Point Calimere Wildlife and Bird Sanctuary

Point Calimere Wildlife and Bird Sanctuary (PCWBS) is a protected area in Tamil Nadu, South India along the Palk Strait where it meets the Bay of Bengal at Point Calimere (Tamil: கோடியக்கரை ''Kodiakkarai'') at the southeastern tip of Nagapattinam District. The sanctuary was created in 1967 for conservation of the least concern blackbuck antelope, an endemic mammal species of India. It is famous for large congregations of waterbirds, especially greater flamingos. International name: Point Calimere Wildlife Sanctuary, IBA Code: IN275, Criteria: A1, A4i, A4iii.BirdLife Internationalbr>Chitragudi and Kanjirankulam Bird Sanctuary
/ref> The core area of this sanctuary has been proposed as a National Park

History

In the 8th century a brick and mortar lighthouse at Kodiakkarai (கோடியக்கரை) was said to have been built during the regime of vijayalacholan. In 1890 the British erected a lighthouse at Kodiakkarai (கோடியக்கரை) which is still in use near the remains of the old Chola lighthouse.

Before 1968 AD Ptolemy referred to Point Calimere as ''Calligicum prom.''. Use of the term Point Calimere appears to date back at least to between the early 16th century, when Portuguese traders started commercial contacts with nearby Nagapattinam town, and 1554 when they established a commercial center there. In the Portuguese language ''calido'' means warm and ''mar'' means sea.

Before 1892 the forests around Point Calimere were administered by the Revenue Department and Temple trustees who allowed local people to collect firewood, fish and minor forest products. Forest management practices in the area began in 1892 with creation of the Kodaikadu Reserved Forest. A small area near the Sanyasin Muniaswar Temple was used by the British as a hunting ground and later cleared and replanted with casuarina and eucalyptus for firewood production. Some of these old trees remain. Palmyrah trees were planted to mark the village forests from the Reserved Forest near Munniappan Lake. There is a shrine to the deities '' Shevrayan'' and '' Soni'' located deep in the forests of the northern part of the sanctuary. A small village near Shevrayan Kovil shrine was relocated outside the sanctuary after the creation of Kodaikarai Reserve Forest. A few uncommon Indian tulip and neem trees from this old settlement still remain.

In the early 1900s small numbers of ponies were bred and large amounts of tobacco were grown in the neighbourhood. The promontory was once used as a sanitarium, but by 1909 was said to be malarious from April to June.
Bathing in the sea at Point Calimere was considered sacred by Hindus and a temple there was an object of pilgrimage.

In 1911 The reserve forest was under the control of the Trichy-cum-Thanjavor Forest Division. In 1922 the reserved forest was put under the control of the Revenue Divisional Officer, Mannargudi by the Governor of Madras. In 1938, Kodaikarai Extension No. 1 , Kodaikarai Estension No. 214.75 and Kodaikarai Estension No. 3 were added to form the present area of the sanctuary. In 1950 control of the forest was shifted to the Tiruchirapalli Forest Division, in 1957 to the Thanjavur Division and in 1965 to the State Wildlife officer in Chennai. In 1962 Dr. Salim Ali first identified The Point Calimere region as an area of high significance for the conservation of birds. In 1967 the sanctuary was created and put under control of the Thanjavar Forest Division and then to the Wildlife Division in Nagapattinam when that was created in 1986.

In 1936 a rail line was extended to Kodaikorai for transport of salt from Vedaranyam. Train service was halted in 1988 and the tracks were dismantled in 1995. During World War II a radar station was constructed and operated by Army personnel who had unquestioned access to the forests. In 1943 an experimental Casurina plantation was begun and soon extended by destruction of most of the natural forest. This resulted in a major decrease in numbers and variety of wild animals in the area.

In the early years of the Sanctuary management was concentrated on prevention of poaching and provision of water to the wildlife. Poaching has been controlled but water supply is a continuing effort. In 1979 the first of several water troughs supplied from water barrels transported by bullock cart and open wells were built. Beginning in 2001–02 several perennial water holes supplied by pipe from bore wells and a large elevated water tank on the western edge of the sanctuary were built.

Several tree planting schemes to increase biodiversity have yielded poor results, with the exception of ''Casuarina equisetifolia''. Current practice is to avoid new tree planting and concentrate on removal of the invasive ''Prosopis juliflora''. An annual wildlife census has been conducted since 1991.

The Bombay Natural History Society has been conducting regular bird migration studies in the sanctuary since 1959. In 2007 it is building a new field station in Kodaikadu.

On 9 March 1998 a modern lighthouse near Kodaikorai Beach was commissioned.

In 1999 many speed breakers were installed on the Vedaranyam – Kodaikorai road which have effectively prevented the killing of wildlife by speeding vehicles. In 2004/05 nearly 100 boundary pillars were erected for boundary demarcation.

