By Taba Ajum

Shy, elusive and always in herds, this is the best way to describe the majestic wild animals of India. Different types of wild animals are found in various forests, national parks and wild life sanctuaries. The diversity and variety of wild animals found in India is something which is matchless. There are around 96 national parks and over 500 wild life sanctuaries spread all over the country. Jim Corbett national park located in the foothills of Himalaya is the first national park to be set up in the country. India is home to many endangered species like Asiatic lion, Royal Bengal tiger, Barasingha and few more. It houses around eighty percent of the one horned rhinoceros of world.

India has many exotic wild life tour destinations for the visitors to look out. From Himalayas to the southern state, each region of country hosts varied type of animals. Himalayan region which is abundant with dense forests has large presence of wild animals. This region is rich in flora and fauna and there is so much of diversity. Unlike Africa, the terrain and lifestyle of India is such that, most wild animals often prefer to live in groups and away from human vegetation. Tourists can visit India in any season to experience the wild animals but there are some particular time when they can be viewed best specially the migratory birds. India's wild life sanctuaries are the best place to witness the most exquisite type of wild animals. The tourists visiting India have the option of trying out different types of wild life tour.

Types of Wild Life Tour

National Parks & Wildlife Sanctuary Tours of India
India has around 90 national parks spread across the country. As per the area and its geographical feature, these national parks give ample opportunities to the visitors to experience wild animals from very close quarter. The best thing about these national park is that animal live in their wild best. Jim Corbett, the first national park to be set up in country, is one of the most popular wild life reserve of India. This park offers a great chance to the visitors to the sight tiger at their wild best.

There are many other national parks like Ranthambore, Gir, Kaziranga, Kanha, Sunderbans, Bandipur and many more, which are always teemed with wild life lovers. Kaziranga national park located in Assam is famous for being home to one horned rhinoceros. While Gir national park which is located in Gujarat houses endangered Asiatic Lion. As visitors venture into these unknown territory, there are many surprises which await them.

Bird Watching Tour
Bird watching is something which is inexpensive and satisfying. India which is home to large number of wild bird species, is the ideal destination for bird watching tour. There are around 1200 (roughly 13 % of world) different species of birds which are found in India which include some migrants. India's varied vegetation and geography is responsible for such variation in the population of birds. There are various bird sanctuaries where visitors can view birds. Other than this the natural forests area also offers good chance to sight birds.

Bharatpur bird sanctuary, located in Rajasthan, is the most popular bird sanctuary. This 29 sq-km wildlife park has around 300 different species of birds and is the second habitat in world to welcome Siberian cranes during winter. Tourists from all over world flock into this sanctuary to watch both indigenous and migratory birds. Some other famous bird sanctuaries are located in Kumarakom, Chilka Lake, Sultanpur. Himalayan region is quite popular to go for bird watching. Visitors can enjoy the natural beauty of region and in the serene atmosphere they can sight some stunning species of birds.

Elephant Safari Tour
Elephant safari take visitors to those tough terrain which cannot be covered by vehicles. As these elephants slowly and steadily move around, tourists sitting atop can have a good view of the animals and their way of life. In India, elephant safaris in Himalayan regions and Periyar area of Kerala are very popular. Elephant safari in north and north east regions which lie under the Himalaya can be great option to explore the area. Visitors can go for sighting tiger in the Corbett national park sitting on these elephants. Kaziranga national park in Assam offers a great experience of elephant safari. One horned rhino can be best viewed while in the elephant safari.

Periyar wild life sanctuary in Kerala is the most famous hub of elephant safari in the country. It is also the safest elephant sanctuary possibly in the world as elephants have never attacked human here. Moving around on this elephant, visitors can have the best of the Periyar wild life sanctuary.

Tiger tour
Tiger, the national animal of India, is the most majestic and attractive of all. For some strange reason tiger, for centuries has been the favourite of animal lovers from across the world. The killing of tigers by the poachers and hunters have considerably reduced its population. But coming up of various national parks and wild life sanctuaries across country had led to the increase in the population of this wonderful animal. Today India houses half of the world's tiger population. Indian tigers are known as Bengal or Royal Bengal tiger. It is endangered, charismatic and most powerful among all the cats.

