Photo credits: E I Salim

The Periyar Tiger Reserve is a rich biodiversity reservoir of 925 sqr km in the southern portion of the western Ghats of India. Considered one of the thirty-four biodiversity hotspots of the world, it is the land of elephants, gaur (pictured above), deer, and even tigers and other felines.

A 25 sqr km reservoir, best known as Thekkady Lake, was formed with the construction of Mullaperiyar Dam in 1895, and is the life line of Periyar Tiger Reserve, a place that houses many species found nowhere else on Earth.

Lord of the jungle

Darter/Anhinga/Snake-bird