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Places
of Interest
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Bandhavgarh National Park,
Umaria, M.P.
Description - A
wildlife retreat where history
and nature meet, Bandhavgarh is
too far away from Kanha. Set
amidst the Vindhyan ranges, the
park has a series of ridges
running through it. This park
was the former hunting preserve
of the Maharaja of Rewa and at
present is a famous natural hub
for White Tigers. White Tigers,
now a major attraction around
the world's zoos, were first
discovered in Rewa, not far from
here. The terrain is broken,
with rocky hill ranges, running
roughly east west, interspersed
with grassy swamps and forested
valleys.
Bandhavgarh - Much of the park
is covered in Sal forest,
replaced by mixed forests in the
higher elevations of the hills.
There are extensive stands of
bamboo and grasslands. Generally
the forests are less dense here,
with less undergrowth than in
North India, thus offering
better sightings of wildlife,
notably mammals, including the
daylight sightings of Tigers in
the grassy 'maidans'. 40 +
Tigers are estimated for the
park.
Other inhabitants of the park
include the Muntajac, Jungle
Cat, Ratel, Jyena, Porcupine,
the Rhesus Macaque and the
back-faced Langur. The park also
has numerous ancient caves and
rock shelters, with shrines and
inscriptions. About 150 species
of birds known from the Tala
area are also found over here
including the Brown Fish Owl,
Grey-headed Fishing Eagle,
Malabar Pied Hornbill and Shahin
Falcon.
The National park is dominated
by the ancient Bandhavgarh Fort,
located on a plateau and reached
after a steep climb. The fort is
now in ruins, its monuments and
tanks beings gradually reclaimed
by the forest, thus providing
additional shelter for wildlife
such as Black Bucks
Bandipur Bird Santuary, Karnatak
INTRODUCTION -
Bandipur National Park is a
beautiful forest reserve located
in the southern Indian state of
Karnataka. This national park
occupies a special place in
India’s efforts towards natural
conservation. It was created in
the 1930s from the local
Maharaja Voodiyar’s hunting
lands, and named Venugopal
Wildlife Park. Bandipur National
Park was expanded later in 1941
to adjoin the Nagarhole National
Park, which lay towards its
northern edge, and Wayanad and
Madumulai Sanctuaries, which lay
towards its southern edge in the
states of Kerala and Tamilnadu,
respectively. The entire area
now constitutes the vast Nilgiri
Biosphere Reserve, one of
India's most extensive tracts of
protected forest. It has been a
designated tiger reserve in
1973.
Bandipur National Park lies in
the Indian Deccan plateau area,
thus being totally in the shadow
of the Western Ghats. The region
is well endowed in terms of
vegetation and flora that ranges
from deciduous and evergreen
forest covers to open grassy
woodlands. Valuable hardwoods
including rosewood and teak are
also found here. The lifeline of
the forest is the Moyar River,
which irrigates the area along
with two minor rivulets. The
river also acts as a boundary
between the Park and the
Madumulai Sanctuary. Bandipur is
one of the finest and most
accessible habitats of the
Asiatic elephant. Its vast open
spaces make it a pleasant and
convenient outing for visitors
to see the elephant in its
natural surroundings.
Mammals at Bandipur National
park:Bonner Macaque Nilgiri
Langur (adjoining areas) Dhole
Smooth-coated Otter Common Palm
Civet Stripe-necked Mongoose
Jungle Cat Tiger Wild Boar
Chital Gaur Indian Palm Squirrel
Grizzled Indian Squirrel
Liontail Macaque Golden Jackal
Sloth Bear Indian Grey Mongoose
Striped Hyaena Rusty-spotted Cat
Ratel Indian Spotted Chevrotain
Sambar Nilgiri Tahr (adjoining
areas) Indian Porcupine Hanuman
Langur Bengal Fox Eurasian Otter
Small Indian Civet Ruddy
Mongoose Leopard Cat Leopard
Indian Elephant Indian Muntjac
Four-horned Antelope Indian
Pangolin Indian Hare Red Giant
Flying squirrel
Indian Giant Squirrel
CLIMATE (Bandipur National
Park):The region is warm and
comfortable for most parts of
the year with temperatures
ranging from 24 to 28°C, except
for the brief winter that lasts
from October to January when the
temperature hovers around the
19°C mark. Monsoon is erratic,
but it generally rains from June
to September.
REACHING THERE:
Bandipur National Park is
located on the highway
connecting Mysore and the hill
station of Ootacamund (Ooty).
Reaching Bandipur by bus is very
convenient. All regular and
express state transport buses
plying between Ooty and Mysore
pass through the park fringes
and the Forest Department Center
is a designated bus stop. It
takes 2½ hours to reach Bandipur
forest from Mysore and about 3
hours from Ooty. The nearest
rail junction is Mysore (65 km)
and the nearest international
airport is the software Mecca of
Bangalore (204 km).
