Toshali Sands

Chand Aka Elephant Sanctuary

The Chandaka Elephant Sanctuary, the first of its kind in India, was established in 1982. About 20 kms. away from Bhubaneswar it is a dense forest covering 190 sq.kms. where around one hundred elephants roam free. For visitors there are a number of watch towers to watch these huge animals. Going into sanctuary wearing white dress or driving a white vehicle is prohibited in this place. The sanctuary is setup to promote eco-regeneration of depleting enviomment.

Interesting In its 40 years of existence, the Park has successfully bred many of the endangered species like tiger, leopard, Asiatic lion, the three Indian crocodiles, sangai, lion-tailed monkey, Nilgiri langur, Indian penguin, mouse deer and many land and water birds. The Park has 1827 individuals of73 species of mammals, 83 species of birds and 15 species of reptiles, besides fish. The Park specialises in successfully keeping animals of the Indian sub-continent and has been able to publish a large number of research papers on them.
In August 1979, the Park, together with the lake and Botanical Garden, covering an area of 426 hectares has been declared a sanctuary.