Ranthambore National Park Gallery

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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)

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Changthang Wildlife Sanctuaries 

The Changtang is a high altitude plateau in western and northern Tibet extending into southeastern Ladakh,with vast highlands and giant lakes. From Eastern Ladakh Changtang stretches approximately 1600 km east into Tibet, as far as the state of Qinghai. All of it is geographically part of Tibetan Plateau. It is the home of the Changpa nomads.

Climate-

The climate of Changtang is harsh and unpredictable. The summers are warm but short and thunder storms can occur at any time of year, often with hail. The winters are cold and Arctic-like, despite the latitude, due to the high elevation.
Changtang Wildlife Sanctuary
The Changtang Wildlife Sanctuary (or the Changtang Cold Desert Wildlife Sanctuary) is a high altitude wildlife sanctuary located in the Ladakhi adjunct of the Changtang plateau in the Leh District, Jammu and Kashmir. It is important as one of the few places in India with a population of the kiang or Tibetan wild ass, as well as the rare Black-necked Crane.
The altitude of the sanctuary varies from 14,000 to 19,000 feet, and the topography is formed of deep gorges and vast plateaus. There are around 11 lakes and 10 marshes in the Changtang Cold Desert Sanctuary, and the majestic River Indus dances through the sanctuary, dividing it into two parts.
The cold desert vegetation of this wildlife Sanctuary though quite sparse but the ecological marginal conditions have employed some remarkable characteristics in these vegetation, which has high medicinal properties.

The Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary is a house for many rare Flora and Fauna of Ladakh, which are well cared for in this wildlife sanctuary. The sanctuary is located at a high altitude in Ladakh district of Jammu Kashmir.Changthang wildlife sanctuary is surrounded by two large and world famous water lakes that are Tsomoriri and Pangong Tso.Tso-Moriri is one of the huge mountain lakes in the southeastern part of Ladakh. Karzok village is situated on the South West bank of this lake and it's the world's highest inhabited village.The flora and fauna of Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary has natural grasslands and a wide variety of more than two hundred species of wild plants that grow in higher pasture of this area and most of which is edible by animals.

Fauna:

Dachigam is considered home to some of the unique Himalayan range of flora and fauna. Primary amongst them is the Hangul or Kashmir stag, the most endangered species of red deer in the world. Some birds and animals found during this time of the year include the cinnamom sparrows, black and yellow grosbeak, black bulbuls, monal pheasant and the Himalayan gray langur. The main predator in the park is the leopard and other scavengers, which also feed on the prey of the leopard, are the jackal, hill fox, yellow-throated marten and the wild boar. Himalayan griffon, lammergeier, leopard cat, long tailed blue magpie, jungle cat and Himalayan weasel can also be sighted during this period.

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Wildlife Destinations in India

Bangalore: India is blessed with a number of adventurous wildlife tourist destinations. The unique wildlife tourism in India attracts tourists from worldwide to visit the wildlife sanctuaries and national parks in India embedded with beautiful and natural surroundings. These parks are decked naturally with a wide variety of flora and fauna. Listed below are the top five wildlife destinations in India.

Ranthambor National Park

Ranthambore National Park is known for its tigers and is one of the best places in India to see these majestic predators in the jungle. Tigers can be easily spotted even during the day time. A good time to visit Ranthambore National Park is in November and May when the nature of the dry deciduous forests makes sightings common. Its deciduous forests were once a part of the magnificent jungles of Central India. The park covers an area of 392 km², and is known for its tiger population, and is one of India's Project Tiger reserves. Other major wild animals include leopard, nilgai, wild boar, sambar, hyena, sloth bear and chital. It is also home to wide variety of trees, plants, birds and reptiles. Ranthambore is also the site for one of the largest banyan trees in India.

