PRANAHITA WILDLIFE SANCTUARY 
Situated
35 Kms from Mancherial, the prehistoric topography of the Docean plateau
comes alive with the sound of birds and animals at Pranahita wild life
sanctuary. Spread over 136 sq. Kms of dry deciduous teak forests including
2.18 sq. Kms of reserve forest on the banks of river Pranahita, a tributary
of the Godavari, the prehistoric rock formation makes a visit to this
sanctuary all the more interesting.
The sanctuary is a treasure
trove of fossils. Here the wild life watcher can see the Indian Porcupine
along with the other animals like Nilgai, Sloth Boar, Tiger, Leopard, Forest
Cat, Langur, Rhesus, Palm Civet, Indian Otter, Wild Dogs, Hyena &
variety of birds including Brahminy Ducks, Teals, Strokes & Herons.
SUNDERBAN
NATIONAL PARKTowards the south of Calcutta, the rivers Ganga
and Hoogly divide itself into many distributaries. The speed of water is
reduced and the river deposits its silt just as it is about to merge into
the sea. In due course, the accumulated silt takes the
shape
of islands on the mouth of the rivers. These are the famous Gangetic deltas.
They provide an ideal atmosphere and environment for the Sundari trees to
grow. Spread over an area of almost 10,000 sq kms (now shared by Bangladesh
and India), the Sunderbans are home to many exquisite animals and birds. The
Indian Government has declared this 1330 sq kms of area as a national park.
Once
this area was a paradise for tiger hunters. But the rapid fall in the Royal
Bengal Tiger population forced the government to declare tiger poaching as
illegal and the area came under the Project Tiger. Tigers in Sunderbans is
known to swim a record distance of 10 kms. They also hunt fish if hungry or
steal honey from the bee hives. Though Sunderban tigers are described as
man-eaters, specialists say they rarely attack human beings. Tigers are not
the only attraction in Sunderbans, there are estuarine crocodiles and shy
jungle cats or the fishing cats. The reptiles found in the forest includes
the King Cobra, Rock Python and Water Monitor.
