Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary
The Periyar Widlife Sanctuary, in Kerala, is one of the 16 Project Tiger Reserves in India. About a century ago, a British engineer Col J Pennycuick chalked out a plan to dam the Periyar River and subsequently, a dam was constructed in 1895. This resulted in the adjoining forests being granted protection by the Maharaja of Travancore. The 55 sq kms reservoir and the surrounding forests provide protection to the animals within. Today, Periyar is undeniably one of the most impressive wildlife sanctuaries in the world. The terrain is basically hilly and the only flat areas of the sanctuary are the grasslands, at the edges of the lakes. Impregnable forests and open grasslands make for a sustaining environment, for both the carnivore and herbivore population of the reserve. Periyar is famous for its pachyderm population which is around 800 in number. Periyar is probably one of the few places where one can observe the elephants in their natural surroundings, uninteruppted, and approach to within 20 metres of them. Unlike their African counterparts, Indian female elephants have no tusks. Very few of them, even the bulls, have tusks which is a sad comment on the intense level of poaching in the country. Apart from elephants, the other animals to be seen in the sanctuary are gaur, wild pigs, sambar, barking deer, mouse deer, dhole (Indian wilddog), lion-tailed macaque, the Nilgiri langur and very rarely a tiger. There are now an estimated 40 tigers in Periyar. The birdlife comprises of darters, cormorants, kingfishers, great hornbills and racket-tailed drongos. The reptilian population boasts of monitor lizards that can be spotted basking in the Sun on the rocks along the lakeshore, especially in the cooler months. Pythons, king cobras, flying lizards, flying squirrels, flying snakes and to top it all flying frogs are the other inhabitants of this amazing sanctuary. There are a few fascinating tribal villages around the Periyar primarily the Manan and Oorali tribes. The Manans are ace fishermen and a few of them still indulge in the traditional, if dangerous practice of collecting the honey of large and deadly hill bees. The Ooralis build tree dwellings though not as residences but watch-towers to keep wild pigs and elephants from ruining their crops. Periyar is a sanctuary only traversed by boat which annuls the chances of traffic noise and dust. With special permission one can boat to the source of the Periyar Lake - the Periyar river. This area falls at the heart of the sanctuary not usually open to visits and the rest house located there is known as Thannikudi. The sloth bear is a common sight at Thannikudi and tigers too prefer this area as it is far removed from the main park area, hence is peaceful. On the whole, visiting the Periyar Sanctuary is a delightful and enlightening experience - one that should not be missed for the world.