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 Located 50 kms north east of the capital city of Kerala,ie Thiruvananthapuram, the Peppara wildlife sanctuary is home to Tiger, Panther, Wild Dog, Lion Tailed Macaque, Elephant, Gaur, Sambhar, Barking Deer, Mouse Deer, Wild Boar, Nilgiri Langur, Malabar squirrel etc. The bird species seen here include water birds like Darter, Little Cormorant, Pied Kingfisher and Egret. Apart from these, numerous variety of snakes including the King Cobra and Python are frequently spotted in the park. The highlight of the wildlife sanctuary at Peppara is the 13 tribes of adivasis that still reside inside the park premises.
Constituting the catchment of the Peppara dam across the Karamana River, the area around was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1983 because of ecological significance. A part of the Paruthippally range, Peppara wildlife sanctuary constitutes a part of the Palode reserve. It covers an area of 53 sq. kms.
Semi-evergreen forest
Though the best time to visit the Peppara wildlife sanctuary is from March to July and later in the year from September to November, if you are a wild life enthusiast no scorching sun in the summers or the heavy down pour in the monsoons are going to stop you from catching the prowling animals in your binoculars. To be more comfortable you should be carrying light clothes during the summers and a raincoat definitely in the monsoons.
Exploring Peppara wildlife sanctuary in Kerala, you will find the forest is of stunted evergreen at a 1000m elevation at the southern hilltop while on the west coast the hilly slopes are semi-evergreen forest and the lower slopes of the hills have mixed deciduous forests. Trekking though the forests you will come across elephant, gaur, sambar, barking deer, mouse deer, wild boar, tiger, panther, wild dog, lion tailed macaque, Nilgiri langur and Malabar squirrel. Water birds like darter, little cormorant, pied king fisher and egrets are also present. Snakes including the king cobra and python are found in this sanctuary. A variety of moth and butterflies is also found.
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