Protected areas of Tamil Nadu cover an area of , constituting 2.54% of the geographic area and 15% of the recorded forest area of the state of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

South India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

. It ranks 14th among all the

states and union territories of India India is a federalism, federal union comprising 28 federated state, states and 8 union territory, union territories, for a total of 36 subnational entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into 800 List of districts ...

in terms of total protected area.

Protected areas Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewoo ...

were created from private hunting grounds of the erstwhile Maharajas of the princely states. Mudumalai National Park was established in 1940 and was the first modern wildlife sanctuary in South India. The protected areas are administered by the Ministry of Environment and Forests of

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

and the Tamil Nadu Forest Department.

Biosphere reserves

There are three Biosphere Reserves in Tamil Nadu.

National parks

Tamil Nadu has five

National Parks A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

covering .

Wildlife sanctuaries

Tamil Nadu has 18 wildlife sanctuaries.

Elephant reserves

There are five declared elephant sanctuaries in Tamil Nadu as per Project Elephant.

Tiger reserves

Tamil Nadu participates in Project Tiger and has five declared tiger reserves.

Bird sanctuaries

There are seventeen declared bird sanctuaries in Tamil Nadu.

Zoos, reserves and animal farms

There is one conservation reserve at Tiruvidaimarudur in

Thanjavur district Thanjavur District is one of the Districts of Tamil Nadu, 38 districts of the States and territories of India, state of Tamil Nadu, in southeastern India. Its headquarters is Thanjavur (Tanjore) . The district is located in the delta of the Cauv ...

. There are two zoos recognised by the Central Zoo Authority of India namely Arignar Anna Zoological Park and Madras Crocodile Bank Trust, both located in

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

. The state has other smaller zoos run by local administrative bodies such as Coimbatore Zoo in

Coimbatore Coimbatore (Tamil: kōyamputtūr, ), also known as Kovai (), is one of the major Metropolitan cities of India, metropolitan cities in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyy ...

, Amirthi Zoological Park in

Vellore Vellore ( ), also spelled Velur, is a sprawling city and the administrative headquarters of Vellore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Palar River and surrounded by the Javadi Hills in the northeastern ...

, Kurumpampatti Wildlife Park in Salem, Yercaud Deer Park in

Yercaud Yercaud, also spelt Erkad, is a town and hill station in Salem District in Tamil Nadu, India. Located in Servarayan Hills in the Eastern Ghats, it is situated at an altitude of . History Stone-age implements have been found near an ancient s ...

, Mukkombu Deer Park in

Tiruchirapalli Tiruchirappalli (), also known as Trichy, is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli district. The city is credited with being the best livable and the cleanest city of Ta ...

and Ooty Deer Park in Nilgiris. There are five crocodile farms located at

Amaravati Amaravati ( , Telugu language, Telugu: ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is located in Guntur district on the right bank of the Krishna River, southwest of Vijayawada. The city derives its name from the nearby his ...

Coimbatore district Coimbatore District is one of the 38 districts in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. Coimbatore is the administrative headquarters of the district. It is one of the most industrialized districts and a major textile, industrial, commercial, educa ...

, Hogenakkal in Dharmapuri district, Kurumbapatti in

Salem district Salem District is one of the 38 districts of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. The district is now divided into Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Namakkal as individual districts. Salem is the district headquarters and other major towns in the dis ...

, Madras Crocodile Bank Trust in

and Sathanur in

Tiruvannamalai district Thiruvannamalai District (previously known as Central Arcot, Tiruvannamalai Sambhuvarayar District) is the second largest district in Tamil Nadu by area after Dindigul District and one of the Districts of Tamil Nadu, 38 districts in the state o ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Protected Areas Of Tamil Nadu Lists of protected areas of India Lists of tourist attractions in Tamil Nadu