Malai Mahadeshwara Wildlife Sanctuary

Malai Mahadeshwara Wildlife Sanctuary or Male Mahadeshwara Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected Wildlife sanctuary in the Western Ghats and is located in the state of Karnataka in India. It is named after the presiding deity "Lord Male Mahadeshwara" of the famed Male Mahadeshwara Hills Temple located within the sanctuary. The sanctuary lies in the Chamarajanagar district of Karnataka. It is at a distance of 140 km (87 mi) from Mysuru and 210 km (130 mi) from Bengaluru.

Male Mahadeshwara Wildlife Sanctuary
Malai Mahadeshwara Wildlife Sanctuary
A view of MM Hills Wildlife Sanctuary
LocationChamarajanagar district, Karnataka, India
Area906.187 km2 (349.881 sq mi)
Established2013
Governing bodyKollegal Wildlife Division, Karnataka Forest Department

The sanctuary was established in 2013 with an area of 906.187 km2 (349.881 sq mi) out of the total area of 1,224 km2 (473 sq mi).[1][2]

The sanctuary is part of a contiguous tiger habitat, located very close to the tri-junction of the states of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The sanctuary has Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary (Karnataka) to its North and East, Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (Tamil Nadu) to its South and Biligirirangaswamy Temple Tiger Reserve (Karnataka) to its West.

Flora

The predominant forest type of the sanctuary is dry and moist deciduous forests. As per research reports published, Lantana has invaded substantial areas around Malai Mahadeshwara Hills.[3]

Fauna

Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus) is found in good numbers within the sanctuary. After the creation of the sanctuary in 2013, the tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) population has been steadily increasing. Based on the research by the forest department and scientists to monitor the population of tiger (Panthera tigris) [4] and leopards and increased tiger sightings, environmentalists have highlighted the need to ensure better protection to tigers, by declaring the sanctuary along with Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary as a tiger reserve.[5]

Kollegal ground gecko (Cyrtodactylus collegalensis) was discovered in this region in 2013.[6]

The sanctuary also has other fauna like gaur (Bos gaurus), wild boar (Sus scrofa), leopard (Panthera pardus), dhole, spotted deer (Axis axis), barking deer (Muntiacus muntjak), sambar (Cervus unicolor), four-horned antelope (Tetracerus quadricornis), black-naped hare (Lepus nigricollis), chevrotain, common langur, bonnet macaque, honey badger (ratel) etc.,

References
  1. "..:: Karnataka Forest Department".
  2. Gubbi, Sanjay; Mukherjee, Kaushik; Swaminath, M.H.; Poornesha, H.C. (10 March 2015). "Providing more protected space for tigers Panthera tigris: a landscape conservation approach in the Western Ghats, southern India". Oryx. 50 (2): 336–343. doi:10.1017/S0030605314000751.
  3. "ATREE at Male Mahadeshwara Hills | Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment". www.atree.org. Archived from the original on 3 December 2015.
  4. Gubbi, Sanjay; Harish, N.S.; Kolekar, Aparna; Poornesha, H.C.; Reddy, Vasanth; Mumtaz, Javeed; Madhusudan, M.D. (January 2017). "From intent to action: A case study for the expansion of tiger conservation from southern India". Global Ecology and Conservation. 9: 11. doi:10.1016/j.gecco.2016.11.001.
  5. "Tiger Numbers Rise in Cauvery, MM Hills Reserves".
  6. Agarwal, Ishan. "Kollegal Ground Gecko – A Rediscovery | JLR Explore". jlrexplore.com.

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