Periyar National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary (PNP) is a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

located in the districts of Idukki and

Pathanamthitta Pathanamthitta (), is a municipality situated in the Central Travancore region in the state of Kerala, India, spread over an area of 23.50 km2. It is the administrative capital of Pathanamthitta district. The town has a population of 3 ...

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South Ca ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

. It is notable as an elephant reserve and a

tiger reserve Project Tiger is a tiger conservation programme launched in April 1973 by the Government of India during Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's tenure. The project aims at ensuring a viable population of the Bengal tiger in its natural habitats, protecti ...

. The protected area encompasses , of which of the core zone was declared as the Periyar National Park in 1982. The park is a repository of rare,

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

, and endangered flora and fauna and forms the major watershed of two important rivers of Kerala: the

Periyar Erode Venkatappa Ramasamy (17 September 1879 – 24 December 1973), revered as Periyar or Thanthai Periyar, was an Indian social activist and politician who started the Self-Respect Movement and Dravidar Kazhagam. He is known as the 'F ...

and the Pamba. The park is located high in the

Cardamom Hills The Cardamom Hills or Yela Mala are mountain range of southern India and part of the southern Western Ghats located in Idukki district, Kerala, India. Their name comes from the cardamom spice grown in much of the hills' cool elevation, wh ...

and Pandalam Hills of the south Western Ghats along the border with

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

. It is from

Kumily Kumily also spelt as Kumaly is a revenue village and Gram Panchayat in the Idukki district of Kerala. It is a town in Cardamom Hills near Thekkady and Periyar Tiger Reserve. Kumily is a gateway town into Kerala from Tamil Nadu. History The pr ...

, approximately east of

Kottayam Kottayam () is a municipal town in the Indian state of Kerala. Flanked by the Western Ghats on the east and the Vembanad Lake and paddy fields of Kuttanad on the west. It is the district headquarters of Kottayam district, located in south ...

, west of

Madurai Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration i ...

and southeast of

Kochi Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of ...

History

LAKE AT PERIYAR NATIONAL PARK AND WILDLIFE SANCTUARY

The first official action towards the conservation of wildlife and biodiversity in Kerala was taken in 1934 by the

Maharaja Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, a ...

Travancore The Kingdom of Travancore ( /ˈtrævənkɔːr/), also known as the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor, was an Indian kingdom from c. 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. A ...

Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma Sree Padmanabhadasa Sree Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma , popularly known as Sree Chithira Thirunal, was the last ruling Maharaja of the Princely State of Travancore, in southern India until 1949 and later the Titular Maharajah of Travanc ...

, by declaring the forests around Periyar lake as a

private reserve Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

to stop the encroachment of tea plantations. It was founded as Nellikkampatty Reserve. It was consolidated as a wildlife sanctuary in 1950 after the political integration of India.

Geography

Periyar National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary Mountains

Periyar National Park lies in the middle of a mountainous area of the

. In the north : The boundary commences from the point nearest to the Medaganam in the interstate boundary up to Vellimalai. and the east Thence the boundary follows the inter-state boundary from Vellimalai to Kallimalai Peak (G.O. (P) No.65/2003/F&WLD dated Thiruvananthapuram, 20 December 03) (1615 M) it is bounded by mountain ridges of over altitude and toward the west it expands into a high

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ...

. From this level the altitude drops steeply to the deepest point of the reserve, the 100 metre valley of the

Pamba River The Pamba River (also called Pampa River) is the longest river in the Indian state of Kerala after Periyar and Bharathappuzha, and the longest river in the erstwhile former princely state of Travancore. Sabarimala temple dedicated to Lord Ayy ...

. The highest peak in the park is the high Kottamala, the southernmost peak in India higher than . The

and

s originate in the forests of the reserve, both in Mlappara. The other prominent peaks within the park are Pachayarmala, Vellimala, Sunderamala, Chokkampetti mala and Karimala. The topography consists of steep and rolling hills which are thickly wooded. The sanctuary surrounds Periyar Lake, a reservoir measuring , which was formed when the

Mullaperiyar Dam Mullaperiyar Dam , is a masonry gravity dam on the Periyar River in the Indian state of Kerala It is located above the sea level, on the Cardamom Hills of the Western Ghats in Thekkady, Idukki District of Kerala, India. It was constructed b ...

was erected in 1895. The reservoir and the Periyar River meander around the contours of the wooded hills, providing a permanent source of water for the local wildlife.

