Bandipur National Park (Kannada:
) established in 1974 as a tiger reserve under Project Tiger, is a national park located in
the south Indian state of Karnataka. It was once a private hunting reserve for the Maharaja of
the Kingdom of Mysore but has now been upgraded to Bandipur Tiger Reserve.
[1]
Bandipur is
known for its wildlife and has many types of biomes, but dry deciduous forest is dominant.
The park spans an area of 874 square kilometers (337 sq mi), protecting several species
of India's
endangered
wildlife.
Together
with
the
adjoining Nagarhole
National
Park (643 km2 (248 sq mi)), Mudumalai National Park(320 km2 (120 sq mi)) and Wayanad Wildlife
Sanctuary (344 km2 (133 sq mi)),
it
is
part
of
the Nilgiri
Biosphere
Reserve totaling
2,183 km (843 sq mi) making it the largest protected area in southern India and largest habitate
2
of wild elephants in south Asia.
Bandipur is located in Gundlupet taluq of Chamarajanagar district. It is about 80 kilometers
(50 mi) from the city ofMysore on the route to a major tourist destination of Ooty.[2] As a result,
Bandipur sees a lot of tourist traffic and there are many wildlife fatalities caused by speeding
vehicles that are reported each year.[3] There is a ban on traffic from 9 pm to 6 am of dusk to
dawn to help bring down the death rate of wildlife.[4]
The Mudumalai National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary (Tamil:
) also a declared tiger reserve, lies on the northwestern side of the Nilgiri
Hills (Blue Mountains), in Nilgiri District, about 150 kilometres (93 mi) north-west of Coimbatore
city in Kongu
Nadu region
ofTamil
Nadu.
It
shares
its
boundaries
with
the
states
of Karnataka and Kerala. The sanctuary is divided into five ranges Masinagudi, Thepakadu,
Mudumalai, Kargudi and Nellakota.
The protected area is home to several endangered and vulnerable species including Indian
elephant, Bengal tiger,gaur and Indian leopard. There are at least 266 species of birds in the
sanctuary, including critically endangeredIndian white-rumped vulture and long-billed vulture.[2]
The Western Ghats Nilgiri Sub-Cluster of 6,000 square kilometres (2,300 sq mi), including all of
Mudumalai National Park, is under consideration by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee for
selection as a World Heritage Site.[3]
Kaziranga National Park (Assamese: , pronounced [kazia astij
udjan] (
listen))
is anational park in the Golaghat and Nagaon districts of the state of Assam,
India. The sanctuary, which hosts two-thirds of the world's great one-horned rhinoceroses is
a World Heritage Site.[1] According to the census held in March 2015, which was jointly conducted
by the Forest Department of the Government of Assam and some recognized wildlife NGOs, the
rhino population in Kaziranga National Park is 2,401. It comprises 1,651 adult rhinos (663 male,
802 are females, 186 unsexed); 294 sub-adults (90 males, 114 females, 90 unsexed); 251
juveniles and 205 cubs.[2] Kaziranga is home to the highest density of tigers among protected
areas in the world, and was declared a Tiger Reserve in 2006. The park is home to large
breeding populations of elephants, wild water buffalo, and swamp deer.[3] Kaziranga is recognized
as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International for conservation of avifaunal species. When
compared with other protected areas in India, Kaziranga has achieved notable success in wildlife
conservation. Located on the edge of the Eastern Himalaya biodiversity hotspot, the park
combines high species diversity and visibility.
Kaziranga is a vast expanse of tall elephant grass, marshland, and dense tropical moist
broadleaf forests, crisscrossed by four major rivers, including the Brahmaputra, and the park
includes numerous small bodies of water. Kaziranga has been the theme of several books,
songs, and documentaries. The park celebrated its centennial in 2005 after its establishment in
1905 as a reserve forest.
Silent Valley National Park (Malayalam: ), is a national park with a
core zone of 236.74 square kilometres (91 sq mi) (making it the largest national park in Kerala). It
is located in theNilgiri Hills, within the Palakkad District of Kerala, South India. This region was
explored in 1847 by the botanistRobert Wight,[1] This park is one of the last undisturbed tracts
of South Western Ghats mountain rain forests andtropical moist evergreen forest in India.
Contiguous with the proposed Karimpuzha National Park (225 km2) to the north and Mukurthi
National Park (78.46 km2) to the north-east, it is the core of the Nilgiri International Biosphere
Reserve (1,455.4 km2), and is part of The Nilgiri Sub-Cluster (6,000 + km2), Western Ghats World
Heritage Site, recognised by UNESCO in 2007.[2]
Plans
for
a hydroelectric project
that
threatened
the
park's rich wildlife stimulated
an environmentalist social movement in the 1970s, known as the Save Silent Valley movement,
which resulted in cancellation of the project and creation of the park in 1980. The visitors' centre
for the park is at Sairandhri.
The Gir Forest National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary (also known as Sasan-Gir, and )
is a forest andwildlife sanctuary in Gujarat, India. Established in 1965, with a total area of
1,412 km2 (545 sq mi) (about 258 km2(100 sq mi) for the fully protected area the national
park and 1,153 km2 (445 sq mi) for the Sanctuary), the park is located 43 km (27 mi) north-east
of Somnath, 65 km (40 mi) south-east of Junagadh and 60 km (37 mi) south-west of Amreli.[1]
It is the sole home of the Asiatic lions (Panthera leo persica) and is considered to be one of the
most importantprotected areas in Asia due to its supported species. The ecosystem of Gir, with
its diverse flora and fauna, is protected as a result of the efforts of the government forest
department, wildlife activists and NGOs. The forest area of Gir were the hunting grounds of the
Nawabs of Junagadh. However, faced with a drastic drop in the lion population in Gir, Nawab Sir
Muhammad Rasul Khanji Babi declared Gir as a "protected" area in 1900. His son,
Nawab Muhammad Mahabat Khan III
[2]
later assisted in the conservation of the lions whose
population had plummeted to only 20 through slaughter for trophy hunting.[1]
The 14th Asiatic Lion Census 2015 was conducted in May 2015. In 2015, the population has
been 523 (27% up compared to previous census in 2010). The population was 411 in 2010 and
359 in 2005. The population of lions in Junagadh District has been 268, Gir Somnath District has
been 44, Amreli District has been 174 (highest increase) and Bhavangar District has been 37.
There are 109 males, 201 females and 213 young/cubs. [3]
