Mudumalai National Park
Where is Mudumalai National Park located?
What types of vegetation are found in Mudumalai National Park?
Which major animal species can be found in Mudumalai National Park?
Mudumalai National Park, wildlife preserve in western Tamil Nadu state, southern India. Established in 1940 as a wildlife sanctuary of about 24 square miles (62 square km), it was extended in phases over the next two decades. The area was declared a national park in 1990, comprising about 124 square miles (321 square km). The Mudumalai Tiger Reserve was established in 2007 with the national park as the core zone and critical tiger habitat and an additional 142 square miles (368 square km) as the buffer zone. The park is also part of one of the 33 elephant ranges designated under India’s Project Elephant conservation initiative.
Mudumalai is located about 35 miles (56 km) north of Udhagamandalam on the main road to Mysore. The park is adjoined by Bandipur National Park of Karnataka state to the north, Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary of Kerala to the west, and the Nilgiri North Forest Division of Tamil Nadu to the south and east. Mudumalai has a network of fair-weather tracks and observation towers overlooking salt licks and water holes.
Topography, flora, and fauna
The park is composed of hills and valleys with several perennial streams and swamps. The vegetation has been classified as tropical dry deciduous, tropical moist deciduous, tropical riparian, and southern tropical thorny scrub types. Major species include teak (Tectona grandis), rosewood (Dalbergia species), Indian laurel (Terminalia species), and bamboo (Bambusa species). Their thick growth provides cover for the elephants, gaurs, tigers, black panthers, sloth bears, hyenas, jackals, wild pigs, pythons, drongos, pipits, flycatchers, gray jungle fowl, spur fowl, and golden orioles found in the preserve.
