There are vast variations in geography, climate and vegetation in India. As a result, there is exciting diversity in habitats, animals and birds. The Himalayas, the highest mountains in the world, offers a wide range of landscapes and wildlife. The northern plains, the course of the holy rivers Ganga and the Yamuna, the Great Thar Desert in the west, the Sundarbans Delta of the Ganga and the Brahmaputra in the east, the ancient volcanic rock of the Deccan Plateau and the Western Ghats with their dense, luxuriant forest provides fascinating variations in habitats. In India, the total area covered by wildlife is approximately 90,000 sq km and constitutes 3 per cent of the country’s land area.

India has a long tradition of protecting and preserving wildlife. The need for conservation of the environment and the forests was felt by the Indian rulers from the ancient times. In the 3rd century BC, the Emperor Ashoka issued edicts to protect forests and natural wealth. Later during the reign of the Emperor Chandragupta Maurya, “forests free from fear” were identified and protected. In more recent times, the administrators and princely rulers demarcated and reserved forests as private preserves. Today many of these form the nucleus of India’s wildlife sanctuaries and parks. Indian literature also has references for concern for earth as well as for forests and its inhabitants. Earlier, British rulers and the Indian Maharajas hunted various wildlife animals, but later the Government of India took certain steps to protect these animals. Since 1970, wildlife has been protected by the Central and the State Government through legislation. Various Indian leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi also took a keen interest in the protection of wildlife. Due to their efforts only, the species which were on the verge of extinction have survived. The emphasis has been not only on protecting wildlife in reserved forests, but also on creating the harmony between man and animal. The demands of a rapidly increasing population continue to put pressure on surviving forests in India. Vast herds of black buck, that roamed the northern and western plains 50 years ago, are now found only in sanctuaries and around the villages of the Bishnoi tribes, who protected them. The project Tiger was started in 1973. but, today it is a massive attempt towards the conservation of the tiger and its environment. It covers 23 National Parks and Sanctuaries and its success can be judged from the fact that the number of tigers in India has gone up significantly since the project was launched.

There are about 80 National Parks and 441 Sanctuaries in India. Several national parks and sanctuaries of India are conveniently accessible by car and also have good accommodation. More than 350 mammals and 1,200 species of birds and reptiles are found in India, some of which are unique to this subcontinent. Some of these unique wild animals and birds are the white tiger, the royal Bengal tiger, the snow leopard, the Asiatic lion, the lion-tailed macaque, the Himalayan Tahr, one horned rhinoceros, the Andaman teal, the great Indian bustard and the Monal pheasant. Sighting of animals in India has a thrill of its own. Various animals like deer and elephants can be seen in small herds in dense forests and in isolated places, except the tiger. You can view the animals by either having an elephant safari, jeep safari or canter safari. Elephant safari is the best way to view these animals as everything which moves can be noticed from the height and if you are lucky, you might see a rare animal.

National Parks & Wildlife Sanctuaries in India (Statewise)

