Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary
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Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary was created in the
Ambegaon Ambegaon is a town in Ambegaon tehsil of Pune district in the Indian state of Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Mah ...
and Khed
taluka A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...
s of
Pune District Pune district (Marathi pronunciation: uɳeː is the most populous district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The district's population was 9,429,408 in the 2011 census, making it the fourth most populous district amongst India's 640 district ...
, in the Western
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 ...
n state of Maharashtra in order mainly to protect the habitat of the
Indian Giant Squirrel The Indian giant squirrel or Malabar giant squirrel (''Ratufa indica'') is a large multi-coloured tree squirrel species endemic to forests and woodlands in India. It is a diurnal, arboreal, and mainly herbivorous squirrel. Distribution and ...
. It spreads through 3 district of Maharashtra that is Pune District , Raigad District & Thane District. 2


Details

Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary has an area of and is a part of the Western Ghats (Sahyadri Ranges), which itself is recognised as one of the 12 biodiversity hotspots of the world. The sanctuary was notified by the state government of Maharashtra in 1985 with the total area of is 130.78sq. km., under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972. The sanctuary includes nine tribal villages. The area's bio-diversity has been retained as it will be preserved as a cluster of
sacred groves Sacred groves or sacred woods are groves of trees and have special religious importance within a particular culture. Sacred groves feature in various cultures throughout the world. They were important features of the mythological landscape an ...
for generations. These sacred groves act as gene pools of this area, from where seeds were dispersed. In Ahupe - a tribal (
Mahadev Koli Mahadev may refer to: *Shiva, a primary Hindu deity **Parashiva, a form of Shiva **Parameshwara (god), a form of Shiva *Mahadev, Nepal *Mahadev Peak, a mountain peak in Kashmir Valley *Kailashnath Mahadev Statue in Nepal *Para Brahman, a Hindu deit ...
) village's sacred grove in the sanctuary, a climber Khombhal - '' Xantolis tomentosa'' was found to be 800–1000 years old in 1984.


Flora and Fauna

The sanctuary harbours large diversity of
endemic 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 else ...
& specialised
flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' ...
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 (ecology ...
. Sanctuary is home to the state animal of Maharashtra- Ratufa indica elphistonii, sub species of the
Indian Giant squirrel The Indian giant squirrel or Malabar giant squirrel (''Ratufa indica'') is a large multi-coloured tree squirrel species endemic to forests and woodlands in India. It is a diurnal, arboreal, and mainly herbivorous squirrel. Distribution and ...
that is one of three threatened Indo-Malyan squirrel species. The particular sub species found here is endemic to Bhimashankar. Important mammals reported from the sanctuary are
carnivores A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose food and energy requirements derive from animal tissues (mainly muscle, fat and other so ...
like Leopard Panthera pardus, and
Golden Jackal The golden jackal (''Canis aureus''), also called common jackal, is a wolf-like canid that is native to Southeast Europe, Southwest Asia, South Asia, and regions of Southeast Asia. The golden jackal's coat varies in color from a pale creamy ...
(''Canis aureus''), Sambar (''Cervus unicolor''),
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 ...
(''Muntiacus muntjak''), Wildboar (''Sus scrofa''),
Common Langur Gray langurs, also called Hanuman langurs and Hanuman monkeys, are Old World monkeys native to the Indian subcontinent constituting the genus ''Semnopithecus''. Traditionally only one species ''Semnopithecus entellus'' was recognized, but since a ...
(''Semnopithecus entellus''),
Rhesus Macaque The rhesus macaque (''Macaca mulatta''), colloquially rhesus monkey, is a species of Old World monkey. There are between six and nine recognised subspecies that are split between two groups, the Chinese-derived and the Indian-derived. Generally ...
(''Macaca mulatta'') and the
Mouse Deer 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 ...
(''Moschiola meminna''). The Indian Pangolin (''Manis crassicaudata'') is also reported. Sanctuary is rich in specialised and endemic reptiles, amphibians, butterflies and
insects Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs of j ...
. During the monsoon (rainy season), various species of mosses and
epiphytes An epiphyte is an organism that grows on the surface of a plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphytes grow are called phoroph ...
including bioluminescent fungi can be seen on the trees.


See also

* Bhimashankar


References


External links


Wildlife tour travelworld.com: Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary
* http://www.bhimashankar.in * http://www.bhimashankar.net.in Wildlife sanctuaries in Maharashtra Wildlife sanctuaries of the Western Ghats North Western Ghats moist deciduous forests Narmada Valley dry deciduous forests Tourist attractions in Pune district 1984 establishments in Maharashtra Protected areas established in 1984 {{India-protected-area-stub