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Mudumalai and Bharatpur Sanctuary
MUDUMALAI SANCTUARY : Mudumalai literally means 'ancient hills' and the
sanctuary is quite close to Bandipur. In fact, it is the Moyar river that
separates the wildlife preserves. The Mysore - Ooty highway cuts through
Mudumalai and tourists to Karnataka do not have to
make a detour to see this sanctuary. Though just 320 sq kms, it is rich in
wildlife -elephant, gaur, deer and primates like the bonnet macaque and the
langur. Among the predator animals are the tiger, the leopard and the dhole or
wild dogs that hunt in packs. Like its adjoining parks, Mudumalai is rich in
bird life. The Annamalai sanctuary, some 80 km south of Mudumalai, has two rare
species of primates - the Nilggiri lanur and the lion tailed macaque.
The best time to visit Nagarhole is October to March. Then you can move on to
Bandipur which provides for best sighting between March and August. The ideal
time to visit Mudumalai is February to June. Nagarhole and Bandipur are
accessible by train to Mysore and by air to Bangalore and from there you can
take a car. The nearest air link to Mudumalai is Coimbatore.
BHARATPUR BIRD SANCTUARY : No bird watcher to India should miss the Bharatpur
Sanctuary, as it is popularly known. It was the Maharaja of Bharatpur who
artificially created this 28.73 sq kms wetland by building small dykes and dams
and diverting water from an irrigation canal to this low lying area in the
nineteenth century. Just 176 kms from Delhi, Bharatpur is today a haven for
winged creatures who have chosen the sheltered protection of the park to breed
in.
 You can ride out in a boat early in the morning and
watch the mixed heronries in the half submerged babul tree or peddle around on
a hired bicycle to watch the painted storks, spoonbills, egrets, cormorants,
white ibis and a multitude of other birds tending to their young ones. There
are cycle rickshaws too, to take visitors round the park and the
rickshaw-pullers have an amazing fund of information on birds and bird life.
With 300 species of birds and thousands of winged creatures there is an
unending flurry of wings, for the birds often fly out to neighbouring areas in
search of food and return only at night to the shelter of the park.
There are a variety of storks and cranes and the local 'sarus' is a splendid
creature in his grey and red suit, but a star attraction of the park is the
Siberian crane. Their comings and goings are painstakingly recorded and
announced to the world. For the last couple of years they have almost stopped
coming and concerned ornithologists have got together to save the species and
check poaching on its wintering route to India. The forests around the lake
harbour some deer, jackals, foxes and hyenas and pythons can be seen sunning
themselves at Python Point.
Throughout the year you can see birds at
Bharatpur but the migratory birds come in October and fly back in February. The
breeding season at Bharatpur is from August to October. In addition to the
forest lodges of the State and Central government there are some excellent
private hotels near the park.
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