Periyar Tiger Reserve:
For the first time in the country, the Periyar Tiger Reserve (PTR) in Kerala has taken up the training of a tiger cub to equip it to naturally hunt in the forest environment.
- Periyar tiger reserve falls in the districts of Idukki and Pathanamthitta in Kerala (saddled in the southern region of Western Ghats).
- Declared a Sanctuary during 1950 and declared as Tiger Reserve during 1978. It gets its name from the River Periyar which has its origin deep inside the reserve.
- The major rivers through the reserve are Mullayar and Periyar.
- The sanctuary comprises tropical evergreen, semi evergreen, moist deciduous forests and grasslands.
- 516 flowering plants here are endemic to the Western Ghats.
- The sanctuary is a repository of medicinal plants numbering to about 300.
- Some are endemic to the region like Syzygium periyarensis (a tree), Habenaria periyarensis (an orchid) and Mucuna pruriense thekkadiensis (a climber) etc.
- Fauna: Mammals: Tiger, Elephant, Lion-tailed macaque, Nilgiri Tahr etc.
- Birds: Darters, Cormorants, Kingfishers, the great Malabar Hornbill and racket-tailed Drongos.
- Reptiles: Monitor Lizards, Python, King Cobra etc.
- Tribals: There are six tribal communities nestled inside the reserve such as Mannans, Paliyans, Malayarayans, Mala Pandarams, Uralis and Ulladans.
