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Home > Articles > Wildlife Sanctuaries: List of Most Famous Sanctuaries, Importance, Steps to Protect
Updated on 03rd June, 2023 , 7 min read
A wildlife sanctuary is a place where animals' habitats and surroundings are safeguarded from harm. Animal capture, slaughter, and poaching are all severely forbidden in certain areas. They want to provide the animals with a nice place to live. With lush woods, vast rivers, and high, gorgeous mountains, India boasts amazing wildlife sanctuaries.
A wildlife sanctuary is an area where birds and animals are protected and preserved safely in their native habitats, safe from criminal activities such as poaching and trafficking. A wildlife sanctuary is sometimes known as a natural reserve, a biosphere reserve, or a conservation area. These are directly regulated by the government and are also privately held by charitable organizations and research institutes. There are strong bans against killing, poaching, or capturing the birds and animals that live in these regions.
There are around 543 wildlife sanctuaries in India, covering a total area of 118,918 square kilometers. The goal of wildlife sanctuaries is to safeguard natural environments and the species that live in them.
In 1872, India built the world's first wildlife refuge. The sanctuary was created to safeguard elephants being poached for their ivory. The United States established the world's first national park in 1878. The park was created to safeguard the Yellowstone Geyser Basin. There are currently over 1,600 animal sanctuaries and national parks worldwide. The Indian Wildlife Board was established in 1952 to centralize all laws and regulations governing wildlife protection in India, which had previously been passed down from state to state. This Board issued a corner decree in 1956, granting all Game Parks the title of Sanctuary or National Park.
India's wildlife sanctuaries are classed as IUCN Category IV protected areas. As of December 2020, India had 553 wildlife sanctuaries totaling 119,776 square kilometers.
The following are the most significant, according to the Wildlife Board of India-
Sanctuary Name |
Location |
Bandhavgarh National Park |
Madhya Pradesh |
Gir Forest National Park |
Gujarat |
Kanha National Park |
Madhya Pradesh |
Kaziranga National Park |
Assam |
Grizzled Squirrel Wildlife Sanctuary |
Tamil Nadu |
Manas National Park |
Assam |
Panna National Park |
Madhya Pradesh |
Ranthambore National Park |
Rajasthan |
Sariska Tiger Reserve |
Rajasthan |
Sundarbans National Park |
West Bengal |
The Great Himalayan National Park |
Himachal Pradesh |
There are several motivations for creating animal sanctuaries. The importance of wildlife sanctuaries is as follows-
Animals are not the only species on the edge of extinction. Mountains, hill forests, dunes, and plains are all in peril because humans are continuously destroying them for personal gain. Several landscapes are also in high danger of pollution. As a result, when they are kept under the designation of a wildlife sanctuary, they are better preserved. Wildlife sanctuaries' landscapes are well-protected from urbanization, pollution, and devastation.
Wildlife sanctuaries are frequently cultural hotspots. These sanctuaries are peppered with various buildings that help us understand how these regions were founded in the first place, in addition to flora and animals. As a result, they have enormous historical and cultural value.
Ecotourism is highly involved in wildlife sanctuaries all over the world. As a result, many indigenous people and tribes now have greater access to jobs and economic growth. Tourists visit these locations for nature hikes and a variety of other activities.
Several animal species are on the verge of extinction due to the fast disappearance of their major natural behaviors. Wildlife sanctuaries efficiently conserve these environments, providing animals with a safe place to mate and survive. More creatures are at risk of extinction if these sanctuaries do not exist. In some ways, these sanctuaries provide the scenery that wild animals require. They also help to preserve these species throughout time.
