Periyar National Park
IUCN category II (national park)
Location	Idukki and Pathanamthitta, India
Coordinates	9°28′N 77°10′E / 9.467°N 77.167°E / 9.467; 77.167Coordinates: 9°28′N 77°10′E / 9.467°N 77.167°E / 9.467; 77.167
Area	305 km²
Established	1982
Visitors	180,000 (in 1986)
Governing body	Kerala Forest Department

Periyar National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary (PNP) is a protected area in the districts of Idukki and Pathanamthitta in Kerala, south India. It is notable as an elephant reserve and a tiger reserve. The protected area covers an area of 925 km² (357 sq mi). 350 km² (140 sq mi) of the core zone was declared as the Periyar National Park in 1982.

The park is often called the Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary. It is also referred to by the name "Thekkady". It is set high in the Cardamom Hills and Pandalam Hills of the southern Western Ghats along the border with Tamil Nadu state. The park is located 4 km (2.5 mi) from Kumily, approximately 100 km (62 mi) east of Kottayam, 110 km (68 mi) west of Madurai and 120 km (75 mi) southeast of Kochi.^[1]

Geography[link]

The Periyar protected area lies in the middle of a mountainous area of the Cardamom Hills. In the north and the east it is bounded by mountain ridges of over 1,700 m (5,600 ft) altitude and toward the west it expands into a 1,200 metres (3,900 ft) high plateau. From this level the altitude drops steeply to the deepest point of the reserve, the 100 meter valley of the Pamba River. The highest peak is the 2,019 m (6,624 ft) high Kottamalai.

The sanctuary surrounds picturesque 26 km² (10 sq mi) Periyar lake, formed by the building of Mullaperiyar Dam in 1895. This reservoir and the Periyar River meander around the contours of the wooded hills, providing a permanent source of water for the local wildlife.

Climate[link]

submerged trees in Periyar lake

The temperature varies depending upon the altitude and it ranges between 15° Celsius in December and January and 31° Celsius in April and May. The annual amount of precipitation lies between 2000 and 3000 mm. About two thirds of the precipitation occurs during the southwest monsoon between June to September. A smaller amount of precipitation occurs during the northeast monsoon between October and December.

Flora[link]

Approximately 75% of the entire protected area are covered of unaffected evergreen or semi-evergreen rain forest. There typically tall tropical tree species such as Vateria indica,Cullenia exarillata, Hopea parviflora, Canarium strictum, Artocarpus hirsutus and Bischofia javanica are seen. They reach heights of 40 to 50 Metres.

Scarcely 13% consists of damp leaves forest, 7% of Eucalyptus plantation and 1.5% of grassland. The remainder (around 3.5%) of the protected area is covered by the Periyar artificial lake as well as the Periyar River and Pamba rivers.

Altogether the reservation counts nearly 2000 kinds of flowering plants (Angiosperms), three kinds of seed plants (gymnosperms) and 170 different species of ferns. Among the Angiosperms, there are 169 families of sweet grasses and 155 kinds of Fabaceae. Orchids, with 145 representative types, are the most frequent flower.

About 350 of the occurring plant types can be used for medical purposes.

Also they have huge area of picnic spot along with the woter frony off..

Fauna[link]

Dholes in Periyar National Park

Photograph taken during a guided walk through the wildlife sanctuary.

Photograph taken during a guided walk through the wildlife sanctuary.

Mammals[link]

Periyar National Park is known for its elephants. Altogether 62 different kinds of mammals have been recorded in Periyar, including many threatened ones. It is clearly better than Ranthambore National Park for spotting tigers. Periyar is a highly protected tiger reserve and elephant reserve. There are an estimated 53 tigers (2010) in the reserve.^[2] Tourists also come here to view the Indian elephants in the act of ablution and playfulness by the Periyar lake. The elephant number around 900 to 1000 individuals. Other mammals found here include gaur, Bison, sambar (horse deer), barking deer, mouse deer, Dholes (Indian wild dogs), mongoose, foxes and leopards. Also inhabiting the park, though rarely seen, are the elusive Nilgiri tahr.

Four species of primates are found at Periyar - the rare lion-tailed macaque, the Nilgiri Langur, the common langur, and the Bonnet Macaque.

Birds[link]

So far 320 different kinds have been counted in Periyar. The bird life includes darters, cormorants, kingfishers, the great Malabar Pied Hornbill and racket-tailed Drongos.

Reptiles[link]

There are 45 different kinds of reptile in the protected area out of which there are 30 snake, two turtle, and 13 lizard species. Among those are Monitor lizards that can be spotted basking in the sun on the rocks along the lake shore. Visitors who trek into the Periyar national park often see a Python and sometimes even a King Cobra.

Amphibians[link]

Twenty seven different kinds have been recorded, of which ten are endemic to the Western Ghats, such as some species of frogs and caecilians.

Fish[link]

In the waters of the protected area 38 different fish types live, of which four are endemic to the Western Ghats.Salmon,trout is also here.

