Wildlife Sanctuaries In India

India is a land of diverse forms of flora and fauna. There are about 441 wildlife sanctuaries in India. Out of these 441 sanctuaries, 28 of them are Tiger Reserves. These sanctuaries are specially contributing to the cause of tiger conservation. There are about 80 National Parks in India. Apart from visiting a wildlife sanctuary, you can also visit the national park and bird sanctuaries.

The wildlife sanctuaries in India provide shelter to many species of birds, mammals, insects, and plants. It also has many endangered species in it. These wildlife sanctuaries are famous tourist attractions of the country.

Some of these sanctuaries are famous for the specific animals. For example: Wild life sanctuary in Periyar (Kerala) is famous for elephants.

These sanctuaries are marked with rock structures, landscaping, and different types of plants and trees. They provide you with a beautiful glimpse of nature and wildlife. There is a wildlife safari available which would help you while you visit a wildlife sanctuary. The information regarding the wildlife safari could be checked out with the respective sanctuaries.

Some famous wildlife sanctuaries in India are:

Gir National Park and Sanctuary Gujarat
Panna National Park - Madhya Pradesh
Hazaribagh Sanctuary - Bihar
Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary - Kerala
Corbett National Park - Uttar Pradesh

Wildlife sanctuary in India is a perfect destination to be visited that would make your holidays the most memorable and cherishing experience. They promote tourism in India. Many special wildlife tour packages at affordable rates are available, if you are planning to tour India and visit sanctuaries.

The detailed information of these could be collected online. Wildlife tours in India travel are provided in various combinations on the websites. The suitable combinations, their availability, and costs are detailed. You can select the appropriate wildlife tour on the basis of your own preferences.

We are familiar about wildlife that we get to see in television channels. These sanctuaries help you to get a closer view of the animals and birds and understand their habitat. These wildlife sanctuaries are situated on huge acres of land. A tour of these sanctuaries is done on elephants or jeeps and boats.

There are many bird sanctuaries in India. The most famous bird sanctuaries in India are Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary and Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary, Kerala. Bharatpur bird sanctuary is situated in Rajasthan. It is one of the famous bird sanctuaries of the country.

Travel tips to be considered while visiting wild life sanctuary in India are enlisted below:

Check out the timing of the day, when the sightseeing of these animals is possible, in advance and plan accordingly
Follow the guidelines of the guide
Dont click photos in the restricted areas
Undergo a medical examination before undertaking such trips
Keep necessary things such as food, water, and first aid kit

Wild life sanctuary in India is an ecstasy for all animal lovers. India is a land of various diverse forms of many distinct species. If we want to know more about them, one should surely visit a wild life sanctuary.

Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/Wildlife-Sanctuaries-In-India/1397965

Getting serious about saving the wild tiger

What do you think when you seen this beautiful animal?

For too long, conservationists have been able to pit little more than their passion for nature against the immense power of economic self-interest that drives nature-destroying development and sustains illegal markets for vanishing species. It is time for a total reinvention in national park management, provision of top science and technology to tiger conservation landscapes, and sustained political will to stop the bleeding.

Despite more than 30 years of conservation initiatives in the 13 Asian tiger range countries and around the world, tiger numbers have continued to decline. There were about 35,000 tigers living in Asian forests in the 1960s -- so few that the tiger was declared endangered and programmes were begun to protect them and their habitats. Today, there are no more than about 3,500 of these majestic big cats left. All of our best efforts -- and there are some tiger conservation initiatives such as Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s Project Tiger of the 1970s -- merely made the downward slope a bit less slippery rather than stem the tigers’ downfall.

Massive infrastructure development throughout Asia has paved over much of the tiger’s habitat and threatens to take it all, with spending on infrastructure in Asia expected to exceed $500 billion a year. At the same time, growing economic prosperity in Asia, and especially in China, has fuelled a multi-billion dollar illegal trade in wildlife with tigers treated as commodities to be traded for enormous profit, not ecological assets to be sustained.

The government of Nepal is hosting a Global Tiger Workshop in Kathmandu, attended by wildlife biologists, conservation practitioners, representatives of the governments of the tiger range countries and international organisations, and some new players who have joined to change the game. The recently formed Global Tiger Initiative, designed to facilitate and promote cooperative, game changing actions on behalf of wild tigers is an alliance of governments, civil society, and the private sector. The World Bank too, led by President Robert Zoellick himself, is committed to devoting its global presence and convening power to this endeavour.

The challenge

The challenge for these experts will be to bring to the table global and local knowledge, experience, information, technology, and best practices to develop new strategies to save tigers through devising a robust, incentive-driven conservation agenda that makes landscapes with tigers more valuable than those without them.

Understanding that resisting development is not a viable strategy, the gathering of experts will seek to develop a blueprint for infrastructure development that is “green” and tiger-friendly. Experts will need to determine how best to tackle the illegal trade that has poachers killing at least one tiger every day. There is an urgent need for enhanced law enforcement and, most important, a strategy to reduce the demand for tiger parts and products, including the newly fashionable and repugnant practice of serving dinner guests tiger meat to signal status.

