WILD LIFE : :
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Kerala,
the land of mountains, rivers, lakes, backwaters, has numerous national
parks and Sanctuaries. The enchanting green forest with elephants,
tigers, wild dogs, sambars, gaurs, leopards, and many indigenous and
water birds gives the tourist a rare sight.
Kerala is paradise for the bird watcher with hundreds of species of
birds. There are wild varieties of native birds and large number of
migratory birds flock here. Thattekad, Munnar, Chinnar, Periyar &
Kumarakom are the major bird tour places. |
| Parambikulam
Wildlife Sanctuary : : |
Kerala
has about 30% of its land cover accounted for by forests. The
jungles of Kerala are famous for the elephants and tigers besides
other animals like sambar deer and wild buffalos. Periyar Wild
Life Sanctuary, Parambikulam Wild Life Sanctuary, Eravikulam
National Park are the major wild life centres. Kumarakom, Thattekkad,
Myladumpara are the main bird watching centres.
Thekkady : :
The very sound of the word thekkady conjures up images of elephants,
unending chains of hills and spice scented plantations. In the
periyar forest of thekkady is one of the finest wildlife reserves
in india, and spread across the entire district are picturesque
plantations and hill towns that hold great opportunities for
treks and mountain walks.
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| Idukki
Wildlife Sanctuary : : |
This
sanctuary extends over the Thodupuzha and Udumpanchola taluks
of Idukki district, spreading over 77sq.km and is about 450-748m
above sea level. Main attractions in this sanctuary are animals
like elephant, bison, sambar deer, wild dog, jungle cat, tiger,
wild boar etc. snakes like Cobra, Viper, Krait and a number
of non poisonous snakes. And birds like Jungle fowl, myna, laughing
thrush, black bulbul, peafowl, woodpecker, kingfisher etc.
Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary
This sanctuary is on the way
to Ponmudi 50 kms from Thiruvananthapuram, a small detour from
Vithurai. The possible wild life sightings are elephants, sambar
deer, leopards and lion tailed macaque. |
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| Kumarakom
Bird Sanctuary : : |
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Located on the banks of the
Vembanad Lake, the Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary, an ornithologist's
paradise, is a favourite haunt of migratory birds like the
Siberian stork, egret, darter heron and teal. Other common
varieties like the woodpecker, skylark, crane, water hen and
parrots can also be spotted here. A cruise along the Vembanad
Lake is the best way to experience the sanctuary. Pathiramanal,
an enchanting island on the lake, can be accessed by boat
from here.
Thattekad Bird Sanctuary : :
This
bird sanctuary is a peninsular land of 25 sq. km. Formed between
the branches of River Periyar. The rivers are rich in fishlife
and are shallow for most of the year.The avifauna includes
both resting indigenous birds and water birds. The most notable
of the indigenous birds are Malabar grey hornbill, grey jungle
fowl, heron, egret, jungle myna, wood pecker, rose winged
and blue winged parakeet. Rare birds like Ceylon frog-mouth,
rose billed roller etc. are also seen |  |
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| Eravikulam
National Park : : |
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Rajamalai in the Eravikulam
National Park is about 17 km from Munnar. The sanctuary provides
close viewing of the Nilgiri Thar, an endangered species.
More than half of the Nilgiri Thar is found in this sanctuary.
The other interesting sight is the flowering of the Neelakurinji
in the forests and grasslands. This flower blooms only once
in 12 years. The next bloom is expected in 2006 AD only. The
other animal sightings commonly reported are Panther, Sambhar,
Barking Deer, Gaur, Giant Malabar Squirrel etc. The sanctuary
is 4 km from the Munnar.
Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary :
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The Neyyar reservoir is easily
navigable and extends 9.06 sq. km. The vegetation varies from
tropical wet evergreen to grasslands. Agasthyakoodam of 1890
metres elevation is in this sanctuary. Elephants, gaur, sloth
bear, Nilgiri Tahr, jungle cat, wild boar, Nilgiri Langur
etc. are seen. |
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| Wayanad
wildlife sanctuary : : |
Established
in 1973, the wayanad wildlife sanctuary is contiguous to the
protected area network of Nagarhole and Bandipur of Karnataka
on the northeast and Mudumalai of Tamil Nadu on the southeast.
Rich in bio-diversity, the sanctuary is an integral part of
the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, which has been established with
the specific objective of conserving the biological heritage
of the region. The sanctuary is very rich in flora and fauna.
Peechi Wildlife Sanctuary : :
Peechi Wildlife Sanctuary,
established in 1958 has got 125 Sq.Km area and Peechy is only
15 Km from Thrissur. The Peechi-Vazhani Sanctuary has dense,
moist deciduous and semi-evergreen forests and is located in
the catchments area of the Peechi and Vazhani dams. With more
than 50 species of orchids and medicinal plants, the sanctuary
is a veritable treasure for rare flora and fauna. |
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