Following are some of the famous wildlife sanctuaries and national parks of India:
Name of National Park / Sanctuary	Best time to Visit	Animals & Species found
Andhra Pradesh
Kolleru Pelicanry	December - March	Pelicans, flamingo, heron, painted stork, avocent, teal and tern
Nagarjunasagar Srisailam Sanctuary	October – June	Tiger, panther, sloth bear, wild boar, chital, sambar, nilgai, blackbuck, jackal, fox, wolf and crocodile.
Assam
Kaziranga National Park	February - May	Great Indian one horned rhinoceros, wild buffalo, elephant, gaur, leopard cat, wild boar, civet cat, swamp deer, hog deer, sambar, tiger, python, pelican, partridge and florican
Manas National Park	February	Elephant, tiger, panther, gaur, wild buffalo, great Indian one-horned rhino, golden langur, civet cat, otter, swamp deer, hot, water monitor, wild boar, great pied hornbill, florican
Bihar
Hazaribagh Wildlife Sanctuary	October - June	Tiger, leopard, sambar, chital, nilgai, wild boar, wild cat, peafowl, etc
Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary	October – June	Elephant, leopard, wild boar, wild cat, peafowl, etc
Palamau Wildlife Sanctuary	Throughout the year	elephant, panther, wild boar, barking deer, gaur, chital, sambar, peafowl.
Goa, Daman And Diu
Mollem Wildlife Sanctuary	November - May	Gaur, sambar, mouse deer, barking deer, panther, flying squirrel, porcupine, civet cat, ant-eater, slender loris, grey junglefowl
Gujarat
Gir National Park	December - mid June	Asiatic lion, panther, striped hyena, sambar, nilgai, chital, four horned antelope, chinkara, wild boar, crocodile.
Indian Wild Ass Wildlife Sanctuary (Little Rann of Kutch)	January - mid June	Wild ass, nilgai, wolf, chinkara.
Marine National Park	November - February	Corals, octopus, puffer-fish, stork, heron, ibis, flamingo, pelican, wader.
Jammu and Kashmir
Dachigam National Park	April - November	Leopard, black bear, brown bear, serow, musk deer, hangul (barasingha).
Himachal Pradesh
The Great Himalayan National Park	April - June, Sept. to October	Thar, serow, goral, black bear, kalij, chir, koklas, chakor, partridge, civet, marten, flying fox
Karnataka
Bandipur National Park (Tiger Reserve)	March - August	Indian elephant, tiger, gaur, sambar, chital, barking deer, wild dog, wild boar, jackal, sloth bear, panther, four horned antelope, Malabar squirrel, green pigeon, jungle fowl, partridge, bush quail, etc
Bennarghatta National Park	Throughout the year	Elephant, sloth bear, chital, barking deer, grey partridge, bush quail, jungle fowl, etc.
Nagarhole National Park	October - March	Elephant, tiger, panther, chital, sambar, sloth bear, junglefowl, partridge, etc.
Ranganathittoo Bird Sanctuary	July - August	Open-billed stork, white ibis, little egret, cattle egret, darter, cormorant, pond heron, river tern, spoonbill, crocodile, etc.
Kerala
Periyar National Park (Tiger Reserve)	October - April	Elephant, tiger, panther, wild dog, gaur, sloth bear, nilgai, wild boar, sambar and barking deer.
Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary	October - April	Elephant, gaur, leopard, tiger, sloth bear, nilgai, chital, sambar, crocodile.
Madhya Pradesh
Kanha National Park	March - June	Tiger, panther, gaur, barasingha, chital, samber, blackbuck, four-horned antelope, barking deer, mouse deer, nilgai, wild dog, boar
Bandhavgarh National Park	November - June	Tiger, panther, gaur, chital, sambar, nilgai, chinkara, barking deer, bear, wild boar and a variety of upland birds.
Maharashtra
Tadoba National Park	May - June	Tiger, panther, sloth bear, gaur, samber nilgai, chital, chinkara, crocodile
Dhakna-Kolkaz Sanctuary (Tiger Reserve)	April - May	Tiger, panther, gaur, sloth bear, sambar, barking deer, four horned antelope, wild boar, chital and birds.
Karnala Bird Sanctuary	January - April	Ashy minivet, paradise fly-catcher, Sharma, Malabar whistling thrush, racket-tailed drongo, woodpecker, Panther, four horned antelope and common langur.
Manipur
Keibul Lamjao National Park	February - April	Brown-antlered deer, wild goat and water birds.
