Gir Forest National Park

Gir Forest National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary, also known as Sasan Gir, is a forest and wildlife
sanctuary near Talala Gir in Gujarat, India. It 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. It was established in 1965,
with a total area of 1,412 km2 (545 sq mi), of which 258 km2(100 sq mi) is fully protected as national
park and 1,153 km2 (445 sq mi) as wildlife sanctuary.[1] It is part of the Kathiawar-Gir dry deciduous
forestsecoregion.[2][3]In the 19th century, the rulers of Indian princely states used to invite the British
colonists for hunting expeditions. At the end of the 19th century, only about a dozen Asiatic
lions were left in India, all of them in the Gir Forest, which was part of the Nawab of Junagarh's
private hunting grounds. Today, it is the only area in Asia, where Asiatic lions occur, and is
considered one of the most important protected areas in Asia due to its supported species. The
Gir ecosystem with its diverse flora and fauna is protected as a result of the efforts of the
government forest department, wildlife activists and NGOs. However, faced with a drastic drop in the
lion population in Gir, after British viceroys brought to his attention the plight of the lion in Asia, the
sanctuary is the jewel of Gujarat's ecological resources. His son, Nawab Muhammad Mahabat Khan
III[4] 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.[5]

Bandhavgarh National Park

Bandhavgarh National Park is one of the popular national parks in Indialocated in
the Umaria district of Madhya Pradesh. Bandhavgarh was declared a national park in 1968, with an
area of 105 km2. The buffer is spread over the forest divisions of Umaria and Katni,and totals
820 km2. The park derives its name from the most prominent hillock of the area, which was said to
be given by Hindu Lord Rama to his brother Lakshmanato keep a watch on Lanka (Ceylon). Hence
the name Bandhavgarh(Sanskrit: Brother's Fort).This park has a large biodiversity. The density of
the tiger population at Bandhavgarh is one of the highest known in India. The park has a large
breeding population of leopards, and various species of deer. Maharaja Martand Singh of Rewa
captured the first white tiger in this region in 1951. This white tiger, Mohan, is now stuffed and on
display in the palace of the Maharajas of Rewa. Historically villagers and their cattle have been a
threat to the tiger. Rising mining activities around the park are putting the tigers at risk.
Bandhavgarh National Park is a park with a rich historical past. Prior to becoming a national park,
the forests around Bandhavgarh had long been maintained as a Shikargah, or game preserve, of the
Maharajas and their guests.In 1947, Rewa state was merged with Madhya Pradesh; Bandhavgarh
came under the regulations of Madhya Pradesh. The Maharaja of Rewa still retained the hunting
rights. No special conservation measures were taken until 1968, when the areas were constituted as
a national park. Since then, numerous steps have been taken to retain Bandhavgarh National Park
as an unspoilt natural habitat.Project Tiger was constituted in 1972, and then the Wildlife Protection
Act of 1972 came into force. It was realized that protection of just the 105 km2 of prime Bandhavgarh
habitat was enough, so in 1982, three more ranges were reduced, namely Khitauli, Magdhi, and
Kallawah were reduced to Tala range (the original Bandhavgarh National Park) to extend the area of
Bandhavgarh to 448 km2. As Project tiger decreased its activities and area of influence,
Bandhavgarh was taken into its folds in 1993, and a core area of 694 km2 was established including
the previously named ranges and the Panpatha Sanctuary along with a buffer area of 437 km2 which
was declared as the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve.
Kaziranga National Park
Kaziranga National Park (pronounced Assamese pronunciation: [kaziɹɔŋa ɹast(ɹ)iɔ uɪddan]) is
a national 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 2018 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 2,413. It comprises 1,641 adult rhinos (642 males, 793 females, 206
unsexed); 387 sub-adults (116 males, 149 females, 122 unsexed); and 385 cubs.[2] In 2015, the rhino
population stood at 2401. Kaziranga is home to the highest density of tigers among protected
areas in the world, and was declared a Tiger Reserve in 2006 (now the highest tiger density is in
Orang National Park, Assam) . 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, criss-crossed 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.

Satpura National Park

Satpura National Park also known as Satpura Tiger Reserve is located in the Hoshangabad
district of Madhya Pradesh in India. Its name is derived from the Satpura range. It covers an area of
524 km2 (202 sq mi). Satpura National Park, along with the adjoining Bori and Pachmarhi wildlife
sanctuaries, provides 2,200 km2 (850 sq mi) of unique central Indian highland ecosystem. It was set
up in 1981.
The terrain of the national park is extremely rugged and consists of sandstone peaks,
narrow gorges, ravines and dense forests. The altitude ranges from 300 to 1,352 metres (984 to
4,436 ft). It has Dhoopgarh peak as high as 1,350 metres (4,430 ft) and the almost level plains of
Churna.
The nearest town to the national park is Pachmarhi and the nearest rail-head is Piparia 55
kilometres (34 mi) away. The state capital Bhopal is 210 kilometres (130 mi) away.
Satpura National Park is very rich in biodiversity. The animals here
include leopard, sambar, chital, Indian muntjac, nilgai, four-horned antelope, Chinkara, wild
boar, bear, black buck, fox, porcupine, flying squirrel, mouse deer, and Indian giant squirrel. There
are a variety of birds. Hornbills and peafowl are common birds found here. The flora consists of
mainly sal, teak, tendu, Phyllanthus emblica, mahua, bel, bamboo, and grasses and medicinal
plants.
In previous years, there have been sightings of tigers, dholes, Indian gaurand barasingha, although
these are rare.[2]
Silent Valley National Park
Silent Valley National Park (Malayalam: സൈലന്‍റ വാലീ ് നാഷണല്‍ പാര്‍ക്ക്), is a national
park with a core zone of 237.52 square kilometres (92 sq mi) (making it the second largest national
park in Kerala). This national park has some rare species of flora and fauna. It is located in the Nilgiri
hills, within the palakkad District of Kerala, South India. This region was explored in 1847 by the
botanist Robert Wight,[1] This park is one of the last undisturbed tracts of South Western Ghats
mountain rain forests and tropical 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 UNESCOin 2007.[2]
Plans for a hydroelectric project that threatened the park's rich wildlifestimulated
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 Silent Valley region is locally known as "Sairandhrivanam", which
in Malayalammeans Sairandhri's Forest. Sairandhri is Draupadi, the wife of the Pandavas in the epic
Mahabharatha, who disguised herself as Sairandhri, the maid of a queen named Sudeshna, while
her family was in exile.[3] The Pandavas, deprived of their kingdom, set out on a 13-year exile. They
wandered south, into what is now Kerala, until one day they came upon a magical valley where
rolling grasslands met wooded ravines, a deep green river bubbled its course through impenetrable
forest, where at dawn and twilight the tiger and elephant would drink together at the water's edge,
where all was harmonious and man unknown. Beside that river, in a cave on a hill slope, the
Pandavas halted.[4]