Climate

The temperature varies depending upon the altitude and it ranges between 15 °C in December and January and 31 °C in April and May. Annual

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...

is between 2000 and 3000 mm, about two-thirds occurring during the outhwest monsoonbetween June to September. Much of the rest occurs during the ortheast monsoonbetween October and December. Summers are warm with some precipitation in April and winters are cold.

Boundaries

*North: The boundary commences from the point nearest to the Medaganam in the interstate boundary up to Vellimalai. *East: Thence the boundary follows the inter-state boundary from Vellimalai to Kallimalai Peak (1615 M) *South: Thence the boundary follows along the main ridge to Chokkampettymalai Peak (1805 M). Thence along the main ridge to Udumalai (1594 M) (the same boundary which divides Ranni Forest Division and existing Periyar Tiger Reserve). *West:Thence the boundary proceeds due north along the main ridge dividing Periyar Tiger Reserve and Ranni Forest Division to Manikamalai and thence along the ridge to Sundaramalai 1813 M from Sundaramalai the boundary runs along the main ridge to Mangaladevi top 1737 M, and thence to Pachimalai top 1805 M from Puchimala top the boundary follows the Nallah in itself bank, Nallah coming from Mannarkavala and then proceed along Cherakottai river till it joins the Periyar lake between Pandaravara-malai and Poupara. (G.O. (P) No.65/2003/F&WLD dated Thiruvananthapuram, 20 December 03) Periyar Tiger Reserve

Flora

The park is made up of tropical evergreen, semi -evergreen and moist deciduous forests, montane grasslands, montane

savannas A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

, man - made stands of

eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including '' Corymbia'', they are commonly known as ...

, wetlands, lake and river

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syst ...

s.Flora - Periyar Tiger Reserve.
Department of Tourism, Kerala. A total of 1965 taxa (species and infraspecific) of flowering plants have been collected and described from the park. These include 17 species categorized as "possibly extinct". out of the aforementioned

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants t ...

taxa, about 171 species of

grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns a ...

and 140 species of

orchids Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

have been recorded within the park. The grasses are found in the open grasslands found on the edges of the water bodies and montane habitats where fire resistant vegetation grows and dense grasses like elephant grass are found. Various herbivores such as sambar, asian elephants, gaur and wild boar have been observed to graze here. Forests found here are composed of deciduous, evergreen and semi evergreen trees like

teak Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters ( pan ...

rosewood Rosewood refers to any of a number of richly hued timbers, often brownish with darker veining, but found in many different hues. True rosewoods All genuine rosewoods belong to the genus ''Dalbergia''. The pre-eminent rosewood appreciated ...

s, terminalia,

sandalwood Sandalwood is a class of woods from trees in the genus '' Santalum''. The woods are heavy, yellow, and fine-grained, and, unlike many other aromatic woods, they retain their fragrance for decades. Sandalwood oil is extracted from the woods for ...

mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree '' Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in Sout ...

es, jamun,

tamarind Tamarind (''Tamarindus indica'') is a leguminous tree bearing edible fruit that is probably indigenous to tropical Africa. The genus ''Tamarindus'' is monotypic, meaning that it contains only this species. It belongs to the family Fabacea ...

banyan A banyan, also spelled "banian", is a fig that develops accessory trunks from adventitious prop roots, allowing the tree to spread outwards indefinitely. This distinguishes banyans from other trees with a strangler habit that begin life as a ...

sacred fig ''Ficus religiosa'' or sacred fig is a species of fig native to the Indian subcontinent and Indochina that belongs to Moraceae, the fig or mulberry family. It is also known as the bodhi tree, pippala tree, peepul tree, peepal tree, pipal tree ...

, kino tree,

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, ...

s, Diospyros bourdillonii,

Hopea parviflora ''Hopea parviflora'' is a species of plant in the family Dipterocarpaceae. It is endemic to India. It is called 'kampakam' or 'thampakam' in Malayalam and கோங்கு 'vellaikongu' or 'irubogam' in Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ...

Dipterocarpus indicus ''Dipterocarpus indicus'' is a species of large tree in the family Dipterocarpaceae endemic to the Western Ghats of India. It is recognised as an endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct ...

, Semecarpus travancorica and the only south Indian conifer,

Nageia wallichiana ''Nageia wallichiana'' is a species of conifer in the family Podocarpaceae. It is a tree 10–54 m high, found in Brunei, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. ''Nageia wallichiana'' is the m ...