Dampa Wildlife Sanctuary	November - February	Elephant, tiger, leopard, sambar, barking deer, Himalayan bear, wild boar, wild dog, wild cat, gaur, leopard cat, king cobra, python, hornbill, pheasant, etc.
Nagaland
Intangki Wildlife Sanctuary	November - March	Gaur, boar, elephant, barking deer, bear, clouded leopard, panther, tiger, pangolin and various kinds of reptiles
Orissa
Satkosia Gorge Wildlife Sanctuary	Summer and winter	Gharial and mugger, tiger, leopard, jungle cat, civet, gaur, ratel four-horned antelope, hornbill, jungle fowl and other birds
Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary	Winter	Salt-water crocodile, leopard cat, hyena, jungle cat, leopard, wild boar, chital, sambar, giant squirrel, water monitor, sea-turtle, king cobra, python, painted stork, adjustant stork, openbilled stork, white ibis, black ibis, etc
Chilka Wildlife Sanctuary	Winter	Blackbuck, chital, ibis, crane, cormorant, egret, flamingo, and pelican.
Simlipal National Park (Tiger Reserve)	Winter	Tiger, Elephant, Gaur, chital, leopard, mouse deer, flying squirrel and mugger
Punjab
Harike Headworks Sanctuary	October - March	Duck, pochard, teal, coot, waterhen, geese, nilgai and wild boar
Rajasthan
Ranthambore National Park (Tiger Reserve)	All year round except July, August and September	Tiger, panther, hyena, jungle cat, civet, sambar, chital, nilgai, bear, wild boar, partridge, green pigeon, red spur fowl, etc
Sariska National Park (Tiger Reserve)	All year round except July, August and September	Tiger, panthaer, hyena, jungle cat, civet, sambar, chinkara, nilgai, four horned antelope, partiridge, green pigeon, red spur fowl
Keoladeo (Ghana) Bird Sanctuary	October - February	Siberian crane, cormorant, strok, spoonbill, quail, coot, heron, feal, tern, sambar, chital, black-buck, wild boar, civet, etc
Desert Sanctuary	All year round	Great Indian bustard, blackbuck, chinkara
Sikkim
Kanchendzonga National Park	February - April, October and November	Snow leopard, clouded leopard, marbled cat, civet, binturong, Himalayan black bear, red panda, Tibetan wild ass, blue sheep, serow, goral, takin, musk deer, pheasant, partridge, green pigeon.
Tamil Nadu
Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary	February - June	Elephant, gaur, chital sambar, tiger, panther, sloth bear, wild dog, etc.
Mundanthuri Wildlife Sanctuary	September - November	Tiger, chital, sambar, wild boar, lion-tailed macaque
Point Calimere Wildlife Sanctuary	January - September	Blackbuck, chital, wild boar, flamingoes
Vedanthangal Birds Sanctuary	November - February	Different water birds
Kalakkadu Wildlife Sanctuary	Whole year	Lion-tailed macaque
Uttar Pradesh
Corbett National Park (Tiger Reserve)	November - May	Elephant, tiger, panther, sloth bear, nilgai, sambar, chital, wild boar, porcupine, peafowl, red jungle fowl, partridge, both species of Indian inland crocodiles, goral and four-horned antelope.
Dudhwa National Park	November – May	Tiger, panther, sloth bear, sambar, swamp deer, barking deer, nilgai, peafowl, junglefowl, partidge, etc.
West Bengal
Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary	December - May	Rhino, elephant, tiger, leopard, wild boar, gaur, barking deer, hog deer, sambar and a variety of birds
Sunderbans National Park	September - May	Tiger, different species of deer, wild boar, estuarine crocodile, Gangetic dolphin

Guidelines for Visitors to National Parks & Sanctuaries

To enjoy a visit to a wildlife sanctuary, the following guidelines may be kept in mind:

Be as quiet as possible. Avoid radios, transistors and music in the jungle. It disturbs the animals.
Dress in Khaki, or brown or olive green to merge with the surroundings.
Avoid pollution of air, soil or water.
Dangerous animals should not be approached on foot.
You can also use the services of a local guide / Naturalist to take you around and to explain about the various wildlife animals.
You can also take cameras and binoculars with you at some permitted sanctuaries.
Perfumes and cigarettes are not allowed inside the sanctuary as the animals have an extremely keen senses of smell.

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