About Bandipur National Park

Bandipur National Park: Nestled well amidst the towering Western Ghat Mountains on the Mysore-Ooty highway, the Deccan Plateau houses one of the first Tiger Reserves of the country - The Bandipur National Park includes the neighboring wildlife sanctuaries of Mudumalai National Park in Tamil Nadu and Wayanad in Kerala. A moderate climate and diverse geographical features support a remarkable variety of flora and fauna. Bandipur Wildlife Sanctuary is one of the 15 sanctuaries belonging to the Project Tiger Scheme launched in 1973, by the World Wide Fund for Nature.

In 1974, the Bandipur was declared a National Park under the Wildlife Protection Act. The Bandipur National Park is one of its own kind in Asia as it has huge elephant herds. The highest density of Indian tigers is found here, as are a fifth of the world's Asiatic Elephant population. In fact, about 5000 wild elephants roam these jungles.

Flora and Fauna in Bandipur National Park
The Bandipur National Park is covered with a mix of deciduous forests, evergreen forests and scrub, which is provided by the waters of the Moyar River. The major types of fauna in this reserve are the Asian elephant, gaur, sambhar, chital, mouse deer, four horned antelope, wild pig, black naped hare and the Indian porcupine. Apart from being home to the Asiatic elephant, Bandipur also has a large number of tigers, which count around 66 in number. The scrub jungles consist of stunted trees, bushes and open grassy patches. In the northwestern area, the vegetation contains the open dry deciduous forests to tropical mixed deciduous forests.