Periyar in the southern state of Kerala is one of the sixteen Project Tiger Reserves in India and one of the most picturesque and exquisite nature reserves in the world. With its watercourses, forests, and grasslands, it is a surprising place for mammal and fowl watching. Despite the destruction of much of the forested lowland within the reserve by the construction of a dam on the Periyar River in 1895, the reserve’s 777 square kilometers provide a haven for a variety of mammals, including tigers, elephants, gaur, sloths, leopards, dholes, and Nilgiri langurs.