Sundarbans National Park

The Sundarbans National Park is a National Park, Tiger Reserve, and a Biosphere Reserve located in the Sundarbans delta in the Indian state of West Bengal. This region is densely covered by mangrove forests, and is one of the largest reserves for the Bengal tiger. It is also home to a variety of bird, reptile and invertebrate species, including the salt-water crocodile. The present Sundarbans National Park was declared as the core area of Sundarbans Tiger Reserve in 1973 and a wildlife sanctuary in 1977. On May 4, 1984 it was declared a National Park.The Sundarbans forest is home to more than 400 tigers. The Royal Bengal Tigers have developed a unique characteristic of swimming in the saline waters, and are famous for their man-eating tendencies. Tigers can be seen on the river banks sunbathing between November and February.Apart from the Royal Bengal Tiger; Fishing Cats, Leopard Cats, Macaques, Wild Boar, Indian Grey Mongoose, Fox, Jungle Cat, Flying Fox, Pangolin, Chital, are also found in abundance in the Sundarbans.

Kanha National Park

Kanha National Park is a national park and a Tiger Reserve in the Mandla and Balaghat districts of Madhya Pradesh, India. In the 1930s, Kanha area was divided into two sanctuaries, Hallon and Banjar, of 250 and 300 km² . Kanha National Park was created on 1 June 1955. Today it stretches over an area of 940 km² in the two districts Mandla and Balaghat. Together with a surrounding buffer zone of 1,067 km² and the neighboring 110 km² Phen Sanctuary it forms the Kanha Tiger Reserve."Kanha Tiger Reserve". Madhya Pradesh Forest Department. Retrieved 14 April 2010. This makes it the largest National Park in Central India.
At Kanha the majestic tiger is the keystone species. The big cats tigers and leopards are tertiary carnivores in the food chain. Besides the big cats wild dogs, wild cat, fox and the jackal are carnivores commonly seen at Kanha.Among the deer species Swamp Deer or Hard Ground Barasingha is pride of the place as it is the only sub species of swamp deer in India (Cervus Duavcelli Branderi). The animal is adopted to hard ground unlike swamp deers of the North which live in marshy swamps. Kanha National Park has been instrumental in rescuing the “Swamp Deer” from extinction. Indian Gaur (Bos guarus) is in reality an ox race it is found in Kanha.

Pench National Park

The Pench National Park is situated in the north-western state of Maharashtra in India, and is located at a distance of 70 kilometers from the city of Nagpur. The Pench National Park spreads over a vast area of 275 square kilometers, and the park stretches out into the neighboring state of Madhya Pradesh. The flora of the Pench National Park in Maharashtra is typical of the southern tropical deciduous forest. The best time to visit the Pench National Park is between the month s of February and April. The wildlife park is very popular for its deer and leopards.

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National Parks India

India is unique in the richness and diversity of its vegetation and wildlife. India's national parks and wild life sanctuaries (including bird sanctuaries) from Ladakh in Himalayas to Southern tip of Tamil Nadu, are outstanding  and the country continues to "wow" the tourists with its rich bio-diversity and heritage.  Wildlife sanctuaries in India attracts people from all over the world as the rarest of rare species are found here. With 96 national parks and over 500 wildlife sanctuaries, the range and diversity of India's wildlife heritage is matchless. Some of the important sanctuaries in India are The Jim Corbett Tiger Reserve – Uttaranchal, Kanha National Park and Bandhavgarh National Park in Madhya Pradesh, Ranthambhor National Park - Sawai Madhopur, Gir National Park - Sasangir (Gujarat) etc. Supporting a great variety of mammals and over 585 India has unmatched variety of flora and fauna that makes it extensively different from the rest of the world. Tourists visiting for wildlife tour in India, will enjoy during any season, but to experience migrating birds, tiger, leopard, barasingha and other rare species, then winter is the best season to visit sanctuaries especially for those tourists coming for wildlife tour in India. Due to water scarcity in the hot weather, animals come out in herd in search of water.