New and innovative models of habitat management, such as the recent success of South Africa’s National Parks Authority to transform national park management into a biodiversity-friendly business approach that respects the “people aspect” of conservation, will be discussed. Local NGOs and communities will need to be empowered to serve as agents of change. And new ways will need to be found to generate funds to finance tiger conservation, which at present is woefully under-funded compared to the magnitude of the challenge at hand.

On capacity-building, a model GTI partnership launched by the World Bank and Smithsonian Institution for the establishment of a global Conservation and Development Practice Network will get under way in 2010. This network will provide a training and professional support system to improve field conservation and management in tiger range countries, and will target forest resource managers and senior policymakers there.

The GTI, on its part, can be an important instrument to change the way the world values tigers and the biodiversity they represent. Wildlife conservation can no longer be treated as a fringe concern we can’t afford. It must be valued for what it really means to us. If ignored, the future will be bleak for the billions of people whose lives and livelihoods depend on the ecological services, from carbon sequestration to watershed protection, of the forests that remain under the tiger’s umbrella.

Political commitment

Hopefully the shift is taking place. All of the nations in which tigers live, from India in the west and Russia in the east, are meeting in Kathmandu -- an unprecedented expression of regional unity that reflects the emergence of political commitment to save Asia’s tigers. Nepalese Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal’s support and ministerial representation from countries such as Thailand is evidence of the momentum that is building to get serious about wildlife conservation and biodiversity protection. With a multilateral framework and regional protocol for cooperation among the tiger range countries, a trans-boundary “war on poaching” can help stop the bleeding.

By looking at the experience and best practices in tiger range countries from Russia to Malaysia on what works best and why, a global tiger recovery road map will begin to take shape. The meeting in Kathmandu aims to be a useful stepping stone to next year’s Year of the Tiger Global Tiger Summit, where governments and national and international organizations will formalise policy changes and commit to new investment in science and technology to reinvent the conservation and development paradigm. We must seize this moment at Kathmandu. There is symbolic importance in the Year of the Tiger, yet the year ahead must be more than a symbolic effort. It must be remembered as the year we took steps to save and sustain the tiger.

Excellent opportunity

Although several global meets in the past have not had the desired impact, Kathmandu offers an excellent opportunity to bring to the table ‘game-changing’ ideas in wildlife enforcement mechanisms, community livelihood incentives, innovative park management and capacity-building programmes, demand reduction, ‘green infrastructure,’ and new financial mechanisms. As 2010 and the Year of the Tiger approaches, these ideas and innovations could represent a new front in the battle to save the wild tiger. To paraphrase conservationist Marjory Stoneman Douglas, if we win, we get to keep the planet.

Date: October 23, 2009
Source: The Hindu

Get More Information on Tigers at http://www.savethetigerfund.org

Save Them

Travel Tips to India

India is an unique blend of modernization and age old traditions. So, if you are planning for a vacation in the myriad land of India, than you must gather some travel tips before stepping here.

Unlike the Western countries, India is not a liberal country. Indians give respects and religiously follow their age old traditions. So, its very important to maintain social rules and regulations for traveler, if he or she wants to experience an enriching and comfortable holiday in India.

When going to Guajarat, factors you need to take note of include the clothes you need to wear, shopping districts and how to go about in finding the best attractions. During the summer season, it is best to carry light cotton fabrics and your hats, sun glasses and trusted sun block lotion. During the rainy season, cotton is still appropriate but you also need folding umbrellas. During the winter season, do bring jackets and woolen fabrics.

An interesting accommodation option available all over India are the Maharajah's palaces and forts now converted into hotels. You can find these royal residences in the middle of a lake, in a forest, or on a hilltop, and they are surprisingly affordable.

The green land of Kerala (God's own country) draws a number of tourists from all over the world to experience the joy of living on waters. Backwaters of Kerala are specially maintained in a way to offer you the pleasure of staying on traditional houseboats- 'Kettuvalloms'.

When it comes to the best romantic destination, Agra (because of the symbol of love- the Taj Mahal) and the temples of Khajuraho top the chart.

Ajanta and Ellora Caves: These beautiful caves were built more than 2000 years ago. They were built by Buddhist monks - these monks cut some amazing sculptures in the rock caves. The caves are located in Maharashtra.

Sun Temple: This temple is located in Orissa. It was built in the 13th century and is a temple for the Sun God. This temple is one of the architectural wonders of the world - apart from the temple itself, the surroundings of the temple is filled with natural beauty.

Regarding getting Delhi-belly as a first time traveler to India, here's the consensus. Most people do in fact get sick in their first week, if they're eating at even reputable local restaurants, more certainly if they're eating from roadside stalls or drinking anything with milk or yogurt where the local electricity supply is unstable.

Toiletries such as hand sanitizers, water purification tablets, bath salts, mosquito repellents, and sunscreens are a must during India tours. Though your hotel rooms and bathrooms will most probably be very well furnished, you won't easily find public restrooms in Indian villages or even smaller cities. Even if you do find an occasional clean one you permit yourself to use, forget about toilet rolls.

Wildlife in India is also very fascinating. During India tour tourists can enjoy of safari into 55 national parks teeming with wildlife to catch glimpse of the tiger. The most fascinating wildlife tour in India is Rajasthan wildlife tour. There is Ranthobhore National Park in Rajasthan which draws thousands of tourists eager for a glimpse of the tiger.

Source: ezinearticles.com