Nagarjunsagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve is the largest tiger reserve in India. The reserve spreads over five districts, Kurnool District, Prakasam District, Guntur District,

Nalgonda District Nalgonda district is a district in the Telangana state of India. Nalgonda district has the highest number of mandals in the state with 31 mandals. The district shares boundaries with Suryapet, Rangareddy, Yadadri and Nagarkurnool districts an ...

and

Mahabub Nagar district Mahabubnagar district is a district in the Indian state of Telangana. Mahabubnagar is the district headquarters which is popularly known as Palamoor. The district shares boundaries with Narayanapet, Vikarabad, Rangareddy, Nagarkurnool, Wanap ...

. The total area of the tiger reserve is . The core area of this reserve is . The reservoirs and temples of

Srisailam Srisailam is a census town in Nandyal district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is the mandal headquarters of Srisailam mandal in Atmakur revenue division. It is located about from the district headquarters Nandyal, from Kurnool, and ...

are major attraction for many tourists and pilgrims. It is the largest tiger reserve forest in India and is located inside Nallamala forest area.

Geography

Nagarjunsagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve Map

This reserve is located between longitude: 78°30' to 79°28' east and latitude: 15°53' to 16°43' north. Elevation varies from to above

mean sea level There are several kinds of mean in mathematics, especially in statistics. Each mean serves to summarize a given group of data, often to better understand the overall value (magnitude and sign) of a given data set. For a data set, the '' ari ...

. Average annual rainfall is . The hill ranges contain a number of plateaus, of which,

Amrabad Amrabad is a Mandal in Nagarkurnool district, Telangana It is the largest mandal in the district area-wise, but population density is less. Large portions of the mandal is occupied by Nallamala forests. Amrabad also served as the headquarters ...

, Srisailam, Peddacheruvu, Sivapuram, and Nekkanti are noteworthy. Nagarjunasagar receives rains from the

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 ...

, which is active from the second half of June to the end of September. The Krishna river cuts its basin almost deep over a distance of through the reserve. There are several waterfalls in the reserve such as the

Ethipothala Falls Ethipothala Falls is a high river cascade, situated in Palnadu district, Andhra Pradesh, India. Located on the Chandravanka river, which is a tributary of River Krishna joining on its right bank. The waterfall is a combination of three stream ...

, Pedda Dukudu, Gundam and Chaleswaram.

Ancient history

The ancient

temples A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

at Srisailam of Lord Mallikarjuna and his consort goddess Bhramaramba, an incarnation of Parvathi as the fair-complexioned boon from

Brahma Brahma ( sa, ब्रह्मा, Brahmā) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu, and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 21 ...

, contain one of the twelve sacred

Shaiva Shaivism (; sa, शैवसम्प्रदायः, Śaivasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Supreme Being. One of the largest Hindu denominations, it incorporates many sub-traditions rangin ...

Jyotirlingas and one of the eighteen Maha Shakthi peethas in India. This area contains ruins of Nagarjuna Viswa Vidyalayam. The site was once the location of many Buddhist universities and monasteries. The ruins of a fort of the 3rd century

BCE Common Era (CE) and Before the Common Era (BCE) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar), the world's most widely used calendar era. Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the or ...

Indian ruler,

Ikshwaku The Solar dynasty (IAST: Suryavaṃśa or Ravivaṃśa in Sanskrit) or the Ikshvaku dynasty was founded by the legendary king Ikshvaku.Geography of Rigvedic India, M.L. Bhargava, Lucknow 1964, pp. 15-18, 46-49, 92-98, 100-/1, 136 The dynasty is ...

Chandragupta overlook the Nirjivapuram (Lifeless city) valley. The ancient fort of king Pratap Rudra of the Kakatiya dynasty and several other forts are visible on the banks of the Krishna River. An ancient wall constructed there by the Kakateeyas is an impressive historic feature. This area contains several rock shelters and cave temples including: Akka Mahadevi Bhilam, Dattatreya Bhilam, Umaa Maheswaram, Kadalivanam, and Palankasari.

Flora

The main types of forest

biome A biome () is a biogeographical unit consisting of a biological community that has formed in response to the physical environment in which they are found and a shared regional climate. Biomes may span more than one continent. Biome is a broader ...

s in the reserve are: southern tropical dry mixed deciduous forest, ''

Hardwickia ''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 ...

