RANGANATHITTU BIRD SANCTUARY:

This bird Sanctuary, situated on one of the three islands in the river Cauvery, is 5 km from Mysore.  It is a greenery filled beautiful haven for herons, white ibis, little cormorants, darters open-billed storks and several other species of birds. Boats are available to reach the island and also to drift along its shores in pleasant contemplation of the birds and scenery.

BANDIPUR NATIONAL PARK:   

The Bandipur National Park forms part and parcel of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. It is contiguous to the world famous Mudumalai sanctuary in the south, in Tamil Nadu. Bandipur National Park, once known as Venugopalswamy Park, was the exclusive hunting reserve of the Mysore Maharajas. The late Jayachamaraja Wodeyar gave up shooting in 1955 and the game he shot last, a gaur, adorns the Central Hall of the   Forest Museum in Coimbatore. Bandipur was the first park in India created under the banner of Project Tiger in 1973. The Bandipur forest teems with different species of trees, shrubs, plants, flowers and birds. Wild life in the Park includes Tigers, panthers, mouse deer, barking deer, flying squirrel, Malabar squirrel, foxes etc. Buses are frequently available from Mysore and Ooty to Bandipur.

The various conservation measures, coupled with the excellent visibility of the terrain has made Bandipur more popular than Mudumalai, which has lost its old charm as a wild life sanctuary due to the cluttering of rest houses, lack of periodical scything of weeds in the animal zone and apathy to strict enforcement of rules and regulations. 

RANIBENNUR BLACKBUCK SANCTUARY:  

It was created in 1974 for preserving the endangered blackbuck antelopes which are also known as Indian antelopes. When frightened, they can run up to 80 km per hour for several kms.The females have no horns and the males have distinctive hollow spiral horns. 

NAGARHOLE NATIONAL PARK:   

The Nagarhole Natioanl Park, also known by the name Rajiv Gandhi National Park created in 1955, is an abode for tigers, leopards, wild elephants, four-horned deer, king deer, common langur etc. There are several varieties of birds, which include woodpeckers and peacocks. The park is 3 hours bus journey from Mysore.