The Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected area located in the

Mandya Mandya is a city in the state of Karnataka. It is the headquarter of Mandya district and is located from Mysore and from Bangalore. Sugar factories contribute to the major economic output. It is also called Sugar city (which in Kannada mean ...

, Chamarajanagar and Ramanagar districts of

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

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 Cauvery River passes through its midst. An area of was established as Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary on 14 January 1987 under Section 18 of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 with the objective of providing protection, conservation and development of Wildlife and its environment. The sanctuary was expanded to its current area of in 2013. On its east, it adjoins

Dharmapuri Dharmapuri is a special grade town in the north western part of Tamil Nadu, India. It serves as the administrative headquarters of Dharmapuri district which is the first district created in Tamil Nadu after the independence of India by spli ...

forest division of

Tamil Nadu state Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language— ...

Geography

The sanctuary, established on 14 January 1987 under Section 18 of the Wildlife Protection Act 1973, is spread over an area of It lies in an elevation range of (“Ponnachi Betta” is the highest mountain in the centre of the sanctuary) with its northern and southern boundary delimited by the

Cauvery River The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery, the anglicized name) is one of the major Indian rivers flowing through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The Kaveri river rises at Talakaveri in the Brahmagiri range in the Western Ghats, Kodagu dist ...

on the

Eastern Ghats The Eastern Ghats are a discontinuous range of mountains along India's eastern coast. The Eastern Ghats pass through Odisha, Andhra Pradesh to Tamil Nadu in the south passing some parts of Karnataka as well as Telangana. They are eroded and cut ...

, which drains from west to east. Its eastern and northeastern borders are bounded by the Tamil Nadu state. The river forms the interstate boundary between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu states over a river reach of with dense forests on both banks. The sanctuary is named after the Cauvery River which flows through it over a total length of . Important places along the river stretch flowing through the sanctuary covering its forested central and eastern parts are the

Hogenakal Falls Hogenakkal Falls (' ஒகேனக்கல் அருவி', ' ಹೊಗೇನಕಲ್ ಜಲಪಾತ') is a waterfall in South India on the Kaveri river on the border between Dharmapuri district of Tamil Nadu and Chamrajnagar district ...

(meaning: "smoking rock" in

Kannada language Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native ...

Mekedatu Mekedatu is a location along Kaveri in the border of Chamarajanagar and Ramanagara Districts. From this point, about 3.5 kilometers downstream, the river Kaveri flows through a deep and narrow gorge. Mekedatu' means 'goat's leap' in Kannada. ...

(meaning: "goats leap"), and Sangam (confluence with the

Arkavathi River The Arkavati is an important mountain river in Karnataka, India, originating at Nandi Hills of Chikkaballapura district. It is a tributary of the Kaveri, which it joins at 34 km south of Kanakapura, Ramanagara District called Sangama in ...

. An important religious centre within the sanctuary is

Muthathi Muthathi (or Muttatti) is a settlement situated on the banks of the Kaveri river near Malavalli in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is surrounded by a dense forest which is the home of the Kaveri Wildlife Sanctuary. The location has mythol ...

Anjaneya temple. Also located within the sanctuary are an ecotourism fishing resort and the Cauvery Fishing Camp at Bhimeshwari. The sanctuary is managed by the Deputy Conservator of Forests with four wildlife ranges at Kanakapura, Hanur, Cowdally and MM Hills wildlife ranges. The reserve forests, which are part of the sanctuary, are the Basavanabetta S.F (), the Chilandavadi S.F (), the Muggur S.F (), the Chikkayalur S.F (), and the Mahadeswara Reserve Forest (). The boundary of the sanctuary is well demarcated with the surrounding border areas consisting of agricultural lands and forests; the bordering forest areas are: the Kollegal forest division to its west and south, Mandya and Ramanagaram forest divisions to its north, and Dharmapuri Forest division of Tamil Nadu state to its east. Human habitation inside the sanctuary and within radius of the sanctuary consists of eight enclosed villages and 30 villages respectively with a total population of 39,000 whose main occupation is agriculture. Along the boundary of the sanctuary, a trench is excavated to prevent elephant migration to neighbouring villages and to check damage to agricultural lands.

Climate

The sanctuary has a semi-arid climate, where the average temperatures are a minimum of and maximum of , and during summer it touches a maximum of . The sanctuary receives rainfall both during the

Northeast monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscill ...

and

Southwest monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscill ...

