Sri Lankamalleswara Wildlife Sanctuary is a wildlife sanctuary headquartered in

Kadapa Kadapa (colonial spelled Cuddapah) is a city in the southern part of Andhra Pradesh, India. It is located in the Rayalaseema region, and is the district headquarters of YSR Kadapa district. As of the 2022 Census of India, the city had a popula ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

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 ...

. It is the only habitat in the world which provides home for the

Jerdon's courser Jerdon's courser (''Rhinoptilus bitorquatus'') is a nocturnal bird belonging to the pratincole and courser family Glareolidae endemic to India. The bird was discovered by the surgeon-naturalist Thomas C. Jerdon in 1848 but not seen again until i ...

highly endangered bird species.http://www.discoveredindia.com/andhra-pradesh/attractions/wildlife/lankamalleswaram-wildlife-sanctuary.htm In addition to that it is also a home to nearly 176 families of vegetation and living organisms. After the rediscovery of Jerdon's courser, the area of discovery was declared as Lankamaleswara wildlife sanctuary.

History

The Sanctuary is well known for its habitation of the

which is a critically endangered species. The bird was first discovered in 1848 by the

surgeon In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...

- naturalist

Thomas C. Jerdon Thomas Caverhill Jerdon (12 October 1811 – 12 June 1872) was a British physician, zoologist and botanist. He was a pioneering ornithologist who described numerous species of birds in India. Several species of plants (including the genus '' Je ...

and was thought to be extinct until its rediscovery in 1986. The bird now inhabits the sparse scrub regions and forests of the Sri Lanka Malleshwara Sanctuary where the

topography Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sci ...

and weather conditions are compatible with its existence.

Flora and fauna

The Sanctuary provides a home to nearly 1400 plant species and nearly 176 families of vegetation and living organisms. It has dry deciduous mixed thorn forests with deep gorges and steep slopes.

Red Sanders Henry Russell "Red" Sanders (May 7, 1905 – August 14, 1958) was an American football player and coach. He was head coach at Vanderbilt University (1940–1942, 1946–1948) and the University of California at Los Angeles (1949–1957), compili ...

, an

endemic species Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

, can be found here. Its

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zoo ...

includes the

panther Panther may refer to: Large cats *Pantherinae, the cat subfamily that contains the genera ''Panthera'' and ''Neofelis'' **''Panthera'', the cat genus that contains tigers, lions, jaguars and leopards. ***Jaguar (''Panthera onca''), found in Sout ...

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 species, vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, mainly because of habitat loss ...

cheetal 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,

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). ...

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'') ...

nilgai The nilgai (''Boselaphus tragocamelus'') (, literally meaning "blue cow") is the largest Asian antelope and is ubiquitous across the northern Indian subcontinent. It is the sole member of the genus ''Boselaphus'' and was described by Peter Sim ...

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 ...

and the

Visiting season

Though tourists are allowed to visit the sanctuary any time of the year, the best visiting period is between October to March. The sanctuary can be reached easily. It is only 15 km far from the city of

which also has the nearest airport.http://www.indiamapped.com/wildlife-sanctuaries-in-india/andhra-pradesh-srilanka-malleswara-wildlife-sanctuary/ *Accessibility: 60 km. by road from

Cuddapah railway station Kadapa Junction railway station (station code: HX) is the primary railway station serving the town of Kadapa in YSR Kadapa district, Andhra Pradesh, India. The station comes under the jurisdiction of Guntakal railway division of South Coast Rai ...

. *Accommodation: Forest rest house at Siddavotam & Cuddapah. *Season: October to March.

References

External links

{{Protected areas of Andhra Pradesh Wildlife sanctuaries in Andhra Pradesh Kadapa district Protected areas with year of establishment missing