Ranebennur Blackbuck Sanctuary (119 km²) was declared as a sanctuary mainly to protect

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 ...

s. It comprises two unconnected portions, an eastern and a western bit. The sanctuary has a core zone of 14.87 km² and a buffer-cum tourism zone of 104.13 km². The area is covered mainly by scrub forest and Eucalyptus plantations. Agricultural fields surround the sanctuary. The sanctuary is also inhabited by the highly endangered

great Indian bustard The great Indian bustard (''Ardeotis nigriceps'') or Indian bustard, is a bustard found on the Indian subcontinent. A large bird with a horizontal body and long bare legs, giving it an ostrich like appearance, this bird is among the heaviest of t ...

and the

wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly un ...

. However, the great Indian bustard has not been sighted in the sanctuary since around 2002 and may be locally extinct. Blackbuck are plentiful with a count of more than 6000 in the 2005 census. The blackbuck can be sighted between October and March, while the bustard is sighted from February to June.

History

Ranebennur Blackbuck Sanctuary was declared a wildlife sanctuary on 17 June 1974 to protect Blackbucks.

Geography

This Sanctuary is situated approximately 118 km from

Hubli Hubli, officially known as Hubballi, is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. The twin cities Hubli–Dharwad form the second largest city in the state by area and population and the largest city in North Karnataka. Hubli is in Dharwad distr ...

and 302 km from Bangalore in Haveri district. It is 8 km from Ranebennur town. It is divided into three blocks viz; Hulathi, Hunasikatti and Alageri for administrative purposes. It has a core area of 14.87 km² and a buffer zone of 104.13 km² wherein tourists are allowed. There is a forest rest house on the sanctuary boundary at Gangajal

Flora

The original vegetation until 1956 consisted mainly of Acacia,

catechu ( or ) is an extract of acacia trees used variously as a food additive, astringent, tannin, and dye. It is extracted from several species of '' Acacia'', but especially '' Senegalia catechu'' (''Acacia catechu''), by boiling the wood in w ...

Prosopis juliflora ''Prosopis juliflora'' ( es, bayahonda blanca, Cuji Venezuela, Trupillo Colombia, Aippia Wayuunaiki and long-thorn kiawe in Hawaii) is a shrub or small tree in the family Fabaceae, a kind of mesquite. It is native to Mexico, South America and th ...

Dodonaea viscosa ''Dodonaea viscosa'', also known as the broadleaf hopbush, is a species of flowering plant in the '' Dodonaea'' (hopbush) genus that has a cosmopolitan distribution in tropical, subtropical and warm temperate regions of Africa, the Americas, sout ...

and Cassia auriculata. In an attempt to increase vegetation cover in the area, it was planted with eucalyptus and some indigenous species. Today, the top canopy is made up almost only of

eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including '' Corymbia'', they are commonly known as e ...

, along with some

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 ...

, binata 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 ...

. The middle and lower storeys consist of Acacia, catechu, Prosopis juliflora, Dodonaea viscosa, Acaxia sundra,

Zizyphus mauritiana ''Ziziphus mauritiana'', also known as Indian jujube, Indian plum, Chinese date, Chinese apple, ber, and dunks is a tropical fruit tree species belonging to the family Rhamnaceae. It is often confused with the closely related Chinese jujube ...

Lantana camara ''Lantana camara'' (common lantana) is a species of flowering plant within the verbena family ( Verbenaceae), native to the American tropics. It is a very adaptable species, which can inhabit a wide variety of ecosystems; once it has been introdu ...

, Randia sp.

sacred Tree A sacred tree is a tree which is considered to be sacred, or worthy of spiritual respect or reverence. Such trees appear throughout world history in various cultures including the ancient Greek, Hindu mythology, Celtic and Germanic mythologies. T ...

and

Cassia auriculata ''Senna auriculata'' is a leguminous tree in the subfamily Caesalpinioideae. It is commonly known by its local names matura tea tree, avaram or ranawara , ( kn, ಆವರಿಕೆ ''āvarike'', Marathi: तरवड, Malayalam: ആവര, si, ...