There are around 543 wildlife sanctuaries in India, totaling 118,918 square kilometers. Among the most notable are as follows-
Sanctuary Name |
Location |
Description |
Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary |
Karnataka |
It is a protected region 23 kilometers south of Bhadravathi and 38 kilometers northwest of Chikmagalur. It is a biological diversity hotspot with over 120 plant species and a variety of wild creatures, such as wild boar, elephants, black leopards, sambar, jackals, and numerous birds. |
Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary |
Kerala |
This sanctuary lies 18 kilometers north of Marayoor in the Devikulam taluk of Kerala's Idukki district. It is one of the twelve wildlife sanctuaries in the state's protected regions. It is India's only rehabilitation center for the Indian Star Tortoise. There are over 600 animal and bird species, as well as 963 blooming plant species. |
Gir National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary |
Gujarat |
It is a forest and animal sanctuary in the Talala Gir region of Gujarat. Sasan Gir is another name for the sanctuary, which was founded in 1965 and has a total area of 1,412 square kilometers. More than 400 plant species have been identified, as have 2,375 animal and bird species. This wildlife sanctuary's primary goal is to protect and raise the population of the Asian Lion, an endangered species. |
Pani Dihing Wildlife Sanctuary |
Assam |
This wildlife sanctuary is located in the Assam district of Sivasagar and covers around 33.93 square kilometers. It was primarily constructed in 1999 as a bird sanctuary. The rivers Brahmaputra and Disang border it to the northwest and south, respectively. There are roughly 267 distinct species of birds here. Around 70 other migrating bird species have also been spotted and recognized here. The refuge has witnessed rare species such as white-rumped vultures and griffins. This refuge is a bird watcher's paradise, and many people have been observed visiting there. |
Senchal Wildlife Sanctuary |
West Bengal |
It was founded in 1915 in Darjeeling, West Bengal, and spans an area of 38.6 square kilometers. It is home to creatures such as jungle cats, Assam macaques, Rhesus monkeys, Himalayan flying squirrels, Indian leopards, and a variety of birds. |
The following are some of the steps taken by the WPA-
The Indian government has adopted constitutional measures to conserve wildlife. The Indian government, in exercising its constitutional responsibilities, enacted many statutes to safeguard wildlife in India. Here are a few examples:
There has been a concerted effort to strictly enforce the regulations governing wildlife sanctuaries in order to dissuade miscreants and criminals from engaging in unlawful activities. Other, more powerful animals frequently attempt to attack the species housed in the sanctuaries. The following guidelines assist law enforcement officers in protecting animals from harm-
These wildlife sanctuaries have several advantages, which are as follows-
The following table differentiates between wildlife sanctuaries and national parks-
Wildlife Sanctuary |
National Parks |
Human activities such as grazing, gardening, and tourism are permitted. |
No human activity or intervention is permitted. |
The primary goal is to safeguard a certain species of flora or wildlife. |
Flora, animals, and other historically or culturally significant things may be included in national parks. |
There are no definite limits. |
The limits have been established and specified. |
The public is welcome. |
Not normally accessible to the general population. |
Wildlife sanctuaries are established by authorities of the Central or State Governments. |
The State or Central Legislature creates National Parks. |
It has the potential to become a national park. |
It cannot be reduced to a refuge. |
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By - Nikita Parmar 2024-09-06 10:59:22 , 6 min readAns. Wildlife sanctuaries provide a variety of functions. They give animals sanctuary so that they can live and prosper in their natural environment. Sanctuaries also safeguard animals from poaching and have prevented the extinction of numerous endangered species throughout the years.
Ans. Chinnar and Periyar sanctuaries in Kerala, Chilka Wildlife Sanctuary in Odisha, Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary in Rajasthan, and Karakoram Sanctuary in Jammu and Kashmir are some of the most well-known wildlife sanctuaries in India.
Ans. By preying on them or competing for their food sources, for example.
Ans. Both National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries are governed by government-appointed authorities. The former, on the other hand, is a protected region established to maintain wildlife so that it can evolve further, whilst the latter is a natural environment that protects endangered species from extinction. In terms of visitor access, national parks are more restricted than wildlife sanctuaries. Aside from animals, national parks safeguard an area’s scenery and natural history.