'' forest and

Deccan thorn scrub forests The Deccan thorn scrub forests are a xeric shrubland ecoregion of south India and northern Sri Lanka. Historically this area was covered by tropical dry deciduous forest, but this only remains in isolated fragments. The vegetation now consi ...

with much ''

Euphorbia ''Euphorbia'' is a very large and diverse genus of flowering plants, commonly called spurge, in the family Euphorbiaceae. "Euphorbia" is sometimes used in ordinary English to collectively refer to all members of Euphorbiaceae (in deference to t ...

'' scrub. Important plant species here are: '' Anogeissus latifolia'' (axlewood), '' Cleisthanthus collinus'' (odcha), ''

Terminalia Terminalia may refer to: * Terminalia (festival), a Roman festival to the god of boundaries Terminus * ''Terminalia'' (plant), a tree genus * Terminalia (insect anatomy), the terminal region of the abdomen in insects * ''Polyscias terminalia'', a ...

'' spp., ''

Pterocarpus marsupium ''Pterocarpus marsupium'', also known as Malabar kino, Indian kino, Vijayasar, or Venkai is a medium to large, deciduous tree that can grow up to tall. It is native to India (where it occurs in parts of the Western Ghats in the Karnataka-Kerala ...

'', ''

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 ...

'' (anjan tree), '' Boswellia serrata'' (Indian frankincense or salai), ''

Tectona grandis Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters (panicl ...

'' (teak), '' Mundulea sericea'' and ''

Albizia ''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 A ...

'' spp. (silkplants).

Fauna

The main mammals in the reserve are:

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 ...

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 ...

sloth bear The sloth bear (''Melursus ursinus'') is a myrmecophagous bear species native to the Indian subcontinent. It feeds on fruits, ants and termites. It is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, mainly because of habitat loss and degradation. ...

Ussuri dhole The Ussuri dholeHeptner, V. G. & Naumov, N. P. (1998). Mammals of the Soviet Union Vol. II Part 1a, SIRENIA AND CARNIVORA (Sea cows; Wolves and Bears)', Science Publishers, Inc. USA., pp. 566–86, (''Cuon alpinus alpinus''), also known as the I ...

Indian pangolin The Indian pangolin (''Manis crassicaudata''), also called thick-tailed pangolin and scaly anteater is a pangolin native to the Indian subcontinent. Like other pangolins, it has large, overlapping scales on its body which act as armour. The colou ...

chital 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 ...

, sambar deer,

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 ...

blackbuck The blackbuck (''Antilope cervicapra''), also known as the Indian antelope, is an antelope native to India and Nepal. It inhabits grassy plains and lightly forested areas with perennial water sources. It stands up to high at the shoulder. Ma ...

chinkara The chinkara (''Gazella bennettii''), also known as the Indian gazelle, is a gazelle species native to Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. Taxonomy The following six subspecies are considered valid: * Deccan chinkara (''G. b. bennettii'') ...

and

chowsingha 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). ...

. Lesser fauna include

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 ...

Indian 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 r ...

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 ...

rat snake Rat snakes are members – along with kingsnakes, milk snakes, vine snakes and indigo snakes – of the subfamily Colubrinae of the family Colubridae. They are medium to large constrictors and are found throughout much of the Northern Hemi ...

Bengal monitor The Bengal monitor (''Varanus bengalensis''), also called the common Indian monitor, is a monitor lizard distributed widely in the Indian Subcontinent, as well as parts of Southeast Asia and West Asia. This large lizard is mainly a terrestrial a ...

Indian star tortoise The Indian star tortoise (''Geochelone elegans'') is a threatened tortoise species native to India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka where it inhabits dry areas and scrub forest. It has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 2016, as the pop ...

and

Indian peafowl The Indian peafowl (''Pavo cristatus''), also known as the common peafowl, and blue peafowl, is a peafowl species native to the Indian subcontinent. It has been introduced to many other countries. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and ...

. Endemic reptiles like the skinks Ashwamedh writhing skink, Sharma's mabuya lizards and the Nagarjun Sagar racer snake, Wildboar, Mongoose, Porcupine are particular highlights of this region.

References

{{Authority control Tiger reserves of India Wildlife sanctuaries in Andhra Pradesh Wildlife sanctuaries of Telangana Eastern Ghats Central Deccan Plateau dry deciduous forests 1983 establishments in Andhra Pradesh Protected areas established in 1983