Chail Sanctuary is located at Chail, a hill station which is home to sambar,

goral The gorals are four species in the genus ''Naemorhedus''. They are small ungulates with a goat-like or antelope-like appearance. Until recently, this genus also contained the serow species (now in genus '' Capricornis''). Etymology The original ...

and

cheer pheasant The cheer pheasant (''Catreus wallichii''), also known as Wallich's pheasant or chir pheasant, is a vulnerable species of the pheasant family, Phasianidae. It is the only member in the genus ''Catreus''. The scientific name commemorates Danish b ...

s at Blossom and Jhaja.

Barking deer Barking may refer to: Places * Barking, London, a town in East London, England ** London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, a local government district covering the town of Barking ** Municipal Borough of Barking, a historical local government dist ...

and kalijin are seen during dusk and dawn. The best time to visit is from March to October. It covers 110 km². Chail Sanctuary has a vast

forest cover Forest cover is the amount of forest that covers a particular area of land. It may be measured as relative (in percent) or absolute (in square kilometres/square miles). Around a third of the world's surface is covered with forest, with closed-canop ...

. In 1976, Chail Wildlife Sanctuary was identified and it was declared as a protected area under government consideration. The cheer pheasant breeding and rehabilitation programme was launched in 1988. There is a dense cover of

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...

and grassland. The sanctuary has mainly mammals. Large mammals include

rhesus macaque The rhesus macaque (''Macaca mulatta''), colloquially rhesus monkey, is a species of Old World monkey. There are between six and nine recognised subspecies that are split between two groups, the Chinese-derived and the Indian-derived. Generally b ...

leopards The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus '' Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, ...

, Indian

muntjac Muntjacs ( ), also known as the barking deer or rib-faced deer, (URL is Google Books) are small deer of the genus ''Muntiacus'' native to South Asia and Southeast Asia. Muntjacs are thought to have begun appearing 15–35 million years ago, ...

and

crested porcupine The crested porcupine (''Hystrix cristata''), also known as the African crested porcupine, is a species of rodent in the family Hystricidae native to Italy, North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa. Characteristics The adult crested porcupine h ...

. Some of the other species found in the area include Himalayan black

bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nor ...

, wild

boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is no ...

, common

langur The Colobinae or leaf-eating monkeys are a subfamily of the Old World monkey family that includes 61 species in 11 genera, including the black-and-white colobus, the large-nosed proboscis monkey, and the gray langurs. Some classifications spli ...

, sambar and

black naped hare The Indian hare (''Lepus nigricollis''), also known as the black-naped hare, is a common species of hare native to the Indian subcontinent, and Java. Introductions It has been introduced to Madagascar, Comoro Islands, Andaman Islands, Irian Jay ...

. European red deer were also introduced half a century ago by the former Maharaja of Patiala but none of them were sighted in 1988 as per the survey conducted. The cheer breeding and rehabilitation centre has helped increase in the number of cheer pheasants nearby. According to people from Himachal Pradesh, the Chail Wildlife Sanctuary is believed to be the main attraction in Chail. Thickly covered oak forests, deodar tree, Solang Valley in Himachal Pradesh, covers more than 10k hectares of land. It houses rhesus macaque, leopard, Indian muntjac, goral, porcupine, wild boar, langur and Himalayan black bear. It also has prevented few endangered species of reptiles and birds. Chail Wildlife Sanctuary is reachable through Kalka - Shimla route by road and by train up to Kalka on

Ambala Ambala () is a city and a municipal corporation in Ambala district in the state of Haryana, India, located on the border with the Indian state of Punjab and in proximity to both states capital Chandigarh. Politically, Ambala has two sub-area ...

Kalka Kalka is a town in the Panchkula district of Haryana, India. It is near Panchkula city. The name of the town is derived from the Hindu goddess Kali. It is situated in the foothills of the Himalayas and is a gateway to the neighbouring state o ...

railway line. The Chail Wildlife Sanctuary is connected with major routes of Shimla and Chandigarh.

References

External links

himachaltourism.nic.inhptdc.gov.in
{{coord, 31.00, 77.20, display=title Wildlife sanctuaries in Himachal Pradesh Shimla district Geography of Shimla district Protected areas established in 1976 1976 establishments in Himachal Pradesh