According to the report of Forest Survey of India 2008, 23.68% of
India’s land area is covered by forest. A wide variety of trees and
animals are found in these forests as diverse as cultures and religions
in India.
National parks are established by the government to
conserve endangered species of animals. Hailey National Park or Jim
Corbett National Park is the India's first national park and was
established in 1935. By 1970, India had only five national parks till
1970 but now the number has increased to 97. All national parks
altogether covers 38,029.18 km² of land area.
India has over 500
Wildlife Sanctuaries. Among these, Project Tiger administers 28 Tiger
Reserves established with an aim to conserve tiger. Some wildlife
sanctuaries are specifically named Bird Sanctuary. Many Wildlife
Sanctuaries are later on converted into National Parks.
Some
sanctuaries are dedicated to some specific animal species, like the
National Chambal (Gharial) Wildlife Sanctuary for conserving the
Gharial established in 1978.
Some of the famous national parks
and Sanctuaries are enlisted below with their home state or territory
and the date that they were established.
Famous National Parks in India| S.No. | National Parks
| State | Year in which established
| Area (in sq. Km)
|
1.
| Gir National Park | Gujarat
| 1975
| 258.71 |
2.
| Bandhavgarh National Park | Madhya Pradesh | 1982 | 448.85 |
3.
| Corbett National Park | Uttarakhand
| 1936 | 520.82 |
4.
| Dudhwa National Park
| Uttar Pradesh | 1977 | 490.29 |
5.
| Ranthambore National Park
| Rajasthan | 1980 | 392 |
6.
| Kaziranga National Park
| Assam
| 1974
| 471.71 |
| 7. | Kanha National Park | Madhya Pradesh | 1955 | 940 |
| 8. | Nagarhole National Park | Karnataka | 1988
| 643.39
|
| 9. | Sundarbans National Park | West Bengal
| 1984 | 1330.10 |
| 10. | Manas National Park | Assam | 1990 | 500 |
| 11. | Bandipur National Park | Karnataka | 1974 | 874.20 |
| 12. | Sultanpur National Park | Haryana | 1989 | 1.43 |
| 13. | Sariska National Park | Rajasthan | 1979 | 800 |
Famous Wildlife Sanctuaries in India| S.No. | Sanctuaries
| State | Year in which established
| Area (in sq. Km)
|
| 1. | Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary | Rajasthan | 1971 | 29 |
| 2. | Sariska Tiger Reserve | Rajasthan | 1955 | 800 |
| 3. | Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary | Kerala | 1950 (as sanctuary)
1978 (as tiger reserve)
| 777 |