STAYING THERE (Bandipur National
Park) The forest department
maintains reasonably priced
lodges, rest houses and
cottages.
TRAVEL TIPS Light cotton
clothing is recommended for
summers whereas light woolen
garments are recommended for the
brief winters. During rainy
season, it is advisable to carry
raincoats, as the rain is
accompanied by a light breeze
that renders umbrellas useless.
PLACES NEARBY Nagarhole,
Madumulai and Wayanad National
parks all lie in the vicinity of
Bandipur forest. A reservoir and
a dam that separates Bandipur
from Nagarhole reserve is an
interesting place as well.
Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary,
Bharatpur, Rajasthan
Bharatpur is situated 55 km away
from Agra and is best known for
its bird sanctuary, the Keoladeo
Ghana National Park, which is
rich in avian variety and is one
of its kind in Asia. Every year
the rare Siberian cranes migrate
here to spend the winter in the
warmer climate of Bharatpur.
Bharatpur was founded by
Maharaja Suraj Mal in 1733 AD
and is also known as 'The
Eastern Gateway to Rajasthan'.
Bharatpur was earlier known as
Mewat and was constructed in a
manner that it remained
fortified. It was named
Bharatpur after 'Bharat', the
brother of Lord Rama, whose
other brother Laxman was
worshiped as the family deity of
the Bharatpur. One of the finest
bird parks in the world,
Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary (Keoladeo
Ghana Natiuonal Park) is a
reserve that offers protection
to faunal species as well.
Nesting indigenous water- birds
as well as migratory water birds
and waterside birds, this
sanctuary is also inhabited by
Sambar, Chital, Nilgai and Boar.
More than 300 species of birds
are found in this small wildlife
park of 29-sq-kms of which
11-sq-kms are marshes and the
rest scrubland and grassland.
Keoladeo, the name derives from
an ancient Hindu temple, devoted
to Lord Shiva, which stands at
the centre of the park. 'Ghana'
means dense, referring to the
thick forest, which used to
cover the area. The major
attractions of tourists visiting
the park are the numerous
migratory birds, who come from
as far away as Siberia and
Central Asia and spend their
winters in Bharatpur, before
returning to their breeding
grounds. Migratory birds at
Bharatpur bird sanctuary
include, several species of
Cranes, Pelicans, Geese, Ducks,
Eagles, Hawks, Shanks, Stints,
Wagtails, Warblers, Wheatears,
Flycatchers, Buntings, Larks and
Pipits, etc.
Corbett
National Park, Uttaranchal
The Corbett National Park, where
Project Tiger was launched in
1973, is regarded as India's
finest national park and its
major attractions are the Tiger,
Indian Elephant and
Leopard.Corbett national park is
drained by the Ramganga river,
the dam at Kalagarh forming a
huge lake to the west of the
national park. The park is
essentially a large low valley.
A range of hills runs through
the middle of the national park,
roughly east to west. The
forests are moist deciduous,
with Sal as the dominant
tree.Chir Pine trees are to be
found on the higher ridges of
the hills. On the low-lying
areas riverine forests, with
Shisham and Khair trees, are
intermixed with grasslands known
locally as 'Chaurs'
The Sloth Bear, Himalayan Black
Bear, Dhole, Jackal, Yellow
Throated Martem, Himalayan Palm
Civet, Indian Grey Mongoose,
Common Otter, Porcupine,
Clack-taped Hare are the other
attractions of this area. It is
possible to see elephants all
over the park too. There are
four species of deer residing
over here. These are the Chital,
the well-known Spotted Deer,
Para, Kakka, and the Barking
Deer. The Goat Antelopes are
represented by the Ghoral.
There is a lot for the bird
watchers in this park. It has
over 580 species of birds. Most
of the water birds are migrant,
and arrive in winters. Some of
these are the Greylag,
Bar-headed Goose, Duck, Grepe,
Snipe, Sandpiper, Gull and
wagtail. The residents include
Darters, Cormorants, Egrets,
Herons, the black-necked Stork
and the spur winged Lapwings.
Reptiles, which are residents of
this area, are the Gharial, the
rare Fish eating, long - nosed
Crocodile, and a few species of
Turtles and Tortoises. The
Indian Python, Viper, Cobra,
Krait and King Cobra also
inhabit the Corbett National
Park.
Gir
National Park, Gir, Gujrat
The Gir National Park, was
established on 18th September,
1965, as a Forest Reserve,
primarily to conserve the
Asiatic lion. The total area
under national park status is
about 2,450 hectares. It is
located in the Junagadh District
of Gujarat, about 65 km
south-east of Junagadh city, and
90 km east of Keshod Airport, in
the Kathiawar (Saurashtra)
Peninsula. Sasan, with a forest
rest-house, is the headquarters
of the sanctuary.The Gir is a
mixed deciduous type of forest
with teak, ber, flame of the
forest, jamun, a variety of
acacia, particularly babul. It
is a hilly tract with plenty of
rivers, and offers the visitor
long pleasant drives, through
the thick forest cover.