. The medicinal gloriosa lily grows in the park. The

flora includes ''

Habenaria periyarensis ''Habenaria'', commonly called rein orchids or bog orchids, is a widely distributed genus of orchids in the tribe Orchideae. About 880 species of ''Habenaria'' have been formally described. They are native to every continent except Antarctica, g ...

'' and ''

Syzygium periyarense ''Syzygium'' () is a genus of flowering plants that belongs to the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. The genus comprises about 1200 species, and has a native range that extends from Africa and Madagascar through southern Asia east through the Pacifi ...

''. The park is surrounded by agricultural regions, especially

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Th ...

s of such crops as tea,

cardamom Cardamom (), sometimes cardamon or cardamum, is a spice made from the seeds of several plants in the genera '' Elettaria'' and '' Amomum'' in the family Zingiberaceae. Both genera are native to the Indian subcontinent and Indonesia. They ar ...

, and

coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. Seeds of ...

Fauna

Mammals

Thirty-five species of

mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur ...

s have been recorded in the park, including many threatened species. It is an important tiger and elephant reserve. A total of 40

Bengal tiger The Bengal tiger is a population of the '' Panthera tigris tigris'' subspecies. It ranks among the biggest wild cats alive today. It is considered to belong to the world's charismatic megafauna. The tiger is estimated to have been present i ...

s were counted across 925 square kilometers of the park in 2017. It is valuable for

Asian elephant The Asian elephant (''Elephas maximus''), also known as the Asiatic elephant, is the only living species of the genus '' Elephas'' and is distributed throughout the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, from India in the west, Nepal in t ...

and also for a few of

white tiger The white tiger or bleached tiger is a leucistic pigmentation variant of the Mainland tiger. It is reported in the wild from time to time in the Indian states of Madhya Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, in the Sunderbans region and ...

s found here. Other mammals include the

gaur The gaur (''Bos gaurus''; ), also known as the Indian bison, is a bovine native to South Asia and Southeast Asia, and has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1986. The global population was estimated at a maximum of 21,000 m ...

, sambar,

wild pig A wild pig may be: *Suina, a suborder of even-toed mammals, including: **Suidae, a family of animals that are pigs or pig-like, including the Suinae and more distantly related extinct Old World tribes ***Suinae, a subfamily which includes the ''S ...

Indian giant squirrel The Indian giant squirrel or Malabar giant squirrel (''Ratufa indica'') is a large multi-coloured tree squirrel species endemic to forests and woodlands in India. It is a diurnal, arboreal, and mainly herbivorous squirrel. Distribution and ...

Travancore flying squirrel Travancore flying squirrel (''Petinomys fuscocapillus''), also known as the small flying squirrel, is a flying squirrel found in South India and Sri Lanka. Travancore flying squirrels were thought to be extinct but were rediscovered in 1989 af ...

jungle cat The jungle cat (''Felis chaus''), also called reed cat, swamp cat and jungle lynx, is a medium-sized cat native to the Middle East, the Caucasus, South and Southeast Asia and southern China. It inhabits foremost wetlands like swamps, littoral ...

Dhole The dhole (''Cuon alpinus''; ) is a canid native to Central, South, East and Southeast Asia. Other English names for the species include Asian wild dog, Asiatic wild dog, Indian wild dog, whistling dog, red dog, red wolf, and mountain wolf. It ...

sloth bear The sloth bear (''Melursus ursinus'') is a myrmecophagous bear species native to the Indian subcontinent. It feeds on fruits, ants and termites. It is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, mainly because of habitat loss and degradation ...

, Nilgiri tahr,

lion-tailed macaque The lion-tailed macaque (''Macaca silenus''), also known as the wanderoo, is an Old World monkey endemic to the Western Ghats of South India. Characteristics Lion-tailed macaques are covered in black fur, and have a striking gray or silver ...

Nilgiri langur The Nilgiri langur (''Semnopithecus johnii'') is a langur (a type of Old World monkey) . This primate has glossy black fur on its body and golden brown fur on its head. It is similar in size and long-tailed like the gray langurs. Females have ...

Salim Ali's fruit bat Salim Ali's fruit bat (''Latidens salimalii'') is a rare megabat species in the monotypic genus ''Latidens''. It was first collected by Angus Hutton, a planter and naturalist in the High Wavy Mountains in the Western Ghats of Theni district, ...

stripe-necked mongoose The stripe-necked mongoose (''Urva vitticolla'') is a mongoose species native to forests and shrublands from southern India to Sri Lanka. Characteristics It is rusty brown to grizzled grey, has a stout body and short legs, a black stripe tha ...