. The rainfall varies between and .

Biology and ecology

The sanctuary mainly consists of

dry deciduous forest The tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forest is a habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature and is located at tropical and subtropical latitudes. Though these forests occur in climates that are warm year-round, and may receive ...

, southern tropical dry thorn and riverine forests. ''

Hardwickia binata ''Hardwickia'' is a monotypic genus of flowering plant in the subfamily Detarioideae of the legumes. The only species is the Anjan, ''Hardwickia binata'', a tree which is native to India, and which grows to height of 25-30 meters. This plant gen ...

'' and ''

Albizia amara ''Albizia'' is a genus of more than 160 species of mostly fast-growing subtropical and tropical trees and shrubs in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae. The genus is pantropical, occurring in Asia, Africa, Madagascar, America and ...

'' are the dominant forest types. There is hardly any vegetation in the northwestern part while good forests exist in the rest of the sanctuary.

Flora

The dominant species of trees found in this sanctuary are ''

Terminalia arjuna ''Terminalia arjuna'' is a tree of the genus '' Terminalia''. It is commonly known as arjuna or arjun tree in English. Description ''T. arjuna'' grows to about 20–25 metres tall; usually has a buttressed trunk, and forms a wide canopy at t ...

'' and jambul (''Syzygium cumini''). Other tree species in the sanctuary are ''Albizia amara'', ''Feronia'' sp., ''

Tamarindus indica Tamarind (''Tamarindus indica'') is a leguminous tree bearing edible fruit that is probably indigenous to tropical Africa. The genus ''Tamarindus'' is monotypic, meaning that it contains only this species. It belongs to the family Fabaceae. ...

'', ''

Mangifera indica ''Mangifera indica'', commonly known as mango, is a species of flowering plant in the family Anacardiaceae. It is a large fruit tree, capable of growing to a height of . There are two distinct genetic populations in modern mangoesthe "Indian ty ...

'', ''Hardwickia binata'', ''

Acacia armata ''Acacia paradoxa'' is a plant in the family Fabaceae. Its common names include kangaroo acacia, kangaroo thorn, prickly wattle, hedge wattle and paradox acacia. Description The large shrub or tree up to tall and has a similar width, it h ...

'', and several other species of acacia, Feronia and

Ficus ''Ficus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes and hemiepiphytes in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extendi ...

Fauna

It is home to mammals like the

Bengal tiger The Bengal tiger is a population of the '' Panthera tigris tigris'' subspecies. It ranks among the biggest wild cats alive today. It is considered to belong to the world's charismatic megafauna. The tiger is estimated to have been present in ...

(''Panthera tigris''),

Indian elephant The Indian elephant (''Elephas maximus indicus'') is one of four extant recognised subspecies of the Asian elephant and native to mainland Asia. Since 1986, the Asian elephant has been listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List as the wild pop ...

(''Elephas maximus''),

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...

(''Sus scrofa''),

Indian leopard The Indian leopard (''Panthera pardus fusca'') is a leopard subspecies widely distributed on the Indian subcontinent. The species ''Panthera pardus'' is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because populations have declined following habita ...

(''Panthera pardus''),

dhole The dhole (''Cuon alpinus''; ) is a canid native to Central, South, East and Southeast Asia. Other English names for the species include Asian wild dog, Asiatic wild dog, Indian wild dog, whistling dog, red dog, red wolf, and mountain wolf. It ...

spotted deer The chital or cheetal (''Axis axis''; ), also known as the spotted deer, chital deer, and axis deer, is a deer species native to the Indian subcontinent. It was first described and given a binomial name by German naturalist Johann Christian Po ...

(''Axis axis''),

barking deer Barking may refer to: Places * Barking, London, a town in East London, England ** London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, a local government district covering the town of Barking ** Municipal Borough of Barking, a historical local government dist ...

(''Muntiacus muntjak''), sambar (''Cervus unicolor''),

four-horned antelope The four-horned antelope (''Tetracerus quadricornis''), or ''chousingha'', is a small antelope found in India and Nepal. Its four horns distinguish it from most other bovids, which have two horns (with a few exceptions, such as the Jacob sheep) ...

