Established in 1973, the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary is contiguous to the protected area network of Nagarhole and Bandipore of Karnataka and Mudumalai of Tamilnadu.

Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary, 15 kms from Calicut is bisected by a tract of cultivated land into two distinct parts. One falls in the Kozhikode District and the other in the Kannur District. Wayanad literally means the 'land of swamps'.

Rich in bio-diversity, the sanctuary is an integral part of the nilgiri biosphere reserve, which has been established with the chief objective of conserving the biological heritage of the region. The sanctuary has excellent moist deciduous teak forests and marshes dominated by bamboo and other grasses. These forests are also said to be amongst the most extensively forested belts in the Indian Peninsula.

The Wild Population - Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary
Elephants, Tigers, Panthers, Jungle Cats, Civet Cats, Monkeys, Wild Dogs, Bisons, Deer, Bears, Racquet-tailed Drongo, Barbet. Monitor lizards and a variety of snakes are seen.

The sanctuary is also rich in avian life and Peacocks, Babblers, Cuckoos, Owls, Woodpeckers, Jungle Fowls are a few of the various types of birds seen here.

The park in rich in flora and has Teak, Maruthu, Karimaruthi, Rosewood, Venteak, Vengal, Chadachi, Mazhukanjirarn, Bamboo etc. grow in the moist deciduous forest.

Veteria indica, Lager stroemia, Lanceolata, Terminalia paniculata etc. are common in the semi evergreen patches.

HOW TO GET THERE

Air : The nearest Airport is at Cochin, 300km.
Rail : The nearest railhead is Calicut 110 km.