The Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary in the southern state of

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

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 ...

is spread over the southeast corner of the Western Ghats, and covers a total area of . It is located between 77° 8’ to 77° 17’ east longitude and 8° 29’ to 8° 37’ north latitude, central location . Although it was declared as a sanctuary in 1958, not much was done about wildlife

conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and managem ...

, until 1985, when a separate

wildlife Wildlife refers to undomesticated animal species, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wild in an area without being introduced by humans. Wildlife was also synonymous to game: those birds and mammals that were hunted ...

wing was set up and as a result, conservation efforts have gathered momentum. It is part of the

Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve The Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve is a biosphere reserve in India established in 2001, located in the southernmost end of the Western Ghats and includes of which 1828 km2 is in Kerala and 1672.36 km2 is in Tamil Nadu. It encompasses ...

Geography

This is the

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

for the

Neyyar River The Neyyar River is 56 km long river which flows through the Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala in India. It flows from the Agastya Mala (''Agastyarkoodam'') in the Western Ghats. The town Neyyattinkara in Thiruvananthapuram district, is s ...

and its tributaries - Mullayar and Kallar. The towering peak of

Agasthyamalai Agastyaarkoodam is one of the peaks in the Western Ghats of Tirunelveli District of Tamil Nadu, India. This peak is a part of the Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve which lies on the border between the Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Tirunelveli ...

at an elevation of 1868 meters is a very prominent landmark.

Climate

The mean summer temperature is around 35 degrees Celsius and the winter being around 16 degree Celsius. The average rainfall from the Southwest

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal osci ...

between May and July and the Northeast monsoon between October and November, is about 2800 mm. The tourist season here is between the months of November and March.

Flora and fauna

This sanctuary has a substantial natural vegetation cover. The diversity of its flora makes the sanctuary an ideal gene pool preserve. There are 39 species of mammals, including

tiger 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 ...

, leopard,

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 on the IUCN Red List, mainly because of habitat loss and degradation. ...

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae ...

, sambar,

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 ...

bonnet macaque The bonnet macaque (''Macaca radiata''), also known as zati,Chambers English Dictionary is a species of macaque endemic to southern India. Its distribution is limited by the Indian Ocean on three sides and the Godavari and Tapti Rivers, along wit ...

Nilgiri langur The Nilgiri langur (''Semnopithecus johnii'') is a langur (a type of Old World monkey) . This primate has glossy black fur on its body and golden brown fur on its head. It is similar in size and long-tailed like the gray langurs. Females have ...

and

Nilgiri tahr The Nilgiri tahr (''Nilgiritragus hylocrius'') is an ungulate that is endemic to the Nilgiri Hills and the southern portion of the Western and Eastern Ghats in the states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala in southern India. It is the state animal of Tami ...

. 176 species of birds, 30 species of reptiles, 17 species of amphibians and 40 species of fishes are reported from the sanctuary. A crocodile farm, set up in 1977 at Neyyar, is home to around 20

mugger crocodile The mugger crocodile (''Crocodylus palustris'') is a medium-sized broad- snouted crocodile, also known as mugger and marsh crocodile. It is native to freshwater habitats from southern Iran to the Indian subcontinent, where it inhabits marshes ...

s. The Crocodile Rehabilitation and Research Centre was inaugurated at Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary in May 2007. Neyyar Elephant Rehabilitation Centre complex within the area cares for several elephants, from elephant calves to an 87-year-old elephant, and offers elephant rides and elephant feeding. There is also a deer rehabilitation centre.

Visitor information

The administrative complex of Neyyar complex Wildlife Sanctuary is about 1 kilometer West of Neyyar Dam outside the sanctuary complex and has an information center, staff quarters, rest house, and a youth hostel. The sanctuary offers facilities for the tourists to visit the lion park and also boat on the Neyyar lake.Sasikumar Dr.K., Binu R. (Dec. 2006) Kerala Calling, reftrived 10/10/200
NEYYAR An Eco Paradise
/ref> Nearest railway station: Neyyattinkara Railway Station, 20 km Nearest airport:

Trivandrum International Airport Thiruvananthapuram International Airport , is an international airport which serves Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala, India. Established in 1932, it is the first airport in the state of Kerala and fifth international airport of In ...

, 40 km

References

External links

Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary
by A.J.T. Johnsingh, Wildlife Institute of India {{Tourism in Kerala Wildlife sanctuaries in Kerala Tourist attractions in Thiruvananthapuram district Protected areas of Kerala Geography of Thiruvananthapuram district 1958 establishments in Kerala Protected areas established in 1958