A Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or other interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide opportunities for study or research. The Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 provides for the establishment of Protected Areas in India. Wildlife sanctuaries of India, are classified as IUCN Category IV protected areas. As of 2017, 553 wildlife sanctuaries were established in India, covering . Among these, Project Tiger governs 51 tiger reserves, which are of special significance for the conservation of the Bengal tiger. The oldest bird sanctuary is Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary near Chennai in Tamil Nadu state, and was established in 1796. { "type": "ExternalData", "service": "geoshape", "properties": { "stroke": "#00ff00", "stroke-width": 2 }, "query": "\nSELECT ?id ?idLabel\n(concat('', ?idLabel, '') as ?title)\nWHERE\n{\n?id wdt:P814 wd:Q14545639. # is a district\n?id wdt:P17 wd:Q668. # in India\nSERVICE wikibase:label { bd:serviceParam wikibase:language 'en'}\n}"} List of Wildlife Sanctuaries Wildlife Sanctuaries have been established in: Andaman and Nicobar Islands Arial Island WLS Bamboo Island WLS Barren Island WLS Battimalv Island WLS Belle Island WLS Benett Island WLS Bingham Island WLS Blister Island WLS Bluff Island WLS Bondoville Island WLS Brush Island WLS Buchanan Island WLS Chanel Island WLS Cinque Islands WLS Clyde Island WLS Cone Island WLS Curlew (B.P.) Island WLS Curlew Island WLS Cuthbert Bay WLS Defence Island WLS Dot Island WLS Dottrell Island WLS Duncan Island WLS East Island WLS East of Inglis Island WLS Egg Island WLS Entrance Island WLS Flat Island Wildlife Sanctuary Gander Island WLS Girjan Island WLS Galathea Bay WLS Goose Island WLS Hump Island WLS Interview Island WLS James Island WLS Jungle Island WLS Kwangtung Island WLS Kyd Island WLS Landfall Island WLS Latouche Island WLS Lohabarrack (Saltwater Crocodile) WLS Mangrove Island WLS Mask Island WLS Mayo Island WLS Megapode Island WLS Montogemery Island WLS Narcondam Island WLS North Brother Island WLS North Island WLS North Reef Island WLS Oliver Island WLS Orchid Island WLS Ox Island WLS Oyster Island-I WLS Oyster Island-II WLS Paget Island WLS Parkinson Island WLS Passage Island WLS Patric Island WLS Peacock Island WLS Pitman Island WLS Point Island WLS Potanma Islands WLS Ranger Island WLS Reef Island WLS Roper Island WLS Ross Island WLS Rowe Island WLS Sandy Island WLS Sea Serpent Island WLS Shark Island WLS Shearme Island WLS Sir Hugh Rose Island WLS Sisters Island WLS Snake Island-I WLS Snake Island-II WLS