National Parks in Tamil Nadu

India is home to vast flora and fauna. It has 564 wildlife sanctuaries and 106 national parks. Many national parks are declared UNESCO world heritage sites because of their natural heritage, pleasant nature, and variety of animals. 

The Indian state of Tamil Nadu is also rich in National Parks. There are a total of five major national parks in Tamil Nadu. Madumalai national park is the oldest, whereas the Gulf of Mannar marine national park is the biggest national park. The total area of these national parks in Tamil Nadu is around 827.51 kilometres.

We will discuss the biodiversity, flora and fauna and major attractions of these national parks of Tamil Nadu in detail. So here is the list of national parks in Tamil Nadu. 

Mudumalai National Park 

The Mudumalai national park in Tamil Nadu comes under the Mudumalai wildlife sanctuary. It is in the north-western part of the Nilgiri hills, also called the Blue Mountains, in the heart of the Nilgiri district. Mudumalai is the oldest national park in Tamil Nadu. Mudumalai shares its boundaries with the Indian states of Kerala and Karnataka. The sanctuary has the following five ranges:

• Theppakadu range
• Masinagudi range
• Kargudi range
• Nellakota range
• Mudumalai range 

The whole sanctuary is a significant fraction of the Nilgiri biosphere reserve as there are many other national parks present in nearby locations. It includes Mukurthi national park in the South and Bandipur national park in the north. 

A significant portion of the wildlife resides in Mudumalai. The animals that form a major percentage of fauna in Mudumalai are Indian elephants, Indian leopard, Gaur, and Bengal Tiger. Do you know that 8% of the total bird species of India live in Mudumalai? It has around 227 species of birds.  

There are mainly three kinds of forests in Mudumalai. It includes:

• Tropical moist deciduous forests placed in western benne block of Mudumalai
• Tropical dry thorn forests on the eastern side of Mudumalai.
• Tropical dry deciduous forests are present in the middle of moist and dry thorn forests.

The major attractions of Mudumalai include elephant feeding camps, the Moyar river, the Mudumalai museum, Sykora lake, Kallatty falls, etc.

Guindy National Park

Guindy national park is in the southwest of Chennai district, Mambalam, in Guindy taluk. It is among the rare national parks situated between the districts. Guindy is the smallest national park in Tamil Nadu.

Established in 1978, Guindy is scattered across 2.7km of the whole district. Under ex-situ conservation, 22 acres of a total area of Guindy is transformed into a children’s park. 

The tropical dry, evergreen forests are the major type of flora found in this national park. Moreover, Mukurthi national park has mainly Banyan trees and over 30 kinds of other trees. The animals found in this national park include:

• Black Bucks
• Jackals
• Spotted deers
• Snakes
• More than 60 varieties of butterflies
• Around 100 species of birds 

Indira Gandhi National Park

Tamil Nadu’s Indira Gandhi National Park comes under the Anamalai wildlife sanctuary and is spread over 108 kilometres. The whole sanctuary is spread over an area of 950 kilometres. Coimbatore is the only nearest airport around this national park.

The flora of this national park includes:

• Savannah forests
• Tropical Dry scrub forests
• Tropical Evergreen forests
• Tropical moist deciduous forests

The dominant animals residing in Indira Gandhi National Park include:

• Asiatic wild elephants
• Royal Bengal tiger
• Muntjac
• Spotted deer 
• Wild boar
• Giant squirrel
• Nilgiri langur
• Common langur
• Lion-tailed macaque
• Bonnet

Mukurthi National Park

The Mukurthi national park is spread over 80 square kilometres in the southeast direction of the Nilgiri plateau of Tamil Nadu. Grasslands and Sholas are common in Mukurthi. The important rivers around Mukurthi national park include Chaliyar, Kabini, and Bhavani.

The fauna of Mukurthi consists primarily of:

• Small Indian civet
• Leopard
• Sambar deer
• Malabar spiny dormouse
• Barking deer
• Bonnet macaque
• Woodcock
• Whistling thrush
• Laughing thrush
• Black and orange flycatcher, etc.

Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park 

The Gulf of Mannar is one of its kind because it is the only marine biosphere reserve present in India and the whole of South Asia. It is the most attractive site for tourists because of the presence of striking islands capturing the beautiful scene of seas and marine wildlife. 

The gulf of Mannar marine national park meets the Indian ocean and is a major expansion of the Bay of Bengal. In 1989, the government declared it India’s first marine biosphere reserve. This only marine national park flows across two countries, Sri Lanka and India. Mukurthi national park of Tamil Nadu is spread over 78.46 kilometres. 

This national park has over 4200 varieties of flora and fauna spread across the sea and islands. Some major species include:

• Sea turtles – currently listed as endangered 
• Whales
• Dolphins
• Various kinds of fish
• Sea horses
• Sponges
• Sea cucumbers
• Corals
• Around 11 types of mangroves
• Over  290 species of birds

Gulf of Mannar is the largest national park in Tamil Nadu. It is spread along 21 islands of this national park.

Conclusion

Tamil Nadu is a land of many national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, and several reserves. It also has many tiger reserves, including Mudumalai tiger reserve, Anamalai tiger reserve, Sathyamangalam tiger reserve, Kalakad Mundanthurai tiger reserve, and Srivilliputhur Mudumalai tiger reserve.