Lothian Island Wildlife Sanctuary

Lothian Island Wildlife Sanctuary, also referred to as Lothian Island Bird Sanctuary, is a protected mangrove island in the Sundarbans delta of South 24 Parganas, West Bengal. Covering about 38 square kilometres at the mouth of the Saptamukhi River, it was notified in 1948. The sanctuary is noted for dense mangrove forests, diverse birdlife, Olive Ridley sea turtle nesting, and estuarine crocodiles, accessible only by boat with forest permission.

Visitors can expect an uninhabited mangrove island accessible only by chartered boat from Kakdwip or Namkhana with prior forest department permission. The landscape consists of dense mangrove forests, tidal creeks, mudflats and estuarine waters. There are no permanent tourist structures on the island. Visitors explore by boat around the island and on guided walks along forest edges to observe birds, spotted deer, estuarine crocodiles, and Olive Ridley turtle nesting sites in season.

Notified as a wildlife sanctuary in 1948, Lothian Island is one of the oldest wildlife sanctuaries in West Bengal, established to protect the Sundarbans mangrove ecosystem, estuarine crocodiles, and Olive Ridley sea turtles.