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Wildlife Sanctuaries in India





>Introduction

● Rich biodiversity of India
India being a home to wide variety of plants and animals species is considered to be a country with megadiversity. It is a home to four biodiversity Hotspots with 91,200 animal species and 45,500 plant species,as estimated one sixth of worlds plant species are found in India.
It has 69 species of endemic birds,156 species of endemic reptiles and 110 endemic species of endemic amphibians.
All this biodiversity is being possible because of its diverse climate,topology and habitats which include tropical rainforest,coniferous forests and deciduous forests.

● Importance of Rich Biodiversity 
-India's rich biodiversity supports its ecological,economic,cultural and scientific value.
-It provides food,shelter,fuel,clothing and many other sustainable resources for people.
-It helps in energy restoration,production of organic material,regulation of climate and supports the water cycle.
●What are wildlife sanctuaries?
- The protected area for conservation of flora and fauna is known as wildlife sanctuary.
- The Wildlife Protection act in 1972 approves the establishment of such protected areas.
-As of November 2023,573 wildlife sanctuaries have been established covering 122,564.85 kilometer square.
- Project Tiger governs 53 reserves which are established to conserve the Bengal Tiger.
- Project Elephant governs 33 elephant reserves covering 80,778 kilometer square of area.
>Famous Wildlife Sanctuaries in India

●Kaziranga National Park
-This national park is spread over the five districts of Assam, thus it is known to have 5 ranges.
-These ranges are named as : Golaghat,Sonitpur,Biswanath and Nagaon.
- It hosts two-third of the world's Indian rhinoceros, making itself a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- The Forest Department of Government of Assam and some recognized wildlife NGO's conducted a census in March 2018 and found out the park has 2,613 Rhinoceros with 1,641 being adults and 385 to be calves.
- It is located on the edge of Eastern Himalaya Biodiversity Hotspot, combining high species diversity and visibility.
-Accompanied with rhinoceros,it is also a home to large breeding populations of elephants,wild water buffalo,swamp deer and to the avifaunal species of birds,
(birds found in specific region,period or environment).
- It has dense tropical moist broadleaf forests,criss-crossed by four major rivers with one being The Brahmaputra and it also includes numerous small bodies if water.
-The park celebrated its centennial in 2005 after its establishment in 1905 as a reserve forest.
●Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary 
-This national park is situated in the district of Idukki and Pathanamthitta in Kerala,India.
-It is spread over the area of 925 kilometer square of which 305 kilometer square is declared as the main zone.
- It holds the repository for endangered flora, fauna and rare endemic species.
- It also forms the major watershed for two important rivers of Kerala: Periyar and Pamba.
- It is located high in the Cardamom Hills and Pandalam Hills of South Western Ghats along the border with Tamil Nadu.
-It holds 1965 Taxa of flowering species, 171 species of grass and 140 species of orchids.
- It holds 35 species of mammals,266 species of birds,45 species of reptiles,40 species if fish,160 butterfly Taxa and Amphibians(Species include the Malabar gliding frog, Asian toad, fungoid frog, and bicolored frog).
- It was established in 1934-1950 (as Nellikkaampetty Game Sanctuary), 1950-present (as Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary).
●Gir Forest National Park
- This National park and Wildlife Sanctuary is located near Talala Gir in Gujarat,India.
-It is spread over the area of 1,410.30 kilometer square out of which 258.71 kilometer square is protected as national park and 1,151.59 kilometer square as wildlife sanctuary.
- 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 as a private hunting area for Nawab of Junagarh.
- The Asiatic lion Census is done every 5 year for calculation of the population of Lions.
- The population was 359 in 2005,411 in 2010 and it increased by 27% in 2015 that is 523,among which there are 109 males,201,females and 213 cubs.
-It remains closed every year throughout the monsoons season that is from 16 June to 15 October.
-The count of 2,375 distinct fauna species of Gir includes about 38 species of mammals, around 300 species of birds, 37 species of reptiles and more than 2,000 species of insects.
-There are seven major perennial rivers of this region, Hiran, Shetrunji, Dhatarvadi, Shingoda, Machhundri, Ambajal and Raval Rivers.
- The biggest reservoir in the area is Kamleshwar Dam which is known as " The lifeline of Gir".
●Sundarbans National Park
- This national park is situated in West Bengal, India and is considered as the major Tiger and Biosphere reserve. 
-It is part of the Sundarbans on the Ganges Delta which is  adjacent to the Sundarban Reserve Forest in Bangladesh. 
-It is one of the largest reserves for the Bengal tiger with densely covered mangrove forests.
-It also holds  a variety of bird, reptile and invertebrate species, including the salt-water crocodile.
Sup
-It was declared in 1973 that it is a major reserve for Sundarban tigers and in 1977 it was given a tag of Wildlife Sanctuary.
- It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site inscribed in 1987, and it has been designated as a Ramsar site since 2019.
- It is considered as a World Network of Biosphere Reserve (Man and Biosphere Reserve) from 1989.
-It has a total geographical area of 2585 km square with 1437.4 km square consisting of populated areas and forest covering the remaining 1474 km square.
-The habitat is traversed by many narrow tidal channels forming small to large islands. Tigers readily cross these islands and human-tiger interactions are common.
●Bandhavgarh National Park
-It is located in the Umaria district of Madhya Pradesh, India, with an area of 105 square kilometers. The current core area is spread over 716 square kilometers.
- It was declared a national park in 1968 and then Tiger reserve in 1993.
-There are more than 250 species of birds, about 80 species of butterflies, a number of reptiles,37 species of mammals with Tiger being on the apex of food chain.
-One of the biggest attractions of this national park is the Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) with a very high density of tigers within its jungles. 
-The richness and tranquity of grasslands invites pairs of sarus cranes to breed in the rainy season.
-The name of the park is derived from the most prominent hill of the area, which is said to have been given by Lord Rama to his brother Lakshmana to keep a watch on Lanka (Bandhav = Brother, Garh = Fort).
>Threats to Wildlife Sanctuaries in India

●Habitat loss and fragmentation
●Poaching and wildlife trafficking
●Human-wildlife conflict
●Climate change

>Conservation Efforts
●Protected Area Network
●Community-based conservation
●Research and monitoring
●Education and awareness



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