Wildlife sanctuary in South India
Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary
is located 18 km north of
Marayoor
on
State Highway 17
in the Marayoor and Kanthalloor panchayats of
Devikulam
taluk in the
Idukki district
of India's
Kerala
state. It is one of 18 wildlife sanctuaries among the
protected areas of Kerala
.
[1]
It has earned the name for being the only rehabilitation centre for the
Indian star tortoise
in India.
[2]
It is under the jurisdiction of and contiguous with
Eravikulam National Park
to the south.
Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary
is to the north and
Kodaikanal Wildlife Sanctuary
is to the east. It forms an integral part of the 1,187 km
2
(458 sq mi) block of protected forests straddling the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border in the
Anaimalai Hills
.
[3]
The
Western Ghats
, Anamalai Sub-Cluster, including all of Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary, is under consideration by the
UNESCO
World Heritage Committee for selection as a
World Heritage Site
.
[4]
Geography
[
edit
]
CWS is located between latitude 10º15' - 10º21' N and longitude 77º5' - 77º16' E.
[5]
The
Munnar
?
Udumalpet
road
SH 17
passes through the sanctuary for 16 km and divides it into nearly equal portions. Average annual rainfall is only 500 mm, spread over about 48 days, because it is in the
rain shadow
region of the southern
Western Ghats
.
[3]
The altitude ranges from 400 meters (1,300 ft) at east end of the
Chinnar River
to 2,522 meters (8,274 ft) at
Kumarikkal Mala
peak. Other major peaks in the sanctuary are Nandala Malai 2,372 meters (7,782 ft), Kottakombu malai (2,144 meters (7,034 ft)), Vellaikal malai (1,863 meters (6,112 ft)) and Viriyoottu malai 1,845 meters (6,053 ft). In contrast,
Anamudi
peak 2,695 metres (8,842 ft), located 23 kilometers (14 mi) away in the adjacent Eravikulam National Park, is the highest peak in South India.
[
citation needed
]
The Chinnar and
Pambar
rivers are the major perennial water resources in the sanctuary. The Chinnar originates near Kumarikal Malai, follows the interstate boundary along the northwest edge of the sanctuary for 18 km and becomes the
Amaravati River
in Tamil Nadu.
The Pambar River originates in the Anaimudi Hills and is joined by seasonal rivulets and a few perennial streams originating from
sholas
in the upper reaches. It traverses the Turner’s Valley in Eravikulam National Park and flows down into the sanctuary through the Taliar Valley between
Kanthalloor
and
Marayoor
villages and eastwards through the sanctuary. It joins the Chinnar River at Koottar. The Thoovanam water falls lie deep within the sanctuary on the Pambar River. This cascade is a major tourist attraction. The Chinnar, Pambar,
Kabani
and
Bhavani
are the only rivers of the
44 in Kerala
that flow eastwards.
[
citation needed
]
Settlements and crops
[
edit
]
There are 11 tribal settlements inside the Chinnar WLS, each is well demarcated by temporary stone walls. The main inhabitants are
Muthuvas
and
Pulayars
. Cultivation of
maize
,
ragi
and
lemongrass
is practiced in the settlements. The Mudhuvas carry out small scale
ganja
cultivation for their religious purposes.
[6]
Fauna
[
edit
]
The sanctuary's fauna comprises:
[7]
- 28 mammal species, including
Indian leopard
and
spotted deer
,
Indian elephant
,
gaur
,
Bengal tiger
,
sambar deer
,
common langur
,
bonnet macaque
,
gray langur
,
Nilgiri tahr
,
rusty-spotted cat
and
grizzled giant squirrel
;
- 225 bird species including
yellow-throated bulbul
;
- 52 reptile species including 29 species of snakes,
Indian star tortoise
and the largest population of
mugger crocodiles
in Kerala;
- 14 fish species observed in the Chinnar and Pambar rivers include
Garra mullya
,
river-carp baril
,
giant danio
and the endangered hill stream game fish
Deccan mahseer
;
- 15 amphibian species;
- 156 species of
butterflies
.
In 2016, 101 species of
spiders
were reported.
[8]
Flora
[
edit
]
There are 963 species of flowering plants in the sanctuary.
[7]
Ecoregions
of the sanctuary comprise mostly
grassland
and
wet grasslands
vegetation and some
South Western Ghats montane rain forests
and high
shola
at the higher western elevations.
South Western Ghats moist deciduous forests
at mid elevations give way to
dry deciduous forests
and
thorny scrub forests
in the lower dryer eastern edges of the valley. The major
xerophytic
species in the thorny scrub forests are
Acacia arabica
,
Acacia leucofolia
,
Acacia concinna
,
Prosporis juliflora
, and
Opuntia stricta
.
[9]
The Marayoor
sandalwood
forest is located here.
[10]
Regional cooperation
[
edit
]
Senior officials of the
Ministry of Environment and Forests (India)
,
Principal Chief Conservators of Forests
of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, together with other senior forest officials of these states and the Union Territory of Pondicherry, met at Thiruvananthapuram on 3 and 4 November 2006 and resolved several mutual issues concerning conservation and protection of forests and wildlife of the region.
A regular conference of the forest ministers and forest officials of the southern states is held once a year, in rotation in each state.
[11]
Gallery
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Kerala Forests and Wildlife Department (2004).
"The Sanctuaries and National Parks in Kerala"
. Govt. of Kerala. Archived from
the original
on 4 December 2008
. Retrieved
2 January
2009
.
- ^
Pereira, I. (2017).
"Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary hitches wagon to star tortoises"
.
The Hindu
. Retrieved
17 April
2018
.
- ^
a
b
Eco-Informatics Centre, Conservation Database.
"Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary"
.
ATREE
. Archived from
the original
on 6 September 2009
. Retrieved
2 January
2009
.
- ^
UNESCO, World Heritage sites, Tentative lists, Western Ghats sub cluster, Niligiris. retrieved 4/20/2007
[1]
- ^
Centre for Environment & Development (2004) Forest Fire Forecasting in Western Ghats, India
Chinnar wildlife sanctuary
- ^
CED
Chinnar wildlife sanctuary
- ^
a
b
The Kerala Forest Department (2012).
"Annexure - 4-10: Flora and Fauna Of Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary"
(PDF)
. Government of Kerala. pp. 140?182. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 7 March 2018
. Retrieved
7 March
2018
.
- ^
Adarsh, C. K.; Nameer, P. O. (2016).
"A preliminary checklist of spiders (Araneae: Arachnida) in Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary, Western Ghats, India"
.
Journal of Threatened Taxa
.
8
(4): 8703?8713.
doi
:
10.11609/jott.2740.8.4.8703-8713
.
- ^
Department of Forests and Wildlife.
"Management Plan (2002-2011)"
.
Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary
. Government of Kerala. Archived from
the original
on 12 February 2009
. Retrieved
2 January
2009
.
- ^
keralatourism.org,
Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary
- ^
CONFERENCE OF THE FOREST MINISTERS
OF SOUTHERN STATES, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, 3 ? 4 November 2006
Forest Ministers Resolution
External links
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