Located in the Yawal Tehsil of the

Jalgaon district Jalgaon (Marathi pronunciation: ͡ʒəɭɡaːʋ is a district in the northern part of Maharashtra, India. The headquarters is the city of Jalgaon. It is bordered by the state of Madhya Pradesh to the north and by the districts of Buldhana to ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

, India, Yawal Wildlife Sanctuary is spread over an area of approximately covered by dense forest. It is situated at the banks of the Anner and Manjar rivers and at the border of Madhya Pradesh covering 178 sq. km of area. It has many varieties of

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. E ...

and

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 ...

. Excessive deforestation and tree smuggling have led to serious habitat degradation at the beginning of this century. The local government, indigenous groups, and several environmental organizations have worked to reverse the damage. Organizations such as Lok Sangharsh Morcha (LSM) or the People’s Struggle Front have worked to ensure conservation of the region. The sanctuary is gradually recovering.

Sanctuary Attractions

The Yawal Wildlife Sanctuary is home to many animals, most notably 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 ...

. Other animals include blue bulls, wild dogs, flying squirrels, and leopards. Additional attractions include the temples of Sri Padmalaya, the Swinging Towers of Farkande, and Unapdev Hot Springs.

Flora and fauna

Flora

Teak 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 ...

, Salai, and Anjan trees dominate the forest. Other common plant species include Shisam,

Haldu ''Haldina cordifolia'', syn. ''Adina cordifolia'', is a flowering plant in the family Rubiaceae, the sole species in the genus ''Haldina''. It is native to southern Asia, from India east to Yunnan and Vietnam and south to Peninsular Malaysia. I ...

Jamun ''Syzygium cumini'', commonly known as Malabar plum, Java plum, black plum, jamun, jaman, jambul, or jambolan, is an evergreen tropical tree in the flowering plant family Myrtaceae, and favored for its fruit, timber, and ornamental value. It is ...

, Tendu, Awala,

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, bu ...

and grasses.

Fauna

The sanctuary is home to lots of fauna including

tigers The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus ''Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on un ...

leopards The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus '' Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, ...

, sambar deer,

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 ...

, sloth bears,

jackals 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 ...

foxes 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 ...

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

wild boars 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 n ...

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 ...

jungle cats The jungle cat (''Felis chaus''), also called reed cat, swamp cat and jungle lynx, is a medium-sized cat native to the Middle East, the Caucasus, South and Southeast Asia and southern China. It inhabits foremost wetlands like swamps, littoral ...

palm civet ''Paradoxurus'' is a genus of three palm civets within the viverrid family that was denominated and first described by Frédéric Cuvier in 1822. The ''Paradoxurus'' species have a broad head, a narrow muzzle with a large rhinarium that is de ...

wild dogs Wild Dogs is an American heavy metal band from Portland, Oregon, formed loosely in 1981 by original members Jeff Mark, Danny Kurth, Matt McCourt, and Pete Holmes. The band has since released six albums, three live albums and one DVD. Wild Dogs ...

, and

flying squirrels Flying squirrels (scientifically known as Pteromyini or Petauristini) are a tribe of 50 species of squirrels in the family Sciuridae. Despite their name, they are not in fact capable of full flight in the same way as birds or bats, but they ar ...

Accommodation

The Government rest house provides facilities for lodging and boarding, while the British period rest house is located in

Pal Phase Alternating Line (PAL) is a colour encoding system for analogue television. It was one of three major analogue colour television standards, the others being NTSC and SECAM. In most countries it was broadcast at 625 lines, 50 fields (25 ...

, which is located in the Sanctuary.

Transportation

Jalgaon Airport Jalgaon Airport is a domestic airport located off National Highway 753F southeast of the city of Jalgaon in Maharashtra, India. It has flights to Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Nanded, and Kolhapur operated by TruJet. Jalgaon Airport is 47 km awa ...

is the nearest airport to the sanctuary, while the nearest railway station is Bhuswal Junction.

References

External links

* http://www.amazingmaharashtra.com/2013/02/yawal-wildlife-sanctuary.html * http://www.CarDekho.com/features-stories/a-jungle-trail-drive-to-yawal-wildlife-sanctuary-in-nissan-xtrail.htm Wildlife sanctuaries in Maharashtra Protected areas of Maharashtra Tourist attractions in Jalgaon district Protected areas with year of establishment missing {{Jalgaon-geo-stub