Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary

Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary is one of the first and most exotic wildlife sanctuaries in the country. In summer, the deciduous trees shed their green leaves and adopt a floral garb. With the arrival of the monsoons, fruits and tender greens surface Spanning over an area of 321 Sq.km. wide sanctuary encompasses a National Park spread in an area of 103 sq.kms.

Location of Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary :
Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary is located in the northwestern corner of Tamil Nadu at a distance of around 80 km from Coimbatore and 64 km from Udhagamandalam or so called Ooty. Interestingly, the Mudumalai wildlife sanctuary is a part of the Nilgiri Biosphere reserve along with Bandipur National Park in Karnataka and Wayanad Sanctuary in Kerala.

Wildlife at Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary :
The major animals included in the sanctuary are Elephants, Gaur, Bonnet Macaque, Common langur, tigers and leopards, Chital, dhole panther, Sloth Bear, Python, barking deer, Four- Horned Antelope, Otter, Crocodiles (mugger), Giant flying squirrel, Sambar, Hyena, Wild Dog, Wild Boar, Mouse Deer, Spotted Deer, Jackal, Hare, Parcupine and Mongoose.

Chirpy Birds! :
The Sanctuary houses many avifuana species that includes Peacock - India's National bird, grey jungle fowl, the red spur fowl, the grey patridge quails, goggle eyed plower, Malabar whistling thrust, large racket-tailed dronge, the shama, the magpie-robin, spotted babbler, small green barbet, green pigeons, little brown dove, malabar grey hornbill, bulbuls, mynahs, etc. Birds of prey like eagles, hawks, falcons and king vulture and some migratory water birds can also be seen.

Greenery at Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary :
The region is basically occupied by the dry deciduous forests towards Bandhipur, mainly mixed forests with Bamboss, Terminalia tomontosa, Grewia, and blooming trees like Indian labumusum.Aredesia, Solanahncea are some of the flora.

Best Seasons :
The park can be visited at most times of the year, but the best seasons are from March to June and September to October. The summers (April to June) are hot while winters (December and January) are very cold. The western part of the sanctuary receives more rain than the eastern side during southwestern monsoon (June to September) while the eastern region receives more rain during the northwest monsoon (October to December).