Experience the thrill of coming face-to-face with a tiger or the sight of tall elephants trampling their way in the forest and capture the varieties of birds with a camera. A wildlife tour in India offers this and so much more. Explore the forest and the jungles on a jeep safari or atop elephants and come across scores of amazing wild animals in their natural habitat. India has over 90 national parks and 482 wildlife sanctuaries and it figures among the 12 mega diversity areas in the world. It is also home to about 7.6% of all mammalian, 12.6% of avian, 6.2% of reptilian population found in the world. Asian elephant, Bengal tiger, Asiatic lion, leopard, sloth bear and Indian rhinoceros, wild Asian water buffalo, Nilgai, Gaur, varieties of deer and antelope are some of the more common wild animals found in the Indian sub-continent.
Tiger spotting is an essential itinerary for all wildlife tourists to India. Ranthambore, Bandhavgarh and Kanha National Parks are the most popular tiger reserves in India. The jungle cats can be spotted with ease here along with cheetahs, wild boar, leopard, sloth bear, monkeys and deer. Corbett National Park and Sundarbans National Park is home to the fastest running animal in the world, the Royal Tiger Cat, also the largest living member of the cat. Besides the tiger, wild animals like sambar, chital, nilgai, gazzelle, boars, and reptiles like monitor lizards are also found. The Kaziranga National Park in the northeastern state of Assam is one of the most thriving wildlife sanctuaries in India. It is associated with the endangered one-horned rhino but also has a huge population of elephants, bison, swamp deer, sloth bears, tigers, leoplards, jungle cats, jackal and pythonsetc.
The southern part of the country has multiple natural reserves too. Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary in Kerala is the most renowned of the lot. A boat cruise will let you spot elephants and rare wild animals along the shores of the lake and the forest teems with varieties of both domestic and migratory birds. Otherwise take a wildlife trip to Karnataka's Nagarhole National Park and see animals like gaur, sambar and chital, elephants along with leopards and tigers in the wild. At Karnataka's Bandipur National Park elephants, gaur, different species of deer, monkeys, porcupine, many varieties of birds, monitor lizards, sloth bear, civet cats and leopards and tigers can be spotted with ease.
India is a haven for birdies too. Bird sanctuaries are spread across the length and breadth of the country the most famous ones being Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary, the Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary and the Vembanad Bird Sanctuary. Over 1200 species of birds are found in the sanctuaries which includes the great Indian bustard, chloropsis, jerdon's coursor,
chikor, common coot, common crane, demoiselle crane.