(''Tetracerus quadricornis''), black-naped hare (''Lepus nigricollis''),

chevrotain Chevrotains, or mouse-deer, are small even-toed ungulates that make up the family Tragulidae, the only extant members of the infraorder Tragulina. The 10 extant species are placed in three genera, but several species also are known only ...

common langur Gray langurs, also called Hanuman langurs and Hanuman monkeys, are Old World monkeys native to the Indian subcontinent constituting the genus ''Semnopithecus''. Traditionally only one species ''Semnopithecus entellus'' was recognized, but since a ...

bonnet macaque The bonnet macaque (''Macaca radiata''), also known as zati,Chambers English Dictionary is a species of macaque endemic to southern India. Its distribution is limited by the Indian Ocean on three sides and the Godavari and Tapti Rivers, along wit ...

honey badger The honey badger (''Mellivora capensis''), also known as the ratel ( or ), is a mammal widely distributed in Africa, Southwest Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. Because of its wide range and occurrence in a variety of habitats, it is liste ...

(ratel) malabar giant squirrel (''Ratufa indica maxima''),

grizzled giant squirrel The grizzled giant squirrel (''Ratufa macroura'') is a large tree squirrel in the genus '' Ratufa'' found in the highlands of the Central and Uva provinces of Sri Lanka, and in patches of riparian forest along the Kaveri River and in the hill f ...

(''Ratufa macroura'') which is under the highly endangered category in the state of Karnataka (but under

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...

as near threatened),

smooth-coated otter The smooth-coated otter (''Lutrogale perspicillata'') is an otter species occurring in most of the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, with a disjunct population in Iraq. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1996 and is threa ...

(''Lutra lutra'') The smooth-coated otter sites in the sanctuary’s river reach were specifically studied. It was noted that the otters inhabited riverine areas which were loosely packed sand and rock without compacted sand, rocks, gravel, and plant cover. The river Cauvery is also habitat for various species of reptiles like the

mugger crocodile The mugger crocodile (''Crocodylus palustris'') is a medium-sized broad- snouted crocodile, also known as mugger and marsh crocodile. It is native to freshwater habitats from southern Iran to the Indian subcontinent, where it inhabits marshes ...

(''Crocodylus palustris''), Indian mud turtles (''Chelonia'' sp.). Reptile species in the sanctuary are

Indian rock python The Indian python (''Python molurus'') is a large python species native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It is also known by the common names black-tailed python, Indian rock python, and Asian ...

(''Python molurus''),

Indian cobra The Indian cobra (''Naja naja''), also known as the spectacled cobra, Asian cobra, or binocellate cobra, is a species of cobra found in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bhutan, and a member of the "big four" species that are ...

(''Naja naja''),

Russell’s viper Russell's viper (''Daboia russelii''), is a venomous snake in the family Viperidae native to the Indian subcontinent and one of the big four snakes in India. It was described in 1797 by George Shaw and Frederick Polydore Nodder, and named aft ...

(''Daboia russelii'') and

banded krait The banded krait (''Bungarus fasciatus'') is a species of elapid snake found on the Indian Subcontinent, in Southeast Asia, and in southern China. It is the largest species of krait, with a maximum length up to . Although the banded krait is ven ...

(''Bungarus fasciatus''). This is also one of the few places to find the IUCN Red List Critically Endangere

hump-backed

mahseer Mahseer is the common name used for the genera '' Tor'', ''Neolissochilus'', '' Naziritor'' and ''Parator'' in the family Cyprinidae (carps). The name is, however, more often restricted to members of the genus ''Tor''.Sen TK, Jayaram KC, 1982. Th ...

(''Tor remadevii'' ) fish. It was also, previously, part of the distribution of the Critically Endangere

Nilgiri Mystus (''Hemibagrus punctatus''), known locally as ''haddu.''

Avifauna

The sanctuary is listed as an Important Bird Area, IBA assessed bird area by the BirdLife International in 2004 which extends over the same semiarid area as the sanctuary. The two most endangered species in the sanctuary are ''

Gyps ''Gyps'' is a genus of Old World vultures that was proposed by Marie Jules César Savigny in 1809. Its members are sometimes known as griffon vultures. ''Gyps'' vultures have a slim head, a long slender neck with downy feathers, and a ruff aroun ...

'' species of vultures – the

white-rumped vulture The white-rumped vulture (''Gyps bengalensis'') is an Old World vulture native to South and Southeast Asia. It has been listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2000, as the population severely declined. White-rumped vultures d ...

