Ranthambore National Park

Ranthambore National Park is one of the biggest and most renowned national park in Northern India. The park is located in the Sawai Madhopur district of southeastern Rajasthan, which is about 130 km from Jaipur. Being considered as one of the famous and former hunting grounds of the Maharajas of Jaipur, today the Ranthambore National Park terrain is major wildlife tourist attraction spot.
Ranthambore National park is spread over an area of 1,334 sq km along with its nearby sanctuaries like - the Mansingh Sanctuary and the Kaila Devi Sanctuary.The park is majorly famous for its tigers and is one of the best locations in India to see the majestic predators in its natural habitat. The tigers can be easily spotted even during the day time busy at their ordinary quest- hunting and taking proper care of their young ones.
Ranthambore is also counted as the famous heritage site because of the pictorial ruins that dot the wildlife park. Certainly, a visit to Ranthambore National Park is a treat for every wildlife and nature lover. The time spend on watching tigers roaming around, verdant greenery, a gamut of other species of chirpy birds and animals is priceless and worth enough to be explored at least once in a life.
Ranthambore is best known for its large tiger population. As tourism in the park increased, so did the population of neighbouring villages. This led to increasing amounts of fatal human-tiger interactions and poaching. The Indian Government started Project Tiger in 1973 with an allotted area of 60 mi2. It was later expanded to become what is now called, the Ranthambore National Park. Besides tigers, the reserve has thriving bird population with more than 270 different species of birds here.

Ranthambore National Park Animals:

Tigers, Leopards, Striped Hyenas, Sambar deer, Chital, Nilgai, Common or Hanuman langurs, Macaques, Jackals, Jungle cats, Caracals, Sloth bears, Black bucks, Rufoustailed Hare, Indian Wild Boar, Chinkara, Common Palm Civets or Toddy cat, Coomon Yellow Bats, Desert Cats, Fivestriped Palm Squirels, Indian False Vampires, Indian Flying Foxes, Indian Foxes, Indian Gerbilles, Indian Mole Rats, Indian Porcupines, Longeared Hedgehogs, Ratels, Small Indian Mongoose, Small Indian Civets and Common mongoose.

Birds in Ranthambore:

Ranthambore, due to its varied terrain and abundance of water bodies, has an excellent population of birds, resident and migrant. In total, a list of 272 species have been documented. Some of the best locations to watch birds are Malik Talao, the Ranthambore Fort, Rajbagh Talao, Padam Talao and in the Jhalra area. The most important birds in Ranthambore include's Graylag Goose, Woodpeckers, Indian Gray Hornbills, Common Kingfishers, Bee Eaters, Cuckoos, Parakeets, Asian Palm Swift, Owl, Nightjars, Pigeon, Dove, Crakes, Snipes, Sandpipers, Gulls, Terns, Great Crested Grebe, Eagles, Darters, Cormorants, Egrets, Herons, Bitterns, Flamingos, Ibis, Pelicans, Storks, Pittas, Shrikes, Treepies, Crows, Orioles, Cuckoo-Shrikes, Minivets, Drongos, Flycatchers, Ioras, Wood Shrikes, Pipits, Bayas, Sparrows, Finches, Wagtails, Munias, Bulbul, Mynas, Falcons etc.

Flora in Ranthambore:

The vegetation in the park is mostly of the dry deciduous type with a large variety consisting of nearly 300 species. The majority of the tree cover is however mainly made up of :
1. Am (Magnifera iIndica)
2. Imli (Tamarindicus indica)
3. Babul (Accasia nilotica)
4. Banyan (F icus benghalensis)
5. Ber (Zizyphus mauritania)
6. Dhak or Chila (flame of the forest){Butea monosperma}
7. Dhok (Anogeossis pendula)
8. Jamun (Syzygium cumini)
9. Kadam (Authocephalus cadamba)
10. Khajur (Phoenix sylvestris)
11. Khair (Accacia catechu)
The forests of Ranthambore have a lot of contrasting vegetation
12. Karel (Capparis decidua)
13. Khejda (Prosopis specigera)
14. Kakera (Flacourtia indica)
15. Mohua (Madhuca indica)
16. Neem (Azadirachta indica)

Wildlife Sanctuaries in India