Indian Geography-Sanctuaries and Parks, General Studies for UPSC,SSC,CGL and Upcoming Govt Jobs
Sanctuaries and Parks
There were 103 national parks in india in 2012, covering an area of 37,921,66 km, which is 1.15% of the geographical area of the country. In addition to the above, 74 national parks covering an area of 16,630.08 km are proposed in the Protected Area Network Report.
Wildlife Sanctuaries:
There were 492 wildlife sanctuaries in india covering an area of 117,077.41 km, which is 3.56% of the geographical area of the country. Another 217 sanctuaries are proposed in the Protected Area Network Report covering an area of 16.669.44 km.
Most of the sanctuaries provided at least optimum accommodation and other facilities but they have to be booked in advance. Some parks even provided modern guest houses. Usually van and jeep rides and also boat trips are arranged to give the visitors a good view of the animals in their natural habitats. Watchtowers and hides are also available.
National Parks:
Every country in the world has its own national parks, and IUCN-International Union for the Conservation of Nature - is recognized as a regulatory body for these parks. According to the IUCN there are more than 6500 national parks in the world today. The first national park to be established was the Yellowstone National Park in the USA, in 1872. The World's largest national park is the Northeast Greenland National Park.
Some of the notable Indian parks and sanctuaries are listed below....
Dachigam Wildlife Sanctuary:
This sanctuary has a scenic valley and a meandering river. Wildlife here includes rare Kashmiri stags, black bears, and musk deer. In recent years the wildlife here have been vastly endangered. It is 22 km by road from Srinagar.
Corbett National Park:
This park in Uttar Pradesh is famous for its tigers. Other wildlife includes cheetahs, deer, elephants, leopards, and sloth bears. The park has good scenery with sal and hardwood trees. There are numerous watch towers and daytime photography is allowed.
Sunderbans Wildlife Sanctuary:
This reserve in West Bengal is to the southeast of the city of Calcutta. It Contains the mangrove forests of the Gangetic delta. It is an important haven for tigers but it also includes fishing cats and a wide variety of birds. It is accessible by boat ride only.
Manas Wildlife Sanctuary:
This are bordering Bhutan is formed by the rivers Manas, Hakua and Beki Rivers and is situated in Assam state. The Wildlife includes tigers, buffaloes, elephants, sambhars, swamp deer and langurs. The bodo rebels of Asom have recently used it and consequently most of its infrastructure has been destroyed.
Kaziranga National Park:
This park in Assam is famous for its one-horned Rhinos which are almost extinct now but for a few. The park is full of tall grasses and swampy areas. The rhinos can be spotted around the swampy areas, bathing. Egrets and other birds are also accommodated here.
Ranthambore National Park:
Ranthambore or Sawai Madhopur in Rajasthan is smaller in size when compared to most of the parks in India. It is famous for its Lake tigers but nowadays the number has dwindled thanks to large-scale poaching in these areas. It is located on the Mumbai-Delhi rail-line and is 160 kms by road from Jaipur.
Keoladeo Ghana Bird Sanctuary:
This is the best-known birds sanctuary in India, situated in Rajasthan. It is also called Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary and features a large number of migrating birds from Siberia and China, which include herons, storks, cranes and geese. It also houses deer and other wildlife.
Sasan Gir National Park:
This Oasis in the deserts of Gujarat is famous for the Asiatic lions, which number around 250. They can be spotted around the lakes and other watering holes. It also includes crocodiles.
Kanha National Park:
This is one of the spectacular and most exciting parks for wildlife in India and is in Madhya Pradesh. Originally it was conceived to protect the swamp deer also called Barasing has but now it also includes tigers, chitals, blackbucks, langurs and leopards.
Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary:
This is a large and scenic park in Kerala state built around an artificial lake. It is famous for its large elephant population. Other include wild dogs, Nilgiri Langurs, otters, tortoise, and hornbills.
Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary:
This is situated around 35 kms to the south of Chengalpattu in Tamilnadu and is home for a large variety of birds. Cormorants, egrets, herons, storks, ibises, pelicans, grebes and hornbills breed here from October to March. At the peak season of December to January more than 30,000 birds can be spotted.
Calimere Wildlife Sanctuary:
Also known as Kodikarai, it is situated in Tamilnadu, around 90 kms from Tanjore. This is a wetland area jutting out of the Palk Strait that separates India and Srilanka. It is famous for flocks of migratory birds mainly flamingoes. Black bucks, spotted deer and wild pigs are found here.
Mundanthurai Tiger Sanctuary:
This is Located in Tamilnadu along its border with Kerala. It mainly consists of tigers but also has chitals,sambhars and lion-tailed macaques. But it is extremely difficult to spot the tigers.
Anamalai Wildlife Sanctuary:
This is along the slopes of the Western Ghat mountains in the border between Tamilnadu and Kerala. It is also known as Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary. It has an area of around 1000 sq km and houses elephants, gaurs, tigers, panthers, deer, boars, porcupines and wild cats. In its heart lies the Parambikulam Dam, which provides good scenic beauty.
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