, and Nilgiri marten.

Birds

About 266 species of birds can be seen in the park, including migrants. Endemic birds include the Malabar grey hornbill,

Nilgiri wood pigeon The Nilgiri wood pigeon (''Columba elphinstonii'') is large pigeon found in the moist deciduous forests and sholas of the Western Ghats in southwestern India. They are mainly frugivorous and forage in the canopy of dense hill forests. They ar ...

, blue-winged parakeet, Nilgiri flycatcher,

crimson-backed sunbird The crimson-backed sunbird or small sunbird (''Leptocoma minima'') is a sunbird endemic to the Western Ghats of India. Like other sunbirds, they feed mainly on nectar although they take insects, especially to feed their young. They are tiny bird ...

, and

white-bellied redstart The white-bellied redstart (''Luscinia phaenicuroides'') is a species of bird of the family Muscicapidae. It is found in Bhutan, China, India, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Thailand, and Vietnam, where its natural habitat is temperate forests ...

, and

black-necked stork The black-necked stork (''Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus'') is a tall long-necked wading bird in the stork family. It is a resident species across the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia with a disjunct population in Australia. It lives in wetlan ...

. A four-day survey was conducted on 1–4 December 2016, organised under the aegis of the Periyar Tiger Reserve (PTR) and found the presence of 13 new bird and 16 butterfly species that were undetected earlier. The newly found bird species included Eurasian woodcock (''

Scolopax rusticola The Eurasian woodcock (''Scolopax rusticola'') is a medium-small wading bird found in temperate and subarctic Eurasia. It has cryptic camouflage to suit its woodland habitat, with reddish-brown upperparts and buff-coloured underparts. Its eyes ...

''), steppe gull ('' Larus fuscus barbensis''), grey-necked bunting (''

Emberiza bruniceps The red-headed bunting (''Emberiza bruniceps'') is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae. It breeds in central Asia-Afghanistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrg ...

'') and paddyfield warbler (''

Acrocephalus agricola The paddyfield warbler (''Acrocephalus agricola'') is a species of marsh warbler ( family Acrocephalidae). It was formerly included in the "Old World warbler" assemblage. The Manchurian reed warbler (''A. tangorum'') was (and sometimes still i ...

'').

Reptiles (reptilia)

There are 45 species of reptiles - 30 snakes, 13 lizards, and two turtles. Snakes include the king cobra, Malabar pit viper, and striped coral snake. Bicolored Frog or Malabar Frog

Amphibians

Amphibian Amphibians are four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terrestrial, fossorial, arbo ...

s in the park include

caecilian Caecilians (; ) are a group of limbless, vermiform or serpentine amphibians. They mostly live hidden in the ground and in stream substrates, making them the least familiar order of amphibians. Caecilians are mostly distributed in the tropics o ...

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely Carnivore, carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order (biology), order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-f ...

s, and

toad Toad is a common name for certain frogs, especially of the family Bufonidae, that are characterized by dry, leathery skin, short legs, and large bumps covering the parotoid glands. A distinction between frogs and toads is not made in scient ...

s. Species include the

Malabar gliding frog The Malabar gliding frog or Malabar flying frog (''Rhacophorus malabaricus'') is a rhacophorid tree frog species found in the Western Ghats of India. Pictures The term "gliding" frog refers to its ability to break its fall by stretching ...

, Asian toad,

fungoid frog The fungoid frog or Malabar Hills frog (''Hydrophylax malabaricus'') is a colourful frog found on the forest floor and lower vegetation in the Western Ghats in south-western India from Bombay to Kerala. It is very similar to another species ...

, and

bicolored frog The bicolored frog or Malabar frog (''Clinotarsus curtipes'') is a species of frog endemic to the Western Ghats of India. The tadpoles of the species are black and form dense and compact schools in slow moving streams in forested areas. D ...

Fish

About 40 species of fish are found in the local lakes and rivers. These include the Periyar trout, Periyar latia, Periyar barb,

channa barb The Channa barb (''Eechathalakenda ophicephalus'') (formerly ''Puntius ophicephalus''), is a species of cyprinid fish endemic to India where it occurs in hill streams in forested areas. This species can reach a length of TL. This species is als ...

, and Travancore loach.

Insects

There are about 160

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group compris ...

taxa, including the South India's largest butterfly

southern birdwing ''Troides minos'', the southern birdwing, also called Sahyadri birdwing, is a large and striking swallowtail butterfly endemic to south India. With a wingspan of 140–190 mm, it is the second largest butterfly of India. It is listed as Lea ...

