic Lion was once found all over northern India. Today it is confined to the Gir Forest. Today the rhinoceros is found only in Assam, Nepal and West Bengal. The tiger is also under threat. The growing awareness of the need for conservation of our wildlife has however resulted in setting up of a network of protected areas in the country. Today there are 80 National Parks and 440 Sanctuaries in the country.       

Some of the major National Parks and Sanctuaries are unique in their faunal and floral compositions. The Kaziranga National Park in Assam is the true home of the Indian one-horned Rhinoceros: the Himalayan sanctuaries are the home of the highly endangered snow leopard. The largest, bulkiest, most powerful, most majestic of the bovines- the gaur- is found in all sanctuaries of the central Indian Region. The Dachigam National Park is home to the Hangul or the Kasmir Stag. The Manas Sanctuary provides an ideal habitat for the wild buffalo and the pigmy hog--the smallest of the pigs, 70 cm long and hardly 30 cm high. Keoladeo Ghana Sanctuary at Bharatpur , an ornithologists paradise by itself accounts for more than 331 winter migratory birds from different parts of Asia, Middle East, Siberia, Europe etc. Bharatpur is one of the best breeding grounds for water birds, where 103 species of birds breed. A different and unique world can be experienced at the Andaman and Nicobar group of islands and the Lakshdweep Islands.

The wildlife heritage of India is well worth exploring. The thrill and excitement of watching wild animals in their natural habitat can be experienced at the National Parks and Sanctuaries that dot the country

Indian Wildlife

Wildlife Overview

Bishnoi Community

Wandoor National Park

Lakshadweep

Threat to Rhinos in Assam

A Trip to Bandhavgarh

Major Wild life Sanctuaries and National Parks

Bandhavgarh

Bandipur

Corbett

Desert National Park

Dudhwa

Gir

Kanha

Kaziranga

Mudumalai

Nagarhole

Panna

Periyar

Ranthambore

Sunderbans

Sariska

Bird Sanctuaries

Bharatpur