Wildlife In India

» Nagarhole National Park

Located 80 kms. from Mysore, it is India's largest stretch of protected forest, an area which include, besides Nagarhole, the neighbouring sanctuaries of Bandipur, Mudumalai and Wynaad. The name is derived from the combination of two Kannada words - 'nagar' meaning snake and 'hole' meaning streams and true to its name a number of streams snake through this rich tropical forest. Nagarhole's vegetation is refreshingly different from Bandipur's dry scrub - moist deciduous forests, including bamboo, teak, eucalyptus and cassia, cover much of the sanctuary, providing a refuge for a wide range of animals and birds.

The major wildlife of the park includes Four horned antelope, sloth bear, civet cat, barking deer, mouse deer, spotted deer, wild dog, elephant, jackal, common langur, slender loris, bonnet macaque, common mangoose, small Indian mangoose, striped-necked mangoose, otter, pangoline, panther, wild pig, porcupine, sambhar, giant squirrel, flying squirrel, malakar squirrel, three striped palm squirrel, tiger. Birds include pea fowl, common babbler, scinaitar babbler, bea eater, red whiskered bulbul, red vented bulbul, little brown dove, ring dove, spotted dove, crested hawk eagle, crested serpent eagle, tawny eagle, malabar pied hornbill, malabar grey hornbill, loriekeet, minivet, biyth's myna, Alexandrine parakeet, blue winged parakeet, blossom-headed and rose ringed parakeets, southern treepie, green imperial pigeon, adjutant stork, balabar trogon, great Indian Warbler, reed warbler, wood-peckers. Among reptiles there are common cobra, marsh crocodile (in Kabini river), Krait, monitor lizard, rock python, Indi

an python, bamboo viper, pit viper, Russell's viper, several species of gecko, skink and agamid lizards etc.