Wildlife of Kerala

Most of Kerala's native habitat, which consists of wet evergreen rainforests at lower elevations and highland deciduous and semi-evergreen forests in the east, has a humid tropical climate. However, significant variations in terrain and elevation lead to high biodiversity. But Alappuzha district has no forests.[1]

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Kerala forest divisions
Cattle egret at the Chirakkal Chira, Chirakkal, Kannur
A migratory bird at Kadalundi Bird Sanctuary
Chimmini Wildlife Sanctuary

Evergreen forests

Most of Kerala's significantly biodiverse tracts of wilderness lie in the evergreen forests of its easternmost districts;[2] coastal Kerala (along with portions of the east) mostly lies under cultivation and is home to comparatively little wildlife. Despite this, Kerala contains 9,400 km2 of natural forests. Out of the approximately 7,500 km2 of non-plantation forest cover, there are wild regions of tropical wet evergreen and semi-evergreen forests (lower and middle elevations — 3,470 km2), tropical moist and dry deciduous forests (mid-elevations — 4,100 km2 and 100 km2, respectively), and montane subtropical and temperate (shola) forests (highest elevations — 100 km2). Such forests together cover 24% of Kerala's landmass.[3] Kerala also hosts four of the world's Ramsar Convention-listed wetlands: Ashtamudi Lake, Lake Sasthamkotta, Thrissur-Ponnani Kole Wetlands, and the Vembanad-Kol wetlands are noted as being wetlands of international importance.[4] There are also numerous protected conservation areas, including 1455.4 km2 of the vast Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve and 1828 km2 of the Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve.[5] Parambikulam forest in Palakkad district is one of the jungle regions in Kerala.

Figs (Ficus species) like this strangler fig are an important floral element and support many frugivores

Flora
Vegetation types

Eastern Kerala's windward mountains shelter tropical moist forests and tropical dry forests which are generally characteristic of the wider Western Ghats: crowns of giant sonokeling (binomial nomenclature: Dalbergia latifolia — Indian rosewood), anjili (Artocarpus hirsuta), mullumurikku (Erythrina), Cassia, and other trees dominate the canopies of large tracts of virgin forest. Overall, Kerala's forests are home to more than 1,000 species of trees. Smaller flora include bamboo, wild black pepper (Piper nigrum), wild cardamom, the calamus rattan palm (Calamus rotang — a type of giant grass), and aromatic vetiver grass (Vetiveria zizanioides).[3] The world's oldest teak plantation, Conolly's Plot, is in Nilambur.[6]

Fauna

In turn, the forests play host to such major fauna as the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris), leopard (Panthera pardus), Nilgiri tahr (Nilgiritragus hylocrius), and grizzled giant squirrel (Ratufa macroura).[3] More remote preserves, including Silent Valley National Park in the Kundali Hills, harbour endangered species such as the Lion-tailed macaque (Macaca silenus), Indian sloth bear (Melursus (Ursus) ursinus ursinus), and gaur (the so-called "Indian bison" — Bos gaurus). More common species include the Indian porcupine (Hystrix indica), chital (Axis axis), sambar (Cervus unicolor), gray langur, flying squirrel, swamp lynx (Felis chaus kutas), boar (Sus scrofa), a variety of catarrhine Old World monkey species, the dhole, and the Asian palm civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus).[7]

The king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah)

Many reptiles, such as the tree snake, green snake, king cobra, viper, python, and various turtles and crocodiles are to be found in Kerala — again, disproportionately in the east. Kerala has about 453 species of birds such as the Sri Lanka frogmouth (Batrachostomus moniliger), leaf picking bird, Oriental bay owl, large frugivores like the great hornbill (Buceros bicornis) and Indian grey hornbill, as well as the more widespread birds such as peafowl, Indian cormorant, jungle and hill mynas, the Oriental darter, black-hooded oriole, greater racket-tailed and black drongoes, bulbul (Pycnonotidae), species of kingfisher and woodpecker, jungle fowl, Alexandrine parakeets, and assorted ducks and migratory birds. Additionally, freshwater fish such as kadu (stinging catfish)[8] and brackishwater species such as choottachi (orange chromide — Etroplus maculatus; valued as an aquarium specimen) are native to Kerala's lakes and waterways.[9]

The Nilgiri tahr, spotted in the Eravikulam National Park in Idukki district
Lion-tailed macaque

Parks, reserves and sanctuaries
National parkArea (km2)Year started
Eravikulam National Park971978[5]
Silent Valley National Park237. 521984[5]
Anamudi Shola National Park7.52003[5]
Mathikettan Shola National Park12.8172003[5]
Pambadum Shola National Park1.3182003[5]
Biosphere reserveArea (km2)Year started
Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve1455.41986[5]
Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve18282001[5]
Wildlife sanctuaryArea (km2)Year started
Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary9251950[5]
Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary1281958[5]
Peechi-Vazhani Wildlife Sanctuary1251958[5]
Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary344.441973[5]
Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary2861973[5]
Idukki Wildlife Sanctuary701976[5]
Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary531983[5]
Chimmini Wildlife Sanctuary851984[5]
Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary90.441984[5]
Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuary1711984[5]
Aralam Wildlife Sanctuary551984[5]
Kurinjimala Sanctuary322006[5]
Malabar Wildlife Sanctuary74.212009[5]
Kottiyoor Wildlife Sanctuary30.382011[5]
Karimpuzha Wildlife Sanctuary227.972020[10]
Bird sanctuaryArea (km2)Year started
Thattekad Bird Sanctuary251983[5]
Mangalavanam Bird Sanctuary0.02742004[5]
Chulanur Bird Sanctuary3.422007[5]
Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary0.0566[11]
Tiger reserveArea (km2)Year started
Periyar Tiger Reserve9251978
Parambikulam Tiger Reserve648.501973
Community reserveArea (km2)Year started
Kadalundi Bird Sanctuary1.52007[5][12]

See also

Notes
  • Idukki district has the most forest land in Kerala while Alappuzha has none.

References
  1. "Alappuzha | District Alappuzha, Government of Kerala | India". Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  2. (Sreedharan 2004, p. 11).
  3. (Sreedharan 2004, p. 12).
  4. Chandran 2018, p. 342.
  5. Chandran 2018, p. 347.
  6. "World's oldest teak trees dying in Kerala". DNA India. 13 May 2009.
  7. (Sreedharan 2004, pp. 174–175).
  8. (Sreedharan 2004, p. 163).
  9. (Sreedharan 2004, pp. 164–165).
  10. K R Rajeev (1 July 2020). "Karimpuzha to be Kerala's 18th wildlife sanctuary". Times of India.
  11. "Kumarakom". Archived from the original on 16 July 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
  12. "The Kadalundi Bird Sanctuary". keralatourism.org. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  • Chandran, VP (2018). Mathrubhumi Yearbook Plus - 2019 (Malayalam Edition). Kozhikode: P. V. Chandran, Managing Editor, Mathrubhumi Printing & Publishing Company Limited, Kozhikode.
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