On 26 December 2004 a tsunami as high as 3 metres (10 ft) hit the Kodiyakarai coast of the sanctuary. Seawater flooded the entire sanctuary with four feet of water. The sanctuary escaped serious damage and the sanctuary, animals and birds largely survived the giant wave, but 5,525 people were killed in neighbouring parts of Nagapattinam District.

The documentary film ''Point Calimere – Little Kingdom by the Coast'' by Shekar Dattatri won the Centre for Media Studies (CMS) Vatavaran 2007 award in the Nature category.Nature: ''Point Calimere – Little Kingdom by the Coast''
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Cultural heritage

Several sites of religious, historical or cultural importance are located within the sanctuary:

* Ramar Padam (literally: Ramas Footprint) located on the highest point of land in the sanctuary, is a small shrine containing the stone footprints of Lord Rama. Large numbers of Rama devotees gather here during the second week of April to celebrate Ram Navami Festival.
* Kuzhagar Temple or Kodi Kuzhagar Temple (கோடிக் குழகர் கோயில்) :ta:கோடியக்கரை அமுதகடேசுவரர் கோயில் (also called Amrithakadeswarar Temple) is a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva, located in the town of Kodikkarai in Tamil Nadu, India. Kuzhagar is revered in the 7th century Tamil Saiva canonical work, the ''Tevaram'', written by Tamil saint poets known as the nayanars and classified as ''Paadal Petra Sthalam''. Kuzhagar temple is originally believed to have been built by the Cholas and it has several inscriptions dating back to the Chola period.
* Navakodi Sitthar Aalayam is a temple in south of the Kodiakkarai village. The history of this temple is the wedding ceremony of Lord Shiva and Parvathy Ammaal have been attended by lot many Sitthars at this location. Chola Emperor and Mannar Sarafoji were visited this temple. A small village called "Kanakkar Madam" near this shrine was demolished around 80 years ago and the people who were living there are relocated to Kodiakkarai village and they are still called as Kanakkarmadathiaar's family. A large congregation of devotees from all over Tamil Nadu state to come on special day of Amaavasai/Pournami to celebrate a special festival here every year. The greatest lord and the environment gives the peace like never ever feel.
* Sanyasin Muniaswar Kovil is a shrine between the eastern bank of Muniappan Lake and Kodaikarai Road visited by devotees on all auspicious occasions. On 20 March a special Puja is celebrated here.
* Mattumunian Kovil is a small temple in the south of the sanctuary where people worship and offer prayers throughout the year. A major festival occurs here on the 3rd Friday of September.
* Modi Mandapam is a shrine located near Ramar Padam where people of all castes worship. Hindu legend says that Lord Vedaraneswarer spends a night here with his consort during January – February. In the first week of March a major festival is held here.
* Avulaiganni Dargah is the grave of a Muslim saint located near the road by Ramar Padam. His death anniversary is observed here at the end of November.
* Shevrayan Kovil is a shrine to the deities ''Shevrayan'' and ''Soni'' located deep in the forests of the northern part of the sanctuary. A small village near this shrine was relocated outside the sanctuary after the creation of Kodaikarai Reserve Forest. A large congregation of devotees from Arcothurai celebrate a special festival here in June/July.

* Adivasi Colony is a backwards community of Ambalakars living in ramshackle huts of mud, coconut fronds and palmyrah leaves on the edge of Kodaikarai village. Their traditional livelihood was the collection of non-timber forest products in the areas that are now the sanctuary. These practices are now prohibited but not fully eliminated. Many of these people catch fish and small prawns in the nearby mudflats and swamps simply by groping in the water with their hands. Some work as day labour in the nearby salt pans. They have little interaction with other communities on the island.

* Chola Lighthouse is the remains of a brick and mortar lighthouse near Point Calimere said to have been built by the Cholas more than a thousand years ago. This structure was badly damaged by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami but can still be seen in the intertidal zone near the British lighthouse.
* British Lighthouse is a tall operating lighthouse built by the British at the tip of Point Calemere in 1890 and can be seen at sea.
* Kodaikarai Lighthouse is a tall modern aid to navigation located near Kodaikorai Beach and is not accessible to the public. This dominates the sanctuary and may be seen by seamen far at sea.

Geography

The sanctuary, located adjacent to and east of Kodaikarai and Kodaikadu villages, is basically an Island surrounded by the Bay of Bengal to the east, the Palk Straight to the south and swampy backwaters and salt pans to the west and north. Coordinates are between 10.276 and 10.826 N and 79.399 to 79.884 E. Low sand dunes are located along the coast and along the western periphery with coastal plains, tidal mud-flats and shallow seasonal ponds in between. Sand dunes in the east are mostly now stabilised by ''Prosopis'' and the higher dunes in the west are stabilised by dense Tropical dry evergreen forests. The tallest dune in the sanctuary and the highest point of land in Nagapattinam District is . at the northwest corner of the sanctuary at ''Ramar Padam''.

PCWBS forms the easternmost and most biologically diverse part of Ramsar Site