Nagarhole-National Park

Nagarhole National Park also known as "Rajiv Gandhi National Park", is located 94 kilometers (58 mi) from Mysore in Karnataka in South India. It is spread between Kodagu district and Mysore district. Located to the north-west of Bandipur National Park, Kabini reservoir separates the two. The park has rich forest cover, small streams, valleys, and waterfalls. The park has a healthy tiger-predator ratio, and tiger, indian bison, and elephant are much more populous here than in Bandipur.

The park stretches over 643 square kilometres (248 sq mi), protecting the wildlife of Karnataka. Together with the adjoining Bandipur National Park (870 km2 (340 sq mi)), Mudumalai National Park (320 km2 (120 sq mi)) and Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (344 km2 (133 sq mi)), it forms the largest protected area in Southern India, totalling 2,183 km2 (843 sq mi).

The park is part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. The Western Ghats, Nilgiri Sub-Cluster (6,000+ km²), including all of Nagarhole National Park, is under consideration by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee for selection as a World Heritage Site.[1]

The main trees found are Rosewood, Teak, Sandalwood and Silver oak. Species of trees of the dry deciduous forest include Terminalia tomentosa, Tectonia grandis, Lagerstroemia lanceolata, Pterocarpus marsupium, Grewia tilaefolia, Dalbergia latifolia and Anogeissus latifolia (Pascal et al. 1982). Other tree species that are seen in the forests are Lagerstroemia microcarpa, Adina cordifolia, Bombax malabaricum, Schleichera trijuga and species of Ficus. In the understorey, species found growing include Kydia calycina, Emblica officinalis and Gmelina arborea. Shrubs like Solanum, Desmodium, Helicteres species and invasive species like Lantana camara and Eupatorium too are found in abundance. The dry deciduous forests have many tree species commonly found in the moist deciduous forests like Anoegeissus latifolia, Cassia fistula, Butea monosperma, Dendrocalamus strictus, Wrightia tinctoria and Acacia sp., while the swamp forests have a predominance of Eugenia. In addition to rosewood (Dalbergia latifolia) and teak (Tectonia grandis) the other commercially important species of trees found in the forests include sandalwood (Santalum album) and silver oak (Grevillea robusta) (Lal et al. 1994, Islam and Rahmani 2004)

Flagship species like tiger (Panthera tigris), Indian bison or gaur (Bos gaurus) and Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) are found in large numbers inside the park. Interestingly, a study carried out by Dr. Ullas Karanth of the Wildlife Conservation Society has shown that the forests of Nagarhole have three species of predators i.e. tiger, leopard (Panthera pardus) and wild dogs (Cuon alpinus) present at an equivalent density (PA Update 2000). The park also has an abundance of jackals (Canis aureus), grey mongoose (Herpestes edwardsi), sloth bears (Melursus ursinus), striped

hyenas (Hyaena hyaena), spotted deer or chital (Axis axis), sambar (Cervus unicolor), barking deer (Munitacus muntjak), four-horned antelopes (Tetracerpus quadricornis) and wild pig (Sus scrofa). Other mammalian inhabitants include the common palm civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus), brown mongoose (Herpestes brachyurus), striped-necked mongoose (Herpestes vitticollis), black-naped hare (Lepus nigricollis), Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata), red giant flying squirrel (Petaurista petaurista), Indian porcupine (Hystrix indica) and Indian giant flying squirrel (Petaurista philippensis) (Lal et al. 1994, Islam and Rahmani 2004) .