Environment, Ecology & Biodiversity

Namdapha National Park of Arunachal Pradesh is one of the richest areas in biodiversity in India. It is the largest protected area in the Eastern Himalaya biodiversity hotspot. Namdapha National park was established in 1983 and is the largest National park in Northeast India and the third-largest National Park in entire India after the Hemis National Park of Jammu & Kashmir and Desert National Park of Rajasthan. Located between the Dapha bum range of the Mishmi Hills and the Patkai range with a wide altitudinal range between 200 m and 4571 m, Namdapha National park has a climate ranging from tropical to subtropical, temperate and arctic. It is also the site of rare Sapria Himalayan, a parasitic flowering plant related to Rafflesia.

The Indravati National Park (INP) is located in the Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh and covers an area of approximately 2799.08 km2. It is home to one of the last populations of rare wild buffalo. The flora in the Indravati National Park is mainly comprised of tropical moist and dry deciduous type with predominance of the sal, teak and bamboo trees. It is also home to tigers, leopards, Indian bison, nilgai, blackbuck, chausingha, sambar, chital, Indian muntjac, Indian spotted chevrotain, etc.

The Vansda National Park (VNP) is a protected area which represents the thick woodlands of the Dangs and southern Gujarat and is situated in the Vansda tehsil, Navsari District of Gujarat. It is home to important animals such as Indian leopard, rhesus macaque, common palm civet, Hanuman langur and small Indian civet. There are 443 species of flowering plants like teak, sadad, khakhro, kadad, humb, timru, kalam, bamboo, dudhkod, mahudo, behda, umaro, kusum, tanach, asan, shimlo, etc.

The Grizzled Squirrel Wildlife Sanctuary (GSWS) is located in Virudhunagar and Madurai districts of Tamil Nadu and covers an area 485.2 sq Kms. Over 240+ species of birds are seen in this sanctuary including 14 species of birds endemic to the Western Ghats, such as the critically endangered Oriental white-backed vulture and the long-billed vulture. In addition to grizzled giant squirrels, the sanctuary is home to numerous animals such as barking deer, bonnet macaque, common langur, elephants, flying squirrels, gaur, Indian giant squirrel, leopard, lion-tailed macaques, mouse deer, Nilgiri langur and Nilgiri Tahrs. There are over 220 species of butterflies including many rare and endemic species. Some of the rare butterflies spotted here include Eversheds ace, Silver royal, Orange awlet, Hampsons hedge blue, etc.

The Chitwan National Park (CNP) is located in the subtropical Inner Terai lowlands of south-central Nepal and covers an area of 932 square kilometers. The park is considered to have the highest population density of sloth bears with an estimated 200 to 250 individuals. It is also home to golden jackals, fishing cats, jungle cats, leopard cats, large and small Indian civets, Asian palm civets, crab-eating mongooses and yellow-throated martens.