Popular Willdife Parks of India

Bandhavgarh National Park

The thick forest of Bandhavgarh National Park sits in a bowl encircled by cliffs and wooded Vindhyan mountains, and its plains have a number of grass and reed covered wetlands where Kingfishers dive and Egrets sit poised, hunch-backed, in the shallows. Up above, vultures nestle in holes in the sheer cliffs.

Flora In Bandhavgarh

Initially just 105.40-sq-kms in area, Bandhavgarh with 25 resident tigers, was noted for its high-density tiger population. Today, it has been extended to an area of 437-sq-kms. About half the Bandhavgarh park is covered with fine trees of Sal, while mixed forests are found in the higher reaches of the hills. Stretches of bamboo and grasslands extend to the north. The main wildlife viewing is still done in the core of the park with its 32 picturesque, wooded hills.

Ranthambore National Park

The landscape is dotted with ancient Banyan Trees, Dhok & Pipal trees, clusters of mango trees and crisscrossed with evergreen belts. The terrain is made up of massive rock formations, steep scarps, perennial lakes and streams and forest suddenly opening up into large areas of Savannah. The terrain of Ranthambore Wildlife Sanctuary fluctuates between impregnable forests and open bush land. The forest is the typically dry deciduous type, with Dhok, being the most prominent tree.

Major Wildlife Attractions - Ranthambore National Park

Ranthambore National Park is famous for its Tigers and is a favorite with photographers. For a relatively small area, the park has a rich diversity of fauna and flora - species list includes 300 trees, 50 aquatic plants, 272 birds, 12 reptiles including the Marsh Crocodile & amphibians and 30 mammals.

For the wildlife savvy, Ranthambore wildlife sanctuary today offers an intense diversity of flora and fauna. Tigers, the park's pride makes it one of the best places in the country to observe them. Apart from that a large numbers of Sambar, Chital, Nilgai, Gazzelle, Boars, Mongoose, Indian Hare, Monitor Lizards and a large number of birds.

Corbett National Park

Nestling in the foothils of the Himalayas, the tiger reserve extends over an area of 1200 sq. km. The Ramganga River flows through the park and little forest streams tumble through the ravines. While dense stands of sal cloak the higher ridges, mixed deciduous forests are found throughout the park

"Project Tiger" was launched here in 1973. In addition to tigers, leopards and elephants, four species of deer - hog deer, sambar, chital and barking deer - are found here. Besides these, Corbett is a haven for 50 mammals, 580 kinds of birds and 25 reptile species. Basking along the banks of the Ramganga are the fish-eating gharial and the mugger or marsh crocodile. The river is rich in the golden mahaseer.

Eravikulam National Park

The Idukki district of Kerala is the perfect place to admire the Western Ghats mountain range, preferably from the confines of Eravikulam National Park. Another potential UNESCO World Heritage Site, the park has some impressive animal residents, from golden jackals to gaurs, porcupines to jungle cats.

Kaziranga National Park

A Unesco World Heritage Site in the remote, northeastern state of Assam, Kaziranga National Park has many significant claims to fame. For one, the park is home to two-thirds of the planet’s Great One-horned Rhinoceros population. Another feather in the park’s proverbial cap is that it contains the highest density of tigers of any conservation area in the world.

Kudremukh National Park

Though conservationists worry about the potential harmful effects of iron ore mines in the Kudremukh mountain range of Karnataka state, the national park still has a bevy of impressive attractions. Sloth bears, wild dogs, Malabar civets.

Nagarhole National Park

Also known as Rajiv Gandhi National Park, Nagarhole is less than 100 km from Mysore in Karnataka. The tropical conservation area teems with elephants, macaques, leopards, wild dogs, bison and has a notable tiger population as well.

