Here is a list of seventeen important wildlife sanctuaries in India.
1. Annamalai Sanctuary:
This sanctuary is situated in the southern part of Coimbatore District in Tamil Nadu and extends in a vast area of 958 sq km. This sanctuary has rich fauna of animals like elephant, gaur, sambhar, spotted deer, barking deer, Nilgiri tahr, lion-tailed monkeys, tiger, panther, sloth bear, langur, porcupine and pangolin.
2. Kaziranga Wildlife Sanctuary:
This sanctuary is situated on the south bank of the river Brahmaputra in Sibsagar district of Jorhat subdivision of Assam. It consists of 430 sq km of forest grasslands and swamps and supports a fauna of nearly 700 rhinoeros.
Besides, it also has elephant, wild buffalo, bison, tiger, leopard, sloth bear, sambhar, swamp deer, hog deer, barking deer, wild boar, gibbon, and birds like pelicon, stork and ring-tailed fishing eagle. This is, in fact, a Rhino Sanctuary.
3. Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary:
This sanctuary is situated in Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal and is extended in a 65 sq km stretch of grassland. It is known for rhinoceros and, hence, referred to as a Rhino Sanctuary. Besides, it also has gaur, elephant, tiger, leopard, deer, and a variety of birds and reptilian fauna.
4. Manas Wildlife Sanctuary and Tiger Reserve:
This sanctuary is situated in Kamrup district in Assam and is extended in an area of 540 sq km. River Manas passes through it. It contains the following wild animals: tiger, panther, wild dog, wild boar, rhinoceros, gaur, wild buffalo, sambhar, swamp deer and golden langur.
5. Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary:
This sanctuary is situated in Kerala and has an area of 777 sq km. It has the fauna of wild elephants, gaur, leopards, sloth bear, sambhar, barking deer, wild dogs, wild boars, black Nilgiri Langur and some birds.
6. Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary:
This sanctuary is situated in north-western part of Nilgiris in Tamil Nadu and extends in an area of 22 sq km. It has diverse fauna of wild elephant, gaur, sambhar, chital, barking deer, mouse deer, four-horned antelope, tiger, panther, bonnet monkey, langur, giant squirrel, flying squirrel, wild dog, jackal, wild cat, sloth bear, porcupine, pangolin, flying lizard, monitor lizard, rat snake, python and various birds.
7. Bandipur Wildlife Sanctuary:
This sanctuary is situated in south of Mysore city of Karnataka state and extends in an area of 874 sq km. Its fauna includes elephant, leopard, sloth bear, wild dog, chital, panther, barking deer, porcupine and langur.
8. Sesan Gir Sanctuary:
This sanctuary is situated near Ahmedabad in Gujarat state and extends in a vast area of 1295 sq km. It is the largest sanctuary of our country. It is known for Asiatic lions and other fauna includes spotted dear, blue bull, four-horned antelope, chinkara, striped hyaena, wild boar, porcupine, langur, python, crocodiles and some birds.
9. Dachigam Wildlife Sanctuary:
This sanctuary is situated in Kashmir and extends in an area of 89 sq km. Its fauna includes Kashmir stag or hungal, musk deer, leopard, black bear, brown bear and baboon.
10. Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary:
It is also named as Koeldeo Ghana Sanctuary. This sanctuary is situated at Bharatpur of Rajasthan state and extends in an area of 29 sq. km. It is a sanctuary meant for various bird fauna.
11. Point Calimera Wildlife Sanctuary in Tamil Nadu and includes the fauna of Chital, wild boar and black buck.
12. Sariska Sanctuary near Alwar in Rajasthan and includes tiger, leopard, spotted deer, four-horned antelope, etc.
13. Chilka Lake Sanctuary in Orissa and has variety of water birds.
14. Shivpuri Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh and is known for its tiger fauna.
15. Gautam Buddha Sanctuary in Gaya of Bihar state and has tiger, leopard, chital, sambhar, etc.
16. Bhimbadh Sanctuary of Monghyr district in Bihar state and has wolf, tiger, leopard, etc.
17. Valmikinagar Sanctuary in Champaran of Bihar state and has tiger, leopard, sambhar, chital, etc.