| Although there are 59 species of mammals in Periyar,
it is the elephants that dominate the landscape and are the
most visible. There are an estimated 800 pachyderms in Periyar
and they live in family groups led by a matriarch. Normal sightings
are of herds with their young feeding and hosing themselves
down with mud or water, or simply swimming along the lake shore.
Young ones never stray too far from the adults as the threat
from tigers is very real. Used to the sound and sight of boats,
the elephants carry on with their routine, undisturbed by camera-wielding
tourists. With their ancient migratory routes cut off by the
reservoir, many elephants now swim to locate favoured food sources.
Sadly few really large tuskers are seen today, most killed
by poachers for the their ivory. Recently, even young tuskers
have been picked up to get at their ivory, which is often
less than 100 cm in length.
Clawless otters provide hours of entertainment for visitors.
They swim and fish in the waters of the reservoir and can
be seen bounding along the slippery, muddy shores, wet and
shiny like playful pups.
Wild boar are easily spotted, rooting about the shores for
tubers and succulent shoots. If you sit out at night near
the forest rest houses, you are quite likely to see both porcupines
and wild boar that come nosing around garbage dumps for something
to eat.
One animal that competes with the tiger for prey is the dhole,
or Wild dog. Though a number of tourists have reported seeing
dholes, you must consider yourself particularly blessed if
you actually see these dogs. Their favoured prey seems to
be the sambar, India’s largest deer. However, they are
opportunistic feeders and will run down almost any available
prey, including wild boar.
Gaur or Bison tend to live secluded lives in and around the
grasslands areas, where they can be seen grazing peacefully
along hillsides.
Other ungulates that might be seen are the sambar, barking
deer and mouse deer, which graze on the succulent grasses
growing near the water’s edge.
With luck (lots of it) you might see a palm civet, jackal,
mongoose or blacknaped hare in the same area. A small number
of Nilgiri tahr can be sighted on the higher hills.
Sloth bears are generally seen around Thanikuddi, where many
tiger sightings have also been reported.
Four different types of monkeys are found in Periyar. These
are the highly threatened lion-tailed macaque, the bonnet
macaque, the Nilgiri langur (one large troupe seems to have
taken up residence near the reception area) and the common
langur (more easily seen towards the eastern parts of Periyar).
By and large, because macaques prefer the interiors of the
tree canopy, which is barely visible from the boat, they are
difficult to spot in Periyar, even though their numbers are
relatively large.
The forest canopy, which is rich in fruit all year round,
is also home to one of the most playful mammals in Periyar,
the Malabar squirrel. Nearer the tourist zone these animals
are quite used to the presence of humans and sometimes will
allow you to approach them to a fairly close extent.
As many as six species of bat have been recorded in Periyar.
Reptiles such as the monitor lizard can be seen basking on
rocky shelves, commonly referred to as paarai, on the lakeshores.
Fresh water tortoises also use the paarai to sunbathe.
Pythons and cobras are animals of the deep evergreen forest.
Flying (they actually only glide) lizards and Flying snakes
travel from tree to tree, the former with the aide of a flap
between its extremities and the latter by flattening its body
into a sail-like shape. The flying snake is particularly beautiful,
brilliantly coloured in yellow and black with crimsonish rosette-like
patterns.
The water courses harbour at least 50 species of fish, including
the golden mahseer.
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