Western Ghats, North-East, Thar Desert
This tour offers a choice of three
broad geographical zones that constitute India's vast
endemic gene pool - the arid/semi-arid Desert Wildlife
in the West, the Western Ghats in the South and the
rich Eastern Himalayan, Indo-Burmese, Sino-Tibetan genetic
overlap in the North-East. A combination of at least
two sectors would give you a fair idea of endemics in
India. As a marvel of natural history, this tour reveals
a diverse assemblage of plants, butterflies, mammals,
birds and reptiles found nowhere else on earth.
In Western India, the Thar Desert Wildlife supports
Chinkara, Blackbuck and Indian Bustard, the Rann of
Kutch has the Asiatic Wild Ass while Gir is the last
refuge of the Asiatic Lion. The Western Ghats has endemic
species like Rustyspotted Cat, Malabar Giant Squirrel
(the largest in the world), Nilgiri Tahr, Lion-tailed
Macaque and exotic birds like Malabar Whistling Thrush,
Waynad Laughing Thrush and Malabar Pied Hornbill.
The North-East is still revealing its biological treasures,
where three large mammals have been discovered in recent
years, including the Javan Rhino, Malayan Sun-bear and
Leaf Deer. You can see the One-horned Rhino and Gangetic
Dolphin at Kaziranga, Brow-antlered Deer in Manipur
and other endemics like Pygmy Hog, Golden Langur, Hispid
Hare, Assamese Macaque, Bengal Florican, several hornbills
and the world's highest diversity of freshwater turtle
species.
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