Sri Venkateswara National Park is a national park and

biosphere reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

Tirupati Tirupati () is a city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of the Tirupati district. The city is home to the important Hindu shrine of Tirumala Venkateswara Temple and other historic temples and is re ...

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. The total area of the park is 353 km². The park is known for its many waterfalls, including the

Talakona Talakona is situated in Tirupati district of Andhra Pradesh, India. It is a resort with waterfalls, dense forests and wildlife. Talakona waterfall is in Sri Venkateswara National Park, Tirupati district of Andhra Pradesh. With a -fall, Talakona is ...

, Gundalakona and Gunjana. As the government of India declared the

Seshachalam Hills Seshachalam Hills are hilly ranges part of the Eastern Ghats in southern Andhra Pradesh state, in southeastern India. The Seshachalam hill ranges are predominantly present in Tirupati district of the Rayalaseema region in Andhra Pradesh, India. ...

as one of the

biosphere reserves of India There are 18 Biosphere Reserves in India. (categories roughly correspondingly to IUCN Category V Protected areas) to protect larger areas of natural habitat than a typical national park or animal sanctuary, and that often include one or more n ...

in 2010, this national park becomes the part of it.

Geography

The National Park is located in

Eastern Ghats The Eastern Ghats are a discontinuous range of mountains along India's eastern coast. The Eastern Ghats pass through Odisha, Andhra Pradesh to Tamil Nadu in the south passing some parts of Karnataka as well as Telangana. They are eroded and cut ...

spread over the

Seshachalam hills Seshachalam Hills are hilly ranges part of the Eastern Ghats in southern Andhra Pradesh state, in southeastern India. The Seshachalam hill ranges are predominantly present in Tirupati district of the Rayalaseema region in Andhra Pradesh, India. ...

of Annamaya district and Tirumala hills of

Tirupati district Tirupati district () is one of the twenty-six districts in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and one of the eight districts in the Rayalaseema region of the Andhra Pradesh state. The district headquarters is located at Tirupati city. Tirupa ...

. The elevation varies from 150 to 1,130 m. The terrain is undulating with forest covered valleys. Most of the rainfall is received from the northeast monsoon and a little from the southwest monsoon. The vegetation here is a mix of dry deciduous and moist deciduous types. Average rainfall in the region is 900 mm. The average temperature of the region varies from 12 °C to 44 °C.

Flora and fauna

Flora

The vegetation in the national park consists of dry deciduous mixed forest with patches of moist deciduous forests in the valleys. The area has about 1,500

vascular plant Vascular plants (), also called tracheophytes () or collectively Tracheophyta (), form a large group of land plants ( accepted known species) that have lignified tissues (the xylem) for conducting water and minerals throughout the plant. They ...

species belonging to 174 families, of which many are

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 ...

. Some of the rare and endemic plant species like

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 ...

, ''

Shorea Fruit of a ''Shorea'' species ''Shorea'' is a genus of about 196 species of mainly rainforest trees in the family Dipterocarpaceae. The genus is named after Sir John Shore, the governor-general of the British East India Company, 1793–1798. T ...

talura'', ''

thumburggaia'', '' Terminalia pallida'',

sandalwood Sandalwood is a class of woods from trees in the genus ''Santalum''. The woods are heavy, yellow, and fine-grained, and, unlike many other aromatic woods, they retain their fragrance for decades. Sandalwood oil is extracted from the woods for us ...

, '' Cycas beddomei'', ''

Syzygium alternifolium ''Syzygium alternifolium'' is a species of plant in the family Myrtaceae. It is native to North Arcot, Cuddapah, Kurnool, and the Nagari hills, in eastern Chittoor district Chittoor district () is one of the eight districts in the Rayalaseema ...

'', ''

Psilotum nudum ''Psilotum nudum'', the whisk fern, is a fernlike plant. Like the other species in the order Psilotales, it lacks roots. Its name, ''Psilotum nudum'', means "bare naked" in Latin, because it lacks (or seems to lack) most of the organs of typica ...

'' occur in this region.

Fauna

About 178 species of birds from this national park have been identified. The globally threatened

yellow-throated bulbul The yellow-throated bulbul (''Pycnonotus xantholaemus'') is a species of songbird in the bulbul family of passerine birds. The species is endemic to southern peninsular India. They are found on scrub habitats on steep, rocky hills many of which ...

is seen here.

grey-fronted green pigeon The grey-fronted green pigeon (''Treron affinis'') is a pigeon in the genus ''Treron''. It is found in the forests of the Western Ghats in India. Many authorities have split the species from the pompadour green pigeon complex. Description The ma ...

, a bird of the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...

and the Western Ghats is quite common in these forests. The critically endangered Oriental white-backed vulture is found in the national park. Some of the other birds found here are: large hawk-cuckoo, blue-faced malkoha,

yellow-browed bulbul The yellow-browed bulbul (''Acritillas indica''), or golden-browed bulbul, is a species of songbird in the bulbul family, Pycnonotidae. It is found in the forests of southern India and Sri Lanka. The yellow-browed bulbul is mainly yellow on the ...

Indian scimitar-babbler The Indian scimitar babbler (''Pomatorhinus horsfieldii'') is an Old World babbler. It is found in peninsular India in a range of forest habitats. They are most often detected by their distinctive calls which include an antiphonal duet by a pair ...

and Loten's sunbird. In 1984 the

Asian elephant The Asian elephant (''Elephas maximus''), also known as the Asiatic elephant, is the only living species of the genus ''Elephas'' and is distributed throughout the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, from India in the west, Nepal in the no ...

, not seen in

for nearly 300 years, re-appeared in the southern part of Chittoor district. In 1993, a breakaway herd of five individuals moved to the Chamala Valley of Tirumala forests in this national park. Among predators the leopard is quite common, along with the

wild dog A free-ranging dog is a dog that is not confined to a yard or house. Free-ranging dogs include street dogs, village dogs, stray dogs, feral dogs, etc., and may be