Gir National Park is the only
remaining habitat of the Asiatic
lion, which has been confined to
this forest, since 1884 ( about
239 lions were reported in 1985
).The Asiatic lion is slightly
smaller than its African cousin,
nevertheless, a large male lion
of the Gir is quite a sight to
behold. The best way to observe
the big cats is, of course, in
their natural surroundings, at
dawn and dusk, when they are on
the prowl. The Forest Department
does arrange lion shows every
Sunday, where the spectators can
watch prides of lions on the
hunt.There are guided trips
available, to watch these
magnificent animals from a very
close range.
The chinkara, wild boar, striped
hyena, jackal, common langur,
porcupine, hare, black buck, are
the other animals, that can be
found in this sanctuary. There
are over 200 bird species
including the peafowl, grey
partridge, Bonelli's eagle,
crested serpent eagle, jungle
bush quail, painted sandgrouse,
common green pigeon and several
species of doves . The Gir is
also home to the marsh
crocodile, which can be sighted
easily in its rivers,
particularly in the lake of the
Kamaleshwar dam. There is also a
crocodile breeding farm at Sasan.
The Gir National Park is steeped
in history and folklore. It
boasts of temples of great
antiquity, like Kankai Mata and
Tulsishyam, a place of
pilgrimage with hot springs. The
forest is famous for its cattle
herders, the Madharis, whose
buffaloes form a substantial
part of the lions' meals.
Extremely hospitable, the
Madharis are herders, whose
lifestyle has changed little
over the years, and their
folklore and traditions are a
unique record of coexistence of
humans with lions.
Wildlife viewing in the Girs is
best done, by driving around the
forest. The best drives from
Sasan are, to Baval Chowk and
Kankai, to Chodavdi and
Tulsishyam, and to Kamaleshwar
dam. Though a sturdy car would
do, a jeep is definitely more
appropriate
Three unusual reserves, the
Nalsarovar Lake and Sanctuary -
home to several water-birds, the
Little Rann of Kutch - home of
the Indian wild ass, and the
fascinating Flamingo Island,
render the state of Gujarat a
virtual haven for wildlife buffs
The Topography(Gir National Park
): The state of Gujarat has some
splendid wildlife reserves that
are quite out of the ordinary.
The Gir National Park is the
only home in India of the
Asiatic Lion of which there are
nearly 300 in the park. This
sanctuary lies in the Gujarat
peninsula in South West India
and is gifted with a terrain
that is rugged with low hills
and the vegetation is full of
mixed deciduous, with stands of
Teak, Acacia, Jamun, Tendu and
Dhak trees, interspersed with
large patches of grasslands. On
the hills of the trees are
sparse and stunted.
Climate(Gir National Park )From
the three common seasons of
summer, winter and monsoon,
summer takes the longest
stretch, in which the average
minimum and maximum temperature
ranges between 10ºC to nearly
45ºC. The hottest months
recorded in Gir are April and
May. The rains bring some relief
from the heat during the
monsoons period of, starting
from middle of June and
September. The maximum recorded
during this period in the area
is around 1,866 mm and the
minimum recorded being 199mm.
Because of less rainfall water
always remains a critical factor
in the well being of the forest.
At times the waterholes are
required to be replenished
through water tankers from
outside and the park staff
maintains around 350 of such
waterholes.
The Lion King(Gir National Park )Gir Sanctuary is the last and
only home of the critically
endangered Asiatic Lion. These
lions are a smaller more compact
version of their African
version, and are best viewed at
dawn or dusk when they are on
the move. The major difference
between the two is that the
African Lion appears larger than
the Indian Lion because of its
large and luxuriant mane.
Extension Of The Sanctuary In
the past Gir had a much bigger
coverage area. After Indian
government placed a total ban on
killing of Lions in 1955, within
the time span of three years the
area estimation came around
2,560-sq-km and the Lion
population was estimated at 287.
Since then, the forest area very
quickly got reduced in area to
1,452-sq-km. In 1965, the
Gujarat government declared Gir
forest as a sanctuary and in
1975; part of the sanctuary was
declared as a National Park. And
with the success of the
protection program there is an
incredible increase in the Lion
population too, from 177 in 1974
to around 300 in 1995.
The main territories of this
territorial predator outside Gir
in Gujarat include Nagwa Beach
in Diu, Sutrapada, Palitana,
Mahuva, Savarkundla, Mitiyala,
Keshod, Maliya Hatina, and
Girnar.
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