The Gulmarg Wildlife Sanctuary spread over is a protected area in

Gulmarg Gulmarg (), known as Gulmarag (; ) in Kashmiri, is a town, hill station, popular skiing destination, and notified area committee in the Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is located at a distance of from Baramulla and from S ...

Baramulla district Baramulla district or Varmul (in Kashmiri) is one of the 20 districts in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Baramulla town is the administrative headquarters of this district. The district covered an area of in 2001, but it wa ...

of Jammu and Kashmir,

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. The sanctuary lies on the north-eastern side of the

Pir Panjal The Pir Panjal Range ( Kashmiri: ) is a group of mountains in the Lesser Himalayan region, running from east-southeast (ESE) to west-northwest (WNW) across the Indian territories of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir and then Pakistan's ...

mountain range and falls under the northwest Biogeographic Zone 2A. It lies south-west of Srinagar and from

Baramulla Baramulla (), also known as Varmul () in Kashmiri, is a town and a municipality in the Baramulla district in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is also the administrative headquarters of the Baramulla district. It is on the ...

. The sanctuary was first declared as a

game reserve A game reserve (also known as a wildlife preserve or a game park) is a large area of land where wild animals live safely or are hunted in a controlled way for sport. If hunting is prohibited, a game reserve may be considered a nature reserve; ...

in 1981 and later upgraded to a

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a sa ...

in 1987.

Geography

The Gulmarg Wildlife Sanctuary lies in the Pir Panjal Range of the

Western Himalayas The Western Himalayas refers to the western half of the Himalayas, in northern Pakistan and northwestern India. It is also known as the Punjab Himalayas. Four of the five tributaries of the Indus River in Punjab (Beas, Chenab, Jhelum, and Ravi) ...

. The

tourist resort including the

Gulmarg Golf Club The Gulmarg Golf Club is a public golf course in a meadow at Gulmarg in Baramulla district, Jammu and Kashmir, India. It lies 35 km from Baramulla city. The golf course, at an elevation of above sea level, is the second highest green golf co ...

and the long

Gulmarg Gondola Gulmarg Gondola in Gulmarg, Jammu and Kashmir, an administered union territory of India is the second longest and second highest cable car in the world. Higher lines include the ''Dagu Glacier Gondola''. Background The two-stage gondola ...

are surrounded by the sanctuary. The elevation of the sanctuary ranges from to . It is surrounded by the forests of the Gulmarg basin and the upper catchment area of the Ferozpur stream. The sanctuary is bordered by the forest divisions of Jehlum Valley to the north and west, Poonch and Pir Panjal to the south and the Drang village to the east. The highly steep terrain of the upper reaches of Ferozpur gorge consists of Panjal volcanics, with exposed acidic

lava flows Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or un ...

Limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

, shale,

quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tec ...

and slate occur throughout the sanctuary. The Gulmarg Wildlife Sanctuary has a

temperate climate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout ...

. Snowfall during the winter amounts most part of the precipitation.

Flora and fauna

The vegetation of the Gulmarg Wildlife Sanctuary mainly consists of sub-alpine forests of

silver fir Silver fir is a common name for several trees and may refer to: *''Abies alba ''Abies alba'', the European silver fir or silver fir, is a fir native to the mountains of Europe, from the Pyrenees north to Normandy, east to the Alps and the Car ...

''(Abies pindrow)'',

silver birch ''Betula pendula'', commonly known as silver birch, warty birch, European white birch, or East Asian white birch, is a species of tree in the family Betulaceae, native to Europe and parts of Asia, though in southern Europe, it is only found ...

''(Betula utilis)'' and

blue pine ''Pinus wallichiana'' is a coniferous evergreen tree native to the Himalaya, Karakoram and Hindu Kush mountains, from eastern Afghanistan east across northern Pakistan and north west India to Yunnan in southwest China. It grows in mountain valle ...

. Silver fir is restricted to moist aspects and is associated with ''

Pinus griffithii ''Pinus wallichiana'' is a coniferous evergreen tree native to the Himalaya, Karakoram and Hindu Kush mountains, from eastern Afghanistan east across northern Pakistan and north west India to Yunnan in southwest China. It grows in mountain valle ...

'', ''

Taxus wallichiana ''Taxus wallichiana'', the Himalayan yew, is a species of yew, native to the Himalaya and parts of south-east Asia. The species has a variety of uses in traditional medicine. It is currently classified as endangered by the IUCN. Distribution a ...

'' and ''

Picea smithiana ''Picea smithiana'' is a species of evergreen tree in the family Pinaceae family It is referred to by the common names morinda spruce and West Himalayan spruce, and is a spruce native to the western Himalaya and adjacent mountains, from northeas ...

'' at lower altitudes. Silver birch is spread out in the mountain ridges which borders the alpine pastures between and . At lower altitudes, ''Pinus griffithi'' are predominant in the blue pine forests that surround the Gulmarg resort. They are mixed with spruce – ''Picea smithiana'', maple – ''

Acer cappadocicum ''Acer cappadocicum'', the Cappadocian maple, is a maple native to Asia, from central Turkey (ancient Cappadocia) east along the Caucasus, the Himalayas, to southwestern China.Mitchell, A. F. (1974). ''A Field Guide to the Trees of Britain and No ...

'' and yew – ''Taxus wallichiana''. The

alpine meadows Alpine tundra is a type of natural region or biome that does not contain trees because it is at high elevation, with an associated harsh climate. As the latitude of a location approaches the poles, the threshold elevation for alpine tundra gets ...

are dominated by the herbaceous flora of different species. These include '' Corydalis'', ''

Inula ''Inula'' is a genus of about 80 species of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, native to Europe, Asia and Africa. They may be annuals, herbaceous perennials or subshrubs that vary greatly in size, from small species a few centimeter ...