. The western portion has more open scrubland. Subabul (

leucaena leucocephala ''Leucaena leucocephala'' is a small fast-growing mimosoid tree native to southern Mexico and northern Central America (Belize and Guatemala) and is now naturalized throughout the tropics including parts of Asia. Common names include jumbay, ...

) has been planted in patches in some parts of the sanctuary.

Cassia fistula ''Cassia fistula'', commonly known as golden shower, purging cassia, Indian laburnum, or pudding-pipe tree,U. S. Department of Agriculture, William Saunders; Catalogue of Economic Plants in the Collection of the U. S. Department of Agriculture; ...

, neem (

Azadirachta indica ''Azadirachta indica'', commonly known as neem, nimtree or Indian lilac, is a tree in the mahogany family Meliaceae. It is one of two species in the genus ''Azadirachta'', and is native to the Indian subcontinent and most of the countries in Afr ...

), Holoptelia integrifolia,

Madhuca indica ''Madhuca longifolia'' is an Indian tropical tree found largely in the central, southern, north Indian plains and forests, Nepal, Myanmar and Sri Lanka. It is commonly known as madhūka, , mahuwa, Butter Tree, mahua, mahwa, , Iluppai or vippa che ...

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 ...

sp. and

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, ...

have been planted along the sanctuary's roads.

Fauna

The sanctuary is known for its

and

populations. Other mammals include

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 ...

fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

jackal Jackals are medium-sized canids native to Africa and Eurasia. While the word "jackal" has historically been used for many canines of the subtribe canina, in modern use it most commonly refers to three species: the closely related black-backed ...

langur The Colobinae or leaf-eating monkeys are a subfamily of the Old World monkey family that includes 61 species in 11 genera, including the black-and-white colobus, the large-nosed proboscis monkey, and the gray langurs. Some classifications sp ...

, porcupine, common mongoose,

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 ...

hare and pangolin. The population of blackbuck has seen a constant increase since the establishment of the sanctuary. The

, a large cursorial bird, which was quite common in the short grass plains and semi-arid areas of the Indian subcontinent 100 years ago, was indiscriminately hunted, and its habitat destroyed, resulting in a drastic decline in its population, until it came under stringent protection in the 1970s. The highest estimate of bustard in the Ranebennur sanctuary is 14 birds. Apart from the great Indian bustard, avifauna in the sanctuary include

peafowl Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera '' Pavo'' and '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female peafowl are ref ...

Asian paradise flycatcher In 2015, the Asian paradise flycatcher was split into the following three species: * Indian paradise flycatcher (''Terpsiphone paradisi'') * Blyth's paradise flycatcher (''Terpsiphone affinis'') * Amur paradise flycatcher The Amur paradise flyc ...

little grebe The little grebe (''Tachybaptus ruficollis''), also known as dabchick, is a member of the grebe family of water birds. The genus name is from Ancient Greek ''takhus'' "fast" and ''bapto'' "to sink under". The specific ''ruficollis'' is from Lati ...

little cormorant The little cormorant (''Microcarbo niger'') is a member of the cormorant family of seabirds. Slightly smaller than the Indian cormorant it lacks a peaked head and has a shorter beak. It is widely distributed across the Indian Subcontinent and ex ...

, spot billed duck, Fan tail, Tickell blue flycatcher,

sparrow hawk Sparrowhawk (sometimes sparrow hawk) may refer to several species of small hawk in the genus ''Accipiter''. "Sparrow-hawk" or sparhawk originally referred to ''Accipiter nisus'', now called "Eurasian" or "northern" sparrowhawk to distinguish it f ...

, Red wattled lapwing, sirkeer cuckoo, large grey babbler, baybacked shrike and black drongo.

References

External links

{{Protected areas of Karnataka Wildlife sanctuaries in Karnataka 1974 establishments in Karnataka Protected areas established in 1974 Haveri district