Tiger tour in India will cover some of the most stunning wild life sanctuaries and national parks. Ranthambore, Jim Corbett, Kanha, Bandhavgarh and Sariska are some of the prominent national parks where visitors can spot tigers in their wild best. Bandhavgarh and Kanha national park are best place to sight tigers in the wild. Even during the day tiger can be spotted roaming around in the park. Jim Corbett national park is another park which is popular among the tiger lovers. Project tiger, the ambitious conservation plan of government to save tiger was started from here in the year 1973. This park located in the foothills of Himalaya in Uttranchal attracts large number of tiger lovers from across the globe. Visitors can take a jeep or elephant safari to catch the majestic tiger. Seeing tiger from a close quarter will become the part of your memory through out the life.

By Faheem Ur Rehman

The Indian government is running a campaign to save the tigers. Tiger is a charismatic animal playing a pivotal role in the preservation of the ecosystem. It is at the apex of the food chain, a top predator that keeps the population of the wild in check. Presence of tiger in the forest indicates the well being of the forest. If the tigers go extinct, the whole ecosystem will collapse.

If tiger goes extinct, few other species can or will go extinct. Like when Dodos became extinct in Mauritius, a species of Acacia tree also became extinct. Three sub species of tiger are already extinct. Nearly 95 % of tiger population has been wiped out in the last century. Now the total world population of tigers in the wild is about 3500 with about 1411 tigers in India. Protecting one tiger is equal to protecting 100 SQ KM of wildlife habitat.

The tiger census is also questioned by experts for its accuracy as many believe that the tiger population is much lesser than the census quote. Poaching is the major cause for this. Poisoned goat as a bait is the oft used method. In a recent incident at Ranthambhore national park, a popular destination for tourists, Aldrin - a powerful pesticide was used to kill two 15-18 months old tiger cubs.

In this case, first information is that it was an act of vengeance by the villagers. Hearing this, Jungle Lore, a Mumbai base conservator group has swung in action. They have packed their bags and have moved to Ranthambhore in order to make efforts to educate the villagers.

Celebrities, sport star, politicians and film stars have been roped in to promote the campaign. The biggest threat to the Tiger population is the perception that Chinese men create demand for tiger body parts for aphrodisiacal purpose, hence the poaching. For a parallel effort, to curb poaching, the Indian govt. has recently approached the Chinese govt. to join India in its endeavor to monitor and close the smuggler's/ poacher's routes. In December 2009, China sentenced the man who had shot a rare tiger for 12 years plus fined him about 85,000 U.S. dollars.

With the aggressive campaign of the Indian govt., it is now easy to see bill boards, signage's asking people to increase their awareness and consequently help the Indian govt. in its objective. A side effect of this campaign is that school children are highly aware of it now and are discussing this issue at their homes.

You can watch these beautiful cats in their natural habitat in the following tiger reserves of India. Corbett National Park, Kanha National Park, Bandhavgarh National Park, Ranthambhore National Park, Panna National Park, Manas National Park, Sunderban National Park. The chances of spotting a tiger is highest in Bandhavgarh National Park.

By Madan G Singh

The Tiger is recognized as one of the big 5 cats. The list is headed by the Lion which is closely followed by the Tiger. Generally male tigers are about 9' in length and could have an average weight of 400 lbs. The measurement of length is from the nose to the tail. Female tigers are slightly smaller in size and weight. Till about 100 years back the tiger was in abundance all over the world and thousands roamed the areas of Asia, India and Africa. However indiscriminate hunting and destruction of its natural habitat has reduced the tiger population to a pittance and has become an endangered species. In case this species is not looked after there is a good chance that the tiger will remain only in photographs.

India holds pride of place as far as tigers are concerned. The Cat Specialist Group has estimated that nearly two thirds of all the worlds' tigers are concentrated in India. India has been home to the tiger for as long as Indian history. The Indus valley civilization which thrived nearly 4500 years back has clear reference to the Indian Tiger. A seal with a tigers head is proof enough that the tiger as a wild cat flourished at that time. Even earlier about 5000 years back the rock paintings of the Warli tribes in Thane show the existence of the tiger.

The Indian Tiger also referred to as the Bengal Tiger has pride of place in the list of tigers. Panthera Tigris Tigris is the name given to the Indian tiger by zoologists. The Bengal tiger is also referred to as the Royal Bengal tiger because of its majestic appearance. The Bengal tiger is a carnivorous animal. But sometimes it can turn into a man eater. Tigers generally are not man eaters, but an injury or a provocation can lead a tiger to become a man eater. The tiger in India is a protected species, but the sad part is that as per the last tiger census conducted by the Indian Government ,only 3846 tigers were counted. But experts have questioned the method of conducting census of the tigers by the Indians which they feel is not scientific. Indian censuses of wild tigers are carried out by identification of footprints also referred to as pugmarks of individual tigers. For this identification an expert tiger tracker is a must. However experts feel this method is not accurate.