'', ''

Potentilla ''Potentilla'' is a genus containing over 300Guillén, A., et al. (2005)Reproductive biology of the Iberian species of ''Potentilla'' L. (Rosaceae).''Anales del Jardín Botánico de Madrid'' 1(62) 9–21. species of annual, biennial and perenni ...

'', ''

Primula ''Primula'' () is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants in the family Primulaceae. They include the primrose ('' P. vulgaris''), a familiar wildflower of banks and verges. Other common species are '' P. auricula'' (auricula), '' P. veris'' (cow ...

'', ''

Gentiana ''Gentiana'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the gentian family (Gentianaceae), the tribe Gentianeae, and the monophyletic subtribe Gentianinae. With about 400 species it is considered a large genus. They are notable for their most ...

'', '' Rumex'' and ''

Iris Iris most often refers to: *Iris (anatomy), part of the eye *Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess * ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants * Iris (color), an ambiguous color term Iris or IRIS may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional ent ...

''. Daffodils and jonquils of the genus '' Narcissus'', which were introduced have become naturalized. The sanctuary has also valuable resources of medicinal plants such as ''

Saussurea costus ''Dolomiaea costus'', formerly known as ''Saussurea costus'', commonly known as costus, Indian costus, kuth, or putchuk, is a species of thistle in the genus '' Dolomiaea'' native to South Asia and China. Rishi (Hindu) mystics of Kashmir especia ...

'' ''(Jogi badshah)'', ''

Picrorhiza kurroa ''Picrorhiza kurroa'' is one of the major income generating non-timber forest products found in the Nepalese Himalayas. It is one of the oldest medicinal plants traded from the Karnali zone. Known as kutki or कुटकी in Nepali, it is a pe ...

'' and '' Jurinea dolomiaea''. The Gulmarg Wildlife Sanctuary has a recorded 95 bird species of different families including

Kashmir flycatcher The Kashmir flycatcher (''Ficedula subrubra'') is a small passerine bird in the flycatcher family Muscicapidae. At one time it was considered to be a subspecies of the red-breasted flycatcher, ''Ficedula parva''. This is an insectivorous speci ...

''(Ficedula subrubra)'', Himalayan snowcock ''(Tetraogallus himalayensis)'', Impeyan monal ''(Lophophorus impejanus)'' and

Koklass pheasant The koklass pheasant (''Pucrasia macrolopha'') is a species of gamebird, being closely related to progenitive grouse that lived during the Miocene. They are distantly related to pheasants and are most closely related to grouse and turkeys. Ko ...

''(Pucrasia macrolopha)''. There are 31 butterfly species reported from the sanctuary. The Gulmarg Wildlife Sanctuary is noted for its wildlife. The mammals found in the sanctuary include Himalayan brown bear ''(Ursus arctos)'',

Asiatic black bear The Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), also known as the Asiatic black bear, moon bear and white-chested bear, is a medium-sized bear species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an or ...

''(Ursus thibetanus)'', Leopard ''(Panthera pardus)'', Musk deer ''(Moschus crysogaster)'', Kashmir grey langur ''(Semnopithecus ajax)'',

Snow leopard The snow leopard (''Panthera uncia''), also known as the ounce, is a felid in the genus '' Panthera'' native to the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because the global population is es ...

''(Uncia)'',

Tibetan wolf The Himalayan wolf (''Canis lupus chanco'') is a canine of debated taxonomy. It is distinguished by its genetic markers, with mitochondrial DNA indicating that it is genetically basal to the Holarctic gray wolf, genetically the same wolf as the ...

''(Canis lupus)'', Red fox ''(Vulpes)'',

Leopard cat The leopard cat (''Prionailurus bengalensis'') is a small wild cat native to continental South, Southeast, and East Asia. Since 2002 it has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List as it is widely distributed although threatened by hab ...

''(Prionailurus bengalensis)'',

Jungle cat The jungle cat (''Felis chaus''), also called reed cat, swamp cat and jungle lynx, is a medium-sized cat native to the Middle East, the Caucasus, South and Southeast Asia and southern China. It inhabits foremost wetlands like swamps, littoral ...

''(Felis chaus)'' and

Yellow-throated marten The yellow-throated marten (''Martes flavigula'') is a marten species native to Asia. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List due to its wide distribution, evidently relatively stable population, occurrence in a number of protected are ...

''(Martes flavigula)''. The sanctuary acts as a natural

corridor Corridor or The Corridor may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''The Corridor'' (1968 film), a 1968 Swedish drama film * ''The Corridor'' (1995 film), a 1995 Lithuanian drama film * ''The Corridor'' (2010 film), a 2010 Canadia ...

in the movement of brown bear and

markhor The markhor (''Capra falconeri'') is a large ''Capra'' species native to Central Asia, the Karakoram, and the Himalayas. It is listed on the IUCN Red List as Near Threatened since 2015. The markhor is the national animal of Pakistan, where i ...

between

Poonch Poonch, sometimes also spelt Punchh, may refer to: * Historical Poonch District, a district in the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir in British India, split in 1947 between: ** Poonch district, India ** Poonch Division, in Azad Kashmir, Pakistan, ...

and the Kashmir Valley forests.

References

{{Kashmir Valley, state=collapsed National parks in Jammu and Kashmir Tourist attractions in Baramulla district 1987 establishments in Jammu and Kashmir Protected areas established in 1987

Geography

Flora and fauna

See also

References