Tamil Nadu is rich in biodiversity because of the great diversity of habitats that are found in the state. The meeting point of the Eastern and Western Ghats forms a corridor of dense forest that is inhabited by large and small animals including tigers, leopards, elephants and endangered species like the Golden Langur and black buck. This makes the national parks in Tamil Nadu a popular tourist spot of the state. Tamil Nadu houses several national parks. Some of them have been detailed below.
Mudumalai National Park
Mudumalai National Park is located in Nilgiri district. It was established in 1940 and is spread over an area of about 321 square kilometers. Tropical moist deciduous forest, tropical dry deciduous forest and southern tropical dry thorn forests, tropical semi-evergreen forest, moist bamboo brakes, etc comprise the flora of Mudumalai National Park. Its fauna consists of about 50 species of fishes, 21 species of amphibians, 34 species of reptiles, 227 species of birds and 55 species of mammals.
Guindy National Park
Guindy National Park is situated in Chennai. It was established in the year 1977 and occupies an area of about 2.7057 square kilometers. It houses over 130 species of birds, 14 species of mammals, over 60 species of butterflies, 400 black bucks, 2,000 spotted deer, 24 jackals, snakes, geckos, tortoises and spiders, etc. Tamil Nadu Forest Department acts as the managing body of this national park.
Pampadum Shola National Park
Pampadum Shola National Park is located in Devikulam taluk, Idukki district. It was established in the year 2003 and is spread over an area of about 1.32 square kilometers. The park is composed of moderate amount of montane evergreen shola forest, medicinal plants and endangered and endemic small carnivores.
Karian Shola National Park
Karian Shola National Park is situated in the Western Ghats. The geographical terrain of this national park is characterized by stunted, mossy rainforests known as shola forests interspersed with rolling montane grassland with towering rocky cliffs. This park has a biologically unique ecosystem, providing shelter to many endangered and threatened species of plants and animals.
Mukurthi National Park
Mukurthi National Park is located in Nilgiri district. It is spread over an area of about 78.46 square kilometers. It is adorned with montane grasslands and shrub lands interspersed with shoals. An array of endangered wildlife receives shelter in this park. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is a part of Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve.
Other National Parks of Tamil Nadu
Names of the other National Parks of Tamil Nadu are Indira Gandhi (Annamalai) National Park and Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park.