Kerala Wildlife

Kerala is home to twelve wildlife sanctuaries and two national parks. Each one houses rare animals, birds, reptiles, insects and plants. Forests cover covers 24% of the state's area and 5.9% of the region is classified as 'protected land'.

Some of the well-known wildlife sanctuaries in Kerala are:

Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary
Located 4 km from Kumili at Idukki district in central Kerala, Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary is situated on the banks of the Periyar Lake, an artificial lake in Thekkady. The sanctuary is the habitat of elephants, wild pigs, sambar, gaur, malabar flying squirrel, stripe-necked mongoose and over 260 species of birds including the blue-winged parakeet, nilgiri wood pigeon, white-bellied tree pie, laughing thrush and flycatcher.

Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary
Located within Devikulam taluk of Idukki district Kerala, the Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary is a renowned reserve that spreads over 90 sq km. Declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1984, it lies in the rain shadow region of the Western Ghats. Besides being the habitat of the endangered Giant Grizzled Squirrel in India, the Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary is home to tigers, elephants, bonnet macaques, gaur, kraits, spotted deer, spectacled cobras, sambar, turtles, vipers, little cormorants, darters and black eagles. The sanctuary is also ideal for boating and trekking.

Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary
Spread over 285 sq. kilometers, Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary is located in a valley between the Annamalai ranges of Tamil Nadu and the Nelliampathy ranges of Kerala. The Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary has the largest population of gaurs (bison). Elephants, sloth bears, wild boars, sambhars, chital, tigers, panthers and crocodiles are also found in large numbers. Parambikulam is open throughout the year for tourists.

Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary
Declared a sanctuary in 1983, Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary is spread out over 53 sq. km. Major wildlife species that can be viewed here are the tiger, panther, wild dog, lion tailed macaque, elephant, gaur, sambhar, barking deer, mouse deer, wild boar, nilgai, langur and malabar squirrel. Water birds such as darters, little cormorant, pied king fisher and egrets are most commonly seen in the sanctuary. Several species of snakes including the king cobra and python are dominant within Peppara.