National Parks in India

» Palamau National Park

170 kms. from Ranchi lies the beautiful forest of Palamau National Park or Betia. The reserve has undulating land scape of Sal forest. Palamau was originally established in 1960 and then extended to present area .The park covers around 1000 sq. kms. of area, which also include famous Bamboo forests. Palamau was one of the oldest Tiger Reserves of the country, which was declared as Protected Zone in the year 1973 but still problems of animals poaching is not entirely curbed. There are many villages inside the park boundary, which is a constant threat to animals being killed illegally.

The world's first Tiger census took place here in 1932. During the year 1972, there were 22 tigers, in the year 1979 there were 37, in the year 1984 there were 62, but in the year 1993 there were 44, in the year 1995 there were 47 and in the year 1997 only 44 tigers have left. Palmau is also one of the best places in India to see Wild Elephants. The other inhabitants of Reserve are Leopard, Indian Wolf, Wild Dogs, Wild Boar, Gaur, Munjtac, Chital, Nilgai, Sambar and around 140 species of birds are found here.