(''Gyps bengalensis'') and

Indian vulture The Indian vulture (''Gyps indicus'') is an Old World vulture native to India, Pakistan and Nepal. It has been listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2002, as the population severely declined. Indian vultures died of kidney fa ...

(''Gyps indicus''). The four vulnerable species reported are

Nilgiri wood-pigeon The Nilgiri wood pigeon (''Columba elphinstonii'') is large pigeon found in the moist deciduous forests and sholas of the Western Ghats in southwestern India. They are mainly frugivorous and forage in the canopy of dense hill forests. They are ...

(''Columba elphinstonii''),

greater spotted eagle The greater spotted eagle (''Clanga clanga''), occasionally called the spotted eagle, is a large bird of prey. Like all typical eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. Its feathered legs indicate it is a member of the subfamily Aquil ...

(''Clanga clanga''),

white-naped tit The white-naped tit (''Machlolophus nuchalis''), sometimes called white-winged tit, is a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is endemic to India where it is found in dry thorn scrub forest in two disjunct populations, in western India ...

(''Parus nuchalis'') and

yellow-throated bulbul The yellow-throated bulbul (''Pycnonotus xantholaemus'') is a species of songbird in the bulbul family of passerine birds. The species is endemic to southern peninsular India. They are found on scrub habitats on steep, rocky hills many of which ...

(''Pycnonotus xantholaemus''). Other bird species reported are 25 species of Malayan Tropical Dry Zone which includes the near threatened

red-headed vulture The red-headed vulture (''Sarcogyps calvus''), also known as the Asian king vulture, Indian black vulture or Pondicherry vulture, is an Old World vulture mainly found in the Indian subcontinent, with small disjunct populations in some parts of So ...

(''Sarcogyps calvus''). Some notable resident species here include

brown boobook The brown boobook (''Ninox scutulata''), also known as the brown hawk-owl, is an owl which is a resident breeder in south Asia from India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal east to western Indonesia and south China. This species is a part of the ...

(''Ninox scutulata''), white-bellied blue-flycatcher (''Cyornis pallipes''),

stork-billed kingfisher The stork-billed kingfisher (''Pelargopsis capensis''), is a tree kingfisher which is widely but sparsely distributed in the tropical Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, from India to Indonesia. This kingfisher is resident throughout its ran ...

(''Pelagorpsis capensis''), green imperial-pigeon (''Ducula aenea'') and Indian scops-owl (''Otus bakkamoena''). In a recent bird survey carried out in the sanctuary, reported in January 2014, the total number of bird species identified in the park are 280, which include 19 new species. Some of the notable species reported are:

Indian courser The Indian courser (''Cursorius coromandelicus'') is a species of courser found in mainland South Asia, mainly in the plains bounded by the Ganges and Indus river system. Like other coursers, it is a ground bird that can be found in small groups ...

, Malabar parakeet,

large-billed leaf warbler The large-billed leaf warbler (''Phylloscopus magnirostris'') is a species of leaf warbler (family Phylloscopidae). It was formerly included in the "Old World warbler Old World warblers are a large group of birds formerly grouped together in the ...

, green leaf-warbler, western crowned leaf warbler,

fairy-bluebird The three fairy-bluebirds are small passerine bird species found in forests and plantations in tropical southern Asia and the Philippines. They are the sole members of the genus ''Irena'' and family Irenidae, and are related to the ioras and le ...

, the Indian blue robin, the

, the

crested goshawk The crested goshawk (''Accipiter trivirgatus'') is a bird of prey from tropical Asia. It is related to other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards (or buteos) and harriers, and thus placed in the family Accipitridae.Grimmett ''et al.'' (1999) ...

rosefinch The rosefinches are a genus, ''Carpodacus'', of passerine birds in the finch family Fringillidae. Most are called "rosefinches" and as the word implies, have various shades of red in their plumage. The common rosefinch is frequently called the " ...

Blyth's swift Blyth's swift (''Apus leuconyx''), is a small bird, superficially similar to a house martin. It is, however, completely unrelated to those passerine species, since swifts are in the order Apodiformes. The resemblances between the groups are due t ...

Orphean warbler Orphean warbler is the name of: * Eastern Orphean warbler ''Sylvia crassirostris'' * Western Orphean warbler ''Sylvia hortensis'' Birds by common name {{Short pages monitor