, lime butterfly, Malabar tree nymph, Choaspes benjaminii(Indian awlking), Thoressa evershedi(Evershed's Ace) which is endemic to the South Western Ghats, Thoressa astigmata(Southern spotted ace) which is also endemic to the southern parts of the western ghats, but is more common and with a greater range than T.evershedi,

Thoressa honorei ''Thoressa honorei'', commonly known as the Madras ace, is a skipper butterfly belonging to the family Hesperiidae Skippers are a family of the Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) named the Hesperiidae. Being diurnal, they are generally calle ...

(Madras ace), the highly threatened Travancore evening brown, which can only be found in cane brakes, various kinds of uncommon

Mycalesis ''Mycalesis'', the bushbrowns, are a genus of brush-footed butterflies. They are common in the warm regions from Central Asia to Australia, and have a high diversity in South Asia and the Wallacea. They are notably polymorphic, with wet- a ...

species(the bushbrowns), some of which are endemic to the Western Ghats, and many kinds of

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

s, such as the Southern Atlas moth. A survey jointly conducted by the Periyar Tiger Conservation Foundation, Indian Dragonfly Society and the Forest and Wildlife Department in October 2017 found 77 species of

odonata Odonata is an order of flying insects that includes the dragonflies and damselflies. Members of the group first appeared during the Triassic, though members of their total group, Odonatoptera, first appeared in Late Carboniferous. The two com ...

including Asian emerald (''

Hemicordulia asiatica ''Hemicordulia asiatica'', Asian emerald, is a species of dragonfly in the family Corduliidae. ''H. asiatica'' belongs to an Australian genus and is the only representative found in Asia. It is found in Western Ghats, northeast India and Mya ...

''). A survey jointly conducted by the same team in September 2018 found eight more new species.

Timeline

*1895 – Construction of the

*1899 – Formation of the Periyar Lake Reserve *1933 – S.C.H. Robinson made the first game warden *1934 – Formation of Nellikkampatty Game Sanctuary *1950 – Consolidation of Periyar as a

wildlife sanctuary A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...

*1978 – Declaration of Periyar as a

*1982 – Preliminary notification of the core area as a

national park A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual ...

*1991 – Brought under Project Elephant *1996 – India Eco-development Project launched *2001 – Divided into Periyar East and Periyar West *2004 – Formation of Periyar Foundation *2007 – 148 km² of the Goodrical Range added to the reserve *2011 – The management of Periyar Tiger Reserve has been assessed as "very good" by the National Tiger Conservation Authority and the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests. *2012 - An additional 148 km² of evergreen forest at Ponnambalamedu added to the reserve

Ecosystem valuation

It is estimated that the Periyar Tiger Reserve (PTR) provides flow benefits worth 17.6 billion rupees (1.9 lakh (190,000)/ hectare) annually. Important ecosystem services included gene-pool protection (7.86 billion), water provisioning to districts of Tamil Nadu (4.05 billion), habitat and refugia for wildlife (3.55 billion), employment generation for local communities (25 million), water purification services to nearby towns and districts (483 million) and recreation value (425 million).http://21tiger.zslsites.org/assets/21tiger/Resources/NTCA_Report2015.pdf

Gallery

Periyar National Park foxes.jpg,

s in the park Periyar National Park - 3.JPG, Landscape Periyar National Park - 2.JPG, A boat cruise on Periyar Lake Entrance to Information Centre at Periyar Tiger Reserve.jpg, Entrance to the Information Centre

Films

*
Life for Lives
'

References

External links

Online Booking for Periyar Tiger Conservation Foundation
* * {{Tourism in Kerala, state=collapsed Tiger reserves of India Protected areas of Kerala Periyar (river) Protected areas established in 1982 South Western Ghats moist deciduous forests Wildlife sanctuaries of the Western Ghats South Western Ghats montane rain forests 1982 establishments in Kerala Geography of Idukki district Tourist attractions in Idukki district Geography of Kottayam district Geography of Pathanamthitta district Tourist attractions in Pathanamthitta district Tourist attractions in Kottayam district Elephant reserves of India National parks in Kerala Pamba River

History

Geography

Climate

Boundaries

Flora

Fauna

Mammals

Birds

Reptiles (reptilia)

Amphibians

Fish

Insects

Timeline

Ecosystem valuation

Gallery

See also

Films

References

External links