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| [Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note |
Periyar Tiger Reserve is one of the 27 tiger reserves in India.
Periyar Tiger Reserve is located in the Western Ghats in Idukki District of the Kerala state in India. The terrain of the Reserve is undulating and the drainage is dendrite. North-eastern boundary of the Reserve is a ridge, which also forms boundary between Kerala and Tamil Nadu states for 90 km.
Its a must to go for Jungle Track during your visit to the Periyar National Park. There are different kind of options available for the Jungle Track. One can undertrack the night patrol with the forest guard through the jungle and if you are not really that courageous there are options available for the short track of 4 hours starting in morning and afternoon.
During the trek the flora and fauna can be experienced at close quarters and if one is lucky enough there are chances to sight the bigger animals of the cat family.
Periyar is a protected area, and a Project Tiger nature reserve in the South Indian State of Kerala, set high in the mountains of the Western Ghats at the border to Tamil Nadu. It lies in the districts of Idukki and Pathanamthitta. The protected area covers an area of 777 kmē, out of which a 350 kmē part of the core zone was made into the Periyar National Park and Tiger Reserve, sometimes dubbed the Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary. The park is often called by the name Thekkady also. Thekkady is located four km from Kumily, approximately 100 km east of Alappuzha, 110 km west of Madurai and 120 km southeast from Kochi.
The sanctuary surrounds picturesque 26 kmē 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.
Altogether 62 different kinds of mammal have been recorded in Periyar, including many threatened ones. Though it's titled a tiger reserve, there are hardly any tigers left in the sanctuary. 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, 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.
So far 320 different kinds have been counted in Periyar. The bird life includes darters, cormorants, kingfishers, the great Malabar hornbill and racket-tailed Drongos.
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. |
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