8 Wildlife Animals You Can Expect To See In Kerala, India

Spread the love

wildlife in kerala india

Most people know that when you’re traveling to India, you’re bound to see some major wildlife! So what’s hiding in the jungles and city life of Kerala, India? You’re about to find out!


Elephants

kerala elephants - hofit kim cohen

feeding an wild elephant bananas Kerala india

When I originally started making my plans to travel to Kerala, India, all I cared about seeing were elephants! I wanted the cheesy cliche Indian experience because well, I’m a cheesy cliche kind of a gal, so seeing elephants in India was a must for me! I wanted to ride them, play with them, hang out with them, feed them and just love them! Surprisingly enough, elephants don’t just roam the streets of India, like they do in the movies. However, you might still get a chance to see them at different locations throughout the country. I was lucky enough to visit a rescued elephant park, where I got to wash and play with elephants. A few days later, I was once again faced with the amazing experience of hanging out with another elephant at the Greenwood Resort in Thekkady, where I got to feed an elephant bananas! You HAVE TO see an elephant when visiting Kerala, India, it’s seriously a must! They are amazingly beautiful and such sweet creatures.

Monkeys

playing with monkeys wildlife hofit kim cohen kerala

The monkeys in Kerala are absolutely adorable! Most are found in areas up north in cities like Thekkady and Wayanad, but can also be found in different parts of the state. These monkeys aren’t shy or afraid of humans, in fact, if you aren’t careful, they will literally come up to you and steal your belongings on the search for food. Many of the resorts have a strict policy about locking your hotel room the moment you step into your room because these monkeys know how to open doors and they will come into your room and steal your stuff! When visiting the northern part of Kerala, you will see them everywhere and you will also see many mothers carrying their babies, which is probably one of the cutest things in the world.

Indian Giant Squirrels

Indian Giant Squirrels in kerala wildlife

Who even knew giant squirrels existed before this trip!? Definitely not me! These are probably the most beautiful squirrels you will ever see in your life! When I first moved to Los Angeles as a kid, I was amazed at how many squirrels there are everywhere you go! Some countries have dogs and cats that roam the streets, but in LA we have squirrels, who are usually a tan color and are pretty small. In Kerala however, they have these BEAUTIFUL black and tan, giant squirrels running around the trees! While staying at Vythiri Resort in Wayanad, which is a resort in the middle of the jungles, I got to see these amazing creatures running around and jumping onto different trees. They’re pretty big, probably the size of 5-6 squirrels put together, like the ones I’m used to seeing in Los Angeles. Their body size is about 14 inches (36 cm) and their tail length is approximately 2 ft (0.61 m). So don’t forget to be on the lookout for these awesome guys when traveling to Kerala.

Vechur Cows

A skinny cow in India

The cows in Kerala, India aren’t your typical cows, they look completely different then the typical white and black cow with spots that most are used to. They are extremely skinny and are normally different shades of brown. In most parts of India cows are considered very holy, but in Kerala not so much. You will probably see these cows tied to trees in villages or being walked on the streets of Kerala, but not so much as you would at other parts of India.

Flying Lizards 

wildlife flying lizard kerala india

Where there is tropical climate, there are lizards and not just a few random ones, but thousands. While living in Florida next to the Everglades, I got to experience this first hand, every day while leaving my house, walking the streets with my dog or simply hanging out at home, lizards always found a way to appear and the same goes for Kerala, they are everywhere! I saw a ridiculous amount of lizards everywhere I went and some how I always seemed to be the only one who found a lizard in her room out of over 40 rooms that were rented out to us. But even better than a normal lizard, Kerala has the flying lizards!!! Can you imagine seeing one of these flying around?!

King Cobra, Viper and Python Snakes

king cobra snake

Luckily for me I didn’t run into any of these snakes, which are probably the most dangerous snakes in the world. But if you are curious about them, they are located on the Eastern part of Kerala.

Leopard & Bengal Tigers

wild tiger in waynate kerala wildlife

Running into a Leopard or a tiger in India is just as rare as finding a hundred dollar bill on the floor, rare, but still possible. During my visit to Kerala with the Kerala Blog Express, my fellow bloggers and I were dying to see tigers in the wild. Every chance we got to explore some nature and wildlife, it’s all we ever talked about wanting to see. Sadly enough we didn’t get to see any tigers or leopards, they clearly aren’t the easiest animals to find. However, less than a week after we left Kerala, I was notified by one of the resort’s wildlife specialist at Vythiri Resort in Wayanad, that the other night they saw both a tiger and a leopard. He actually sent me the photo above that he took! I really think it’s all about having a little luck and being at the right place at the right time. 😉

 

What was the coolest animal you have ever seen in the wild???

 


Booking.com

JOIN MY NEWSLETTER
I agree to have my personal information transfered to MailChimp ( more information )
Travel the world with me! Join over 300,000 readers and get updates, travel tips, giveaways and more in the Vanilla Sky Dreaming monthly newsletter!
*We hate spam. Your email address will not be sold or shared with anyone else.

8 Responses to 8 Wildlife Animals You Can Expect To See In Kerala, India

  1. Hii Hofit!!
    Yes your are right elephants are majestic animals like you most of the Kerala peoples are crazy about elephant. Mainly elephants are used in for festivals and temple related rituals but you could also see them in timber mills for moving huge woods around.
    As a true elephant lover if you are planning to visit Kerala again in future try to visit ” Annakotta, Guruvayoor” its in thrissur district. There you could get to know more about this majestic animal if lucky you could even ride one!

    -Ajay Raj

  2. Elephant is one of my favourite.You can see elephants and monkeys not that wild in this part of the world, as it can be seen in streets,temples etc and both are very intelligent too.

    A foreigner can also utilize kerala visit by going for an ayurvedic treatment if required, which does not have any side effects.I get rid my Sinusitis problem by using an ayurvedic oil for few weeks at home.Kerala is the land of ayurveda.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayurveda

    One of the most famous treatment center is ‘Kottakkal’ even though there are many.

    http://aryavaidyasala.com/(S(c4r31oee4ugdshrauc1ebput))/Index.aspx

    As far as modern medicine is concerned, India is having world class hospitals in which cost comes around 1/5th that of US.I just highlighted some information.

    • No I’m 100% sure there is! In Wayanad there is, we saw them and were also with a animal and rain-forest specialist who came out there to learn about them

  3. Oh, please do not ride elephants! OR tell people to ride elephants. It is a really cruel process to “break them in” – Pajan. I really encourage you to look into how sad the temple elephants are. xx

  4. Elephants are indeed part and parcel of Mother Nature in India. However, in Kerala there is MUCH that has to be done to educate both the “mahout'(elephant trainer), the elephant owners (including temple authorities) and the general public about compassion.

    Elephants are tortured and brutalize in so many ways to break the spirit of this magnificent animal before they are dragged out of forests to become agonized mute and silent beasts of a very doomed burden – man’s appetite for ‘entertainment’.

    Please take a look at this site and you will see for yourself a documentation of this – https://twitter.com/GodsInShackles

Leave a reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.