Insects[link]

There is a remarkable variety of butterflies and there are about 160 different kinds in total. Some are dangerous enough to make a human seriously ill

History[link]

• 1895 - Construction of the Mullaperiyar Dam
• 1899 - Formation of the Periyar Lake Reserve
• 1933 - S.C.H. Robinson made the first game warden
• 1934 - Formation of Nellikkampatty Game Sanctuary
• 1950 - Consolidation of Periyar as a Wildlife sanctuary
• 1978 - Declaration of Periyar as a Tiger Reserve
• 1982 - Preliminary notification of the core area as a National Park
• 1991 - Brought under Project Elephant
• 1996 - India Ecodevelopment Project launched
• 2001 - Reorganised as two Divisions: Periyar East and Periyar West

• 2004 – Formation of Periyar Foundation
• 2007 – Adding of 148 km² from Goodrical Range of Ranni Division.^[1]
• 2012 - An additional 148 km² of evergreen forest at Ponnambalamedu under the PTR was brought under the tiger reserve.^[3]

Tourists and Pilgrims[link]

A boat cruise on Periyar Lake. Note the tree stumps protruding from the water, which are used for navigation to ascertain the waters depth.

The Periyar tiger reserve is considered as one of the best managed reserve in India [1]. The core zone of the park is not accessible to the tourists. Within the buffer zone of 430 km², a zone of 55 km² is kept apart for tourism. Game wardens and staff have been recently spotted illegally fishing and gathering specimens within the sanctuary area. The facilities within the sanctuary are in need of much maintenance and are presently in very poor standards. This has also contributed a steady decline in returning tourists to the sanctuary.

In the buffer zone there is also the temple of Sabarimala, which is visited by about 4 million pilgrims annually.

Its important to recognize, however, that for the very purpose of protecting its wildlife and shielding them from human interference, Periyar National Park allows extremely limited access to the territory under its jurisdiction, restricting tourist entry only to the northern corner adjacent to man-made lake Periyar.

See also[link]

• List of birds of South India

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Periyar National Park

• Periyar National Park travel guide from Wikitravel

v t e • Part of the series on National Parks of India • Andaman & Nicobar Islands Campbell Bay Galathea Mahatma Gandhi Mt. Harriet Island Middle Button Island North Button Island Rani Jhansi Saddle Peak South Button Island Andhra Pradesh Kasu Brahmananda Reddy Mahavir Harina Vanasthali Mrugavani Sri Venkateswara Arunachal Pradesh Mouling Namdapha Assam Dibru-Saikhowa Kaziranga Manas Nameri Orang Bihar Valmiki Kanwar Taal Bird Sanctuary Vikramshila Dolphin Sanctuary Chhattisgarh Indravati Kanger Ghati Goa Mollem Gujarat Blackbuck Gir Gulf of Kutch Vansda Haryana Kalesar Sultanpur Himachal Pradesh Great Himalayan Pin Valley Jammu & Kashmir Dachigam Hemis Kishtwar Salim Ali Jharkhand Betla Karnataka Anshi Bandipur Bannerghatta Kudremukh National Park Nagarhole Kerala Anamudi Shola Eravikulam Mathikettan Shola Pampadam Shola Periyar Silent Valley Madhya Pradesh Bandhavgarh Fossil Kanha Madhav Panna Pench Sanjay Satpura Van Vihar Maharashtra Chandoli Gilbert Hill Gugamal Karnala Navegaon Pench Sanjay Gandhi Tadoba Manipur Keibul Lamjao Sirohi Meghalaya Balphakram Nokrek Mizoram Murlen Phawngpui Nagaland Intanki Orissa Bhitarkanika Simlipal Rajasthan Darrah Desert Keoladeo Ranthambhore Sariska Sikkim Khangchendzonga Tamil Nadu Guindy Gulf of Mannar Indira Gandhi Palani Hills Mudumalai Mukurthi Uttar Pradesh Nawabganj Dudhwa Uttarakhand Corbett Gangotri Govind Nanda Devi Rajaji Valley of Flowers West Bengal Buxa Gorumara Neora Valley Singalila Sundarbans National Parks Protected areas of India Ministry of Environment and Forests (India)

Farm Sanctuary's shelter in upstate New York provides a home to hundreds of rescued goats, sheep, cows, pigs, chickens, turkeys, and other farm animals.

An animal sanctuary is a facility where animals are brought to live and be protected for the rest of their lives.^[1] Unlike animal shelters, sanctuaries do not seek to place animals with individuals or groups, instead maintaining each animal until his or her natural death. In some cases, an establishment may have characteristics of both a sanctuary and a shelter; for instance, some animals may be in residence temporarily until a good home is found and others may be permanent residents. The mission of sanctuaries is generally to be safe havens, where the animals receive the best care that the sanctuaries can provide. Animals are not bought, sold, or traded, nor are they used for animal testing. The resident animals are given the opportunity to behave as naturally as possible in a protective environment.^[1]

What distinguishes a sanctuary from other institutions is the philosophy that the residents come first. In a sanctuary, every action is scrutinized for any trace of human benefit at the expense of non-human residents. Sanctuaries act on behalf of the animals, and the caregivers work under the notion that all animals in the sanctuary, human and non-human, are of equal importance.

A sanctuary is not open to the public in the sense of a zoo; that is, the public is not allowed unescorted access to any part of the facility. A sanctuary tries not to allow any activity that would place the animals in an unduly stressful situation.

One of the most important missions of sanctuaries, beyond caring for the animals, is educating the public. The ultimate goal of a sanctuary should be to change the way that humans think of, and treat, non-human animals.

There are several national and international organizations that have taken the responsibility of supervising numerous systems of non-profit animal sanctuaries in order to provide a general system for sanctuaries to follow. Among them, The American Sanctuary Association monitors and aids in various facilities to care for exotic wildlife.^[2] Their accredited facilities conform to high standards and rigid application processes to ensure that the animals under their care are enthusiastically cared for and maintained.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Animal sanctuaries