Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary

Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary is a wildlife sanctuary located in Wayanad district of Kerala. Also known as Muthanga Wildlife Sanctuary, it is the second largest wildlife sanctuary in Kerala. The wildlife sanctuary was founded in 1973 and constitutes a part of Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. The wildlife sanctuary is spread over an area of 344 sq. km. It is known as the shelter of several endangered species of plants and animals. In the year 1991-92, this wildlife sanctuary came under the Project Elephant. Following the project, the population of elephants has increased considerably. Now, it is very common to spot herds of Elephants in the wildlife sanctuary. The richly diverse wildlife sanctuary is divided into two parts, the Upper Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary and the Lower Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary.

Geography
On the northeast front, Muthanga Wildlife Sanctuary is surrounded by protected area of Nagarhole National Park and Bandipur of Karnataka. On southeast side, it is bounded by Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary of Tamil Nadu. Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary is a part of Wayanad plateau. Compared to the other parts of the district, this region receives comparatively higher annual rainfall. During summer, dry winds blows in the region, while in south west monsoon season high speed wind blows in this area. Due to higher altitude, one can experience extreme cold climatic conditions during winters. During south west monsoon, Wayanad experiences high humidity.

Flora and Fauna
Muthanga Wildlife Sanctuary Wayanad is amidst wet deciduous teak forests, which are commonly found in South India. The trees commonly found here include Maruthi, Karimaruthi, Chadachi, Mazhukanjiram, Bamboos, Rosewood, Venteak and Vengal. The wildlife sanctuary has forest covers of semi evergreen trees of west coast. These semi evergreen flora consist of Veteria indica, Termianalia paniculata, Lagerstroemia and Lanceolata. Apart from herds of Elephants, Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary provides shelter to several other species of animals. These species of animals include tigers, panthers, jungle cats, civet cats, bisons, deer, bears, monkeys and wild dogs. The wildlife sanctuary offers ideal conditions for reptiles like monitor lizards and different types of snakes. Visitors can also see various types of birds, such as peacocks, babblers, cuckoos, owls, woodpeckers and jungle fowls. Some of these animal species comes under rare and endangered category. The Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary is doing its best to protect these endangered species from getting extinct.

Key Attractions
In this sanctuary, visitors can enjoy the sight of seeing wild animals living in their natural habitat. The Forest Department of Kerala has arranged the facilities of elephant rides in the wildlife sanctuary. These elephant rides offer tourists an enthralling and captivating view of wildlife. Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary falls on the way to Mysore to Sultan Battery and can be used as a pleasant halt and a great way to experience the wildlife.