With the Tiger population dwindling the government and wild life enthusiasts launched 'Project Tiger' to help the species from becoming extinct. But the launch of 'Operation Tiger' for the conservation of the tiger is at least 3 decades late. Prior to this the Maharajas carried out extensive shootings of the tiger to satisfy their ego. Big tiger shoots were organized to please the British rulers as India was a colony at that time. The Bengal tiger has been part of folklore in the tales written by Jim Corbett. He shot hundreds of tigers but regretted it in later life and became a tiger conservationist. The Corbett national park is named in his memory in Western Utter Pradesh.

One of the most famous reserves for the Tiger in India is the Smlipal reserve in the state of Orissa. Here the thick jungles give ample cover to the tiger. The melanistic or black tiger is a rare color variant of the tiger and is also supposed to be alive in this reserve albeit in very scanty number. The white tiger also a rarity is only found in India in Rewa in Madhya Pradesh. As things stand the tiger is an endangered species and it is incumbent on all wild life enthusiasts to help save the tiger and its habitat. This magnificent animal cannot be relegated to the dustbins of natural history.

By Madan G Singh

India is the home to the tiger. It has the largest concentration of Tiger population in the world. For centuries this beast has been part of folk lore. Presently this species has dwindled and a hundred thousand tigers of yester years have been reduced to a few thousand now. Waking up, the wild life foundation and the Indian government have declared it a protected species and created tiger reserves for the tiger to be able to live and thrive in its natural habitat. Next to the Lion the tiger out of the big cats inspires awe and respect. It's a carnivorous beast which thrives on wild buck, deer and wild hog for its prey. A fully grown tiger is a menacing beast and if confronted or antagonized can be a formidable opponent.

Jim Corbett the famous hunter made the tiger a part of literature with his book "Man Eating Tiger of Rudraprayag".This is a true story and the tiger in this case had killed over a hundred human beings. After reading it one may well be tempted to ask whether the tiger is by nature a man eater. Does he relish human flesh?

Tigers as a species generally avoid human beings. There are no instances of a tiger living of human flesh from childhood. But again in India it is recorded that thousands of people have been killed and eaten by tigers. Some put the figures as close to 300,000. But this is best an estimate. However there is no doubt that vast numbers of Indian villagers have fallen prey to the tiger.

A tiger will resort to human being as prey only if he is incapacitated in any way. There are instances of tigers that have become aged or injured resorting to attacking and killing humans. Once a tiger is unable to catch his natural prey then Darwin's theory comes into play. The tiger to survive becomes a man eater and preys on humans. In such a scenario the tiger always attacks single human beings and generally avoids a group moving together. Weighing 400 to 500 lbs the tiger can easily over power a human. His modus operandi is usually to jump on the man from the back and catch his neck. If necessary, he will track the man for some time and attack only at the opportune time. That shows that man eaters are cunning animals. Man eating tigers after they have been killed have been found to be generally incapacitated.

Apart from being a cunning animal, the tiger also seems to have a sixth sense that warns him when an armed human being is approaching. In that case he will slink away deeper into the forest or a cave and bide his time. This characteristic of the tiger is well documented in the old British movie 'Harry Black and the Tiger' with IS Johar the Indian actor as the tiger tracker.

Another reason for the tiger to turn into a man eater is the pressure on his natural habitat. With India's ever growing population and scarcity of land the villagers have been encroaching on the natural habitat of the tiger. This results in shortage of game for the tiger and perforce a healthy tiger could target a human being for his survival. Once the tiger finds it easy to kill a human being, he is likely to go on a man eating spree. In that case he becomes a dangerous animal as he is fit and can give any hunter a run for his money. While hunting a human being as prey the tiger follows all the principles of war. Thus decoy, stealth, surprise, speed are all essential ingredients of a tigers action.

There are instances even of the tiger decoying the hunter and attacking him. There are many instances of tigers thriving for years as man eaters. Out of all the tigers in India the ones that inhabit the Sunder bans in Bengal are unique. This area is muddy and has knee deep water at many places, yet the tiger survives in such surroundings.

There are instances of these tigers moving stealthily and making away with humans even if they are in a boat.

Jim Corbett has the distinction of killing the maximum number of man eating tigers.

Once a tiger is confirmed as a man eater the District magistrate will issue a notification and ask hunters to shoot the tiger. The tiger can be tracked from his pug marks and for this a tiger tracker is a must. The number of man eaters has now dwindled. This is natural as the population of tigers has declined dramatically.