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Nelapattu Bird SanctuaryAndhra Pradesh

Nelapattu Bird Sanctuary is in Nelapattu village. It is located on the East Coast about 20-km north of the Pulicat Bird Sanctuary in the Nellore district. Nelapattu Bird Sanctuary is just 50-km from Chennai. The Nelapattu Bird Sanctuary is one of the largest pelican habitats in Southeast Asia. The total area of the sanctuary is 404-kms. Pulicat Lake near Nellore is the second largest brackish water lake in India and attracts thousands of migratory birds this world-renowned sanctuary on the banks of Pulicat lake, is spread over 486 sq.km. In Nelapattu Bird Sanctuary you can sopt the well-known Siberian Cranes and nearly 160 species of birds from as far away as the USA, China, Antarctica among others. Nelapattu Bird Sanctuary is the breeding gound for rare and endangered species like Grey Pelicans, Open-Billed Storks, Little Cormorants, Spoon Bills, White Ibises and Night Herons. Egrets, Terns and Ducks also find it an ideal roosting place.

Wild life in the Nelapattu Bird Sanctuary:

As the Nelapattu Bird Sanctuary is situated on the banks of Pulicat lake, this bird sanctuary is the breeding ground for numerous rare and endangered bird species like Grey Pelicans, Open-Billed Storks, Little Cormorants, Spoon Bills, White Ibises and Night Herons. Egrets, Ducks, to name only a few. Other bird species like Babblers, Pelicans, Flamingos, Open Billed Stork, Coot, Night Heron and Waders are readily seen birds in the Nelapattu Bird Sanctuary. This bird sanctuary also provides habitats to many mammals like jackals, slender loris and reptiles like monitor lizard, tortoises and snakes. Migratory birds all across the world find the Nelapattu Bird Sanctuary a best visiting place for perching and nesting every year.

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Kutch Desert Wildlife Sanctuary Gujarat

This sanctuary with area of 7506.22 sq.km. is the largest in the state, encompasses a true saline desert where thousands of Flamingoes nest and breed in the world famous Flamingo City while a 5000-year-old city lies buried in an eternal silence close by. This area was declared a sanctuary in February 1986.
The Kutch Desert Wildlife Sanctuary of Gujarat comprises of forest area, revenue wasteland and territorial water of the Arabian Sea. Kutch Desert Wildlife Sanctuary lies in the north-eastern part of Kutch district that borders Pakistan and Wild Ass Sanctuary.
Kutch Desert Wildlife Sanctuary represents one of the largest seasonal saline wetland areas having water depth between 0.5 to 1.5 metres. But, after October-November, water dries up and the entire area turns into saline desert. The sanctuary supports wide variety of water birds and bewildering range of mammalian wildlife.

About the Sanctuary

The sanctuary has some other attractions as well. Embedded below the Jurassic and Cretaceous rocks on Khadir, Kuvar and Pachchham bets, are plenty of fossils of vertebrates, invertebrates and plants. There are records of recovery of fossils of dinosaurs, crocodiles (of Dinosaurian period) and whales (of tertiary period). Fossilised forests have also been found in the rocks belonging to Jurassic and Cretaceous eras. The fossils of invertebrates include those of amonites, sea urchins and such othersThe sanctuary has some other attractions as well. Embedded below the Jurassic and Cretaceous rocks on Khadir, Kuvar and Pachchham bets, are plenty of fossils of vertebrates, invertebrates and plants. There are records of recovery of fossils of dinosaurs, crocodiles (of Dinosaurian period) and whales (of tertiary period). Fossilised forests have also been found in the rocks belonging to Jurassic and Cretaceous eras. The fossils of invertebrates include those of amonites, sea urchins and such others.

Important animals-

Wolf, hyena, jackal, chinkara, wild ass, bluebull, wild boar, Indian porcupine, pale hedgehog, mongoose, rufous-tailed hare, desert fox, spiny tailed lizard etc.

Important birds:

Greater flamingo, lesser flamingo, pelicans, black-necked storks, cormorant, Indian cormorant, brahmini duck, pintail, spotbill, shoveller, pochard, sandpiper, gulls, terns, stints, plovers etc

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