Eravikulam National Park

Best time to visit : November to April
Nearest Airport : Kochi (143km)
Nearest Railway Station : Kochi (143km), Munnar (16km)

¤ Eravikulam Nestles At The Summit of Annamalai Range

The dense forests and grasslands at the crest of the Annamalai Range, form the Eravikulam National Park. Established in 1978, it stretches to engulf the spectacular Anai Mudi Peak that dramatically rises above its surroundings. Anamudi is the highest mountain in the country outside of the Himalayan Range.
The Peak is also home to the largest population of the beautiful and frisky Nilgiri thar.
This mountain goat is closely related to the ibex found in the icy reaches of Ladakh and Tibet. In the afternoons, the Nilgiri thar retreats into the sholas, or the rain forests, and comes out in the evenings for fresh crunchy grass.

The reserve came up in 1978, when the Nilgiri thar was on the brink of extinction. The recovery in the number of the Nilgiri thars, is perhaps one of the biggest success stories of rescuing a species. Perhaps this is due to the highly fecund capability of the female that can deliver quite a number of young ones in a lifetime.


The Nilgiri thar shares the park with the elephant, lion-tailed macaque, tiger, leopard, Nilgiri langur, Malabar giant squirrel, gaur, dhole (wild dog), sambar and the barking deer.


¤ The Attraction of Lion-tailed Macaque

Half of the total 4000 Lion-tailed macaque population dwells in the higher reaches of the rain forests of Eravikulam National Park in Kerala. However, their total population is estimated to be a little less than a 1000. These dark animals are easily distinguished by their fair, mane-like growth encircling the face, and the hairy tuft at the end of their tails, which gives them their name.

The appearance of the Lion-tailed macaque gives them a rather philosophic and wise aura.
They live in groups of 15 to 35 members, with about 5 to 10 females in each group, and usually occupy a range of 1.5 to 5sq km of rain forest area. Each group is led by a dominant male, who mates with the receptive females of the group. The females give birth only once in 3 years, and not more than an average of 4 times in a life span.


¤ Eating Habits of Macaques

Unlike other macaques, the Lion-tail can digest carbohydrates and sugar, but not leaves. Its diet consists of fruits, mushrooms, lichen, moss, eggs, small birds and mammals, and insects such as spiders, snails, lizards, caterpillars, termites; all of which are found aplenty in the rain forests.

Perhaps, this explains why this striking creature survives only in the rain forests. The reserve provides a secure refuge to this shy and stately being whose habitat is severely threatened by encroachments intended to make way for tea and coffee plantations, amongst other things. The Lion-tailed macaque is also hunted for the supposed aphrodisiac qualities contained in some organs of its body.