Indian Geography
🔒 Log in to trackNational parks, tiger reserves and wildlife
🔒 Log in to trackIndia protects wildlife through national parks, sanctuaries, tiger reserves, biosphere reserves and Ramsar wetlands. Exam questions link a park to its state and to its famous animal, and ask a few key dates.
Why India protects its wildlife
India is one of the world's megadiverse countries. The main tools of protection are:
- National parks (the strictest).
- Wildlife sanctuaries.
- Tiger reserves.
- Biosphere reserves.
- Ramsar wetlands.
Four dates to memorise:
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1936 | First national park: Hailey NP, now Jim Corbett NP (Uttarakhand) |
| 1973 | Project Tiger launched from Corbett |
| 1986 | First biosphere reserve: Nilgiri |
| 1992 | Project Elephant |
Park, state and animal
Learn any two corners and you can answer the third.
| National park | State / UT | Famous for |
|---|---|---|
| Jim Corbett | Uttarakhand | First NP; tigers; Ramganga river |
| Kaziranga | Assam | One-horned rhino; UNESCO site (1985); Brahmaputra bank |
| Manas | Assam | Golden langur, pygmy hog; UNESCO site |
| Gir | Gujarat | Last home of the Asiatic lion |
| Sundarbans | West Bengal | Royal Bengal tiger, mangroves; UNESCO site |
| Keoladeo (Bharatpur) | Rajasthan | Birds; UNESCO site |
| Ranthambore, Sariska, Desert NP | Rajasthan | Tigers; Great Indian Bustard in Desert NP |
| Kanha, Bandhavgarh, Pench, Panna, Satpura | Madhya Pradesh | Barasingha in Kanha; tigers in Bandhavgarh |
| Kuno | Madhya Pradesh | Cheetahs reintroduced from Namibia (Sept 2022) |
| Dudhwa | Uttar Pradesh | Swamp deer; rhino rehabilitation |
| Hemis | Ladakh | Snow leopard; largest national park of India |
| Dachigam | J&K | Hangul (Kashmir stag) |
| Great Himalayan; Nanda Devi and Valley of Flowers | HP; Uttarakhand | UNESCO natural sites; alpine flowers |
| Keibul Lamjao | Manipur | Only floating NP (on Loktak lake); Sangai deer |
| Namdapha | Arunachal Pradesh | Four big cats: tiger, leopard, snow leopard, clouded leopard |
| Silent Valley; Eravikulam; Periyar | Kerala | Lion-tailed macaque; Nilgiri tahr; elephants |
| Bandipur, Nagarhole | Karnataka | Tigers, elephants (Nilgiri Biosphere) |
| Bhitarkanika; Simlipal | Odisha | Saltwater crocodiles; tigers and elephants |
| Khangchendzonga | Sikkim | UNESCO mixed site |
Other places in the same questions
- Gahirmatha (Odisha): a marine sanctuary. Lakhs of Olive Ridley turtles nest together here (arribada).
- Chilika (Odisha): Irrawaddy dolphins and winter birds.
- Keibul Lamjao: floating meadows (phumdis) carry the Sangai deer of Loktak lake.
State-level superlatives
Madhya Pradesh has the largest number of national parks. It is called the "Tiger State" because it led the last tiger counts.
Assam's Kaziranga and Manas, and the Siberian-crane story of Keoladeo, are the evergreen one-liners of this section.
Tip: Start from the animal. Rhino means Kaziranga. Lion means Gir. Cheetah means Kuno. Snow leopard means Hemis.
Question types you will see
Each type: how to recognise it, the method step by step, and one question to try.
Protection years: first NP, Project Tiger, biosphere, Project Elephant
'Which was the first national park', 'Project Tiger was launched in', 'first biosphere reserve'.
Write the chain: 1936, 1973, 1986, 1992.
Match: Hailey NP (Corbett), Project Tiger, Nilgiri, Project Elephant.
Do not mix a biosphere reserve with a national park.
Four dates cover every 'first' question.
Project Tiger, launched in 1973, began with which reserve?
Show solutionHide solution
Project Tiger began from Corbett.
Corbett was set up in 1936 as Hailey National Park.
Jim Corbett National Park (Uttarakhand)
National park and its state or UT
A park name with four states as options, or 'how many parks does X state have'.
Assam: Kaziranga, Manas, Dibru-Saikhowa, Nameri.
MP: Kanha, Bandhavgarh, Pench, Panna, Satpura, Kuno.
Rajasthan: Ranthambore, Sariska, Keoladeo, Desert NP. Kerala: Silent Valley, Eravikulam, Periyar.
Single-park states: Hemis (Ladakh), Dachigam (J&K), Keibul Lamjao (Manipur), Namdapha (Arunachal), Bhitarkanika (Odisha), Khangchendzonga (Sikkim).
Learning parks by state gives quick answers.
Kaziranga National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is in which state?
Show solutionHide solution
Kaziranga is in the Assam group.
It stands on the southern bank of the Brahmaputra.
Assam. Manas is the state's other famous UNESCO-listed park.
Park and its famous animal
'Which park is famous for one-horned rhinoceros', 'Asiatic lion is found in', 'only floating national park'.
Start from the animal, not the park.
Rhino: Kaziranga. Lion: Gir. Tahr: Eravikulam. Macaque: Silent Valley. Hangul: Dachigam. Snow leopard: Hemis.
Sangai: Keibul Lamjao. Crocodile: Bhitarkanika. Four big cats: Namdapha.
Tigers live in many parks, so the question usually names a rarer animal.
The rare animal is the clue.
The Asiatic lion's last natural home is which park?
Show solutionHide solution
The Asiatic lion lives in one forest.
That forest is in Gujarat.
Gir National Park
UNESCO natural heritage sites and protected-area categories
'Which national park is a World Heritage Site', 'Khangchendzonga is what type of site', 'biosphere reserve versus national park'.
Natural sites: Kaziranga, Manas, Keoladeo (1985), Sundarbans (1987), Nanda Devi and Valley of Flowers, Great Himalayan NP, Western Ghats, Khangchendzonga.
Khangchendzonga (Sikkim, 2016) is India's first mixed site: nature plus culture.
Categories: national park (strictest), sanctuary, biosphere reserve (largest, includes people).
A small list of sites and one 'mixed' fact cover this.
Khangchendzonga National Park was inscribed in 2016. Why is it special?
Show solutionHide solution
It is valued for nature.
It is also valued for Sikkimese culture.
It is a mixed heritage site (Sikkim).
Wetlands, sanctuaries and mass-nesting sites
'Olive Ridley turtles nest at', 'which lake has Irrawaddy dolphins', 'phumdis are found in', Ramsar wetlands.
Gahirmatha (Odisha): mass nesting (arribada) of Olive Ridley turtles; Rushikulya is another Odisha nesting beach.
Chilika (Odisha): Irrawaddy dolphins, winter birds. Loktak (Manipur): phumdis.
Keoladeo (Bharatpur): the classic bird sanctuary; Siberian cranes once wintered there.
Each site has one signature species.
Olive Ridley turtles are famous for mass nesting (arribada) at which place?
Show solutionHide solution
The site is on the Odisha coast.
It is a marine sanctuary.
Lakhs of turtles nest together.
Gahirmatha. Rushikulya is the other Odisha nesting beach.
Reintroductions and rehabilitation
'Cheetahs were brought to', 'from which country', 'rhino rehabilitation park', 'Great Indian Bustard park'.
Cheetahs: Kuno (MP), from Namibia, September 2022.
Rhino rehabilitation: Dudhwa (UP).
Great Indian Bustard: Desert NP (Rajasthan).
Each programme has one place.
Cheetahs were reintroduced in India in September 2022 at which national park?
Show solutionHide solution
The park is in Madhya Pradesh.
The cheetahs came from Namibia.
Kuno National Park
Shortcuts that save time
Rhino: Kaziranga. Lion: Gir. Cheetah: Kuno. Snow leopard: Hemis. Hangul: Dachigam. Sangai: Keibul Lamjao. Nilgiri tahr: Eravikulam. Lion-tailed macaque: Silent Valley. Saltwater crocodile: Bhitarkanika. Olive Ridley: Gahirmatha.
Where is the Sangai deer found?
Show solutionHide solution
Sangai is linked to Loktak lake.
The park floats on the lake.
Keibul Lamjao National Park, Manipur
1936 first NP (Hailey/Corbett). 1973 Project Tiger. 1986 first biosphere reserve (Nilgiri). 1992 Project Elephant.
Mistakes to avoid
Where most students lose marks on this subtopic.
Putting Kanha in Maharashtra.
Kanha is in Madhya Pradesh.
Placing Keoladeo in Gujarat.
It is at Bharatpur, Rajasthan.
Saying cheetahs were brought to Gir.
They were brought to Kuno (MP).
Mixing the first national park with the first biosphere reserve.
The first NP is Corbett (1936). The first biosphere reserve is Nilgiri (1986).
Calling Khangchendzonga a purely natural site.
It is a UNESCO mixed site.
Quick revision
Read this the night before the exam.
Year chain: 1936 Corbett, 1973 Project Tiger, 1986 Nilgiri Biosphere, 1992 Project Elephant.
Rhino: Kaziranga. Lion: Gir. Cheetah: Kuno. Snow leopard: Hemis. Hangul: Dachigam.
Sangai: Keibul Lamjao. Tahr: Eravikulam. Macaque: Silent Valley. Crocodile: Bhitarkanika. Olive Ridley: Gahirmatha.
Kaziranga, Manas and Keoladeo: UNESCO 1985. Sundarbans: 1987. Khangchendzonga: mixed site.
MP has the most national parks and is the Tiger State. Hemis is the largest NP.
Kuno's cheetahs came from Namibia in September 2022.
Practice: 20 questions
Sets of 10, mixed across the question types above. Every answer has a step-by-step explanation.
Topic test · 10 questions
Suggested time 3 min · wrong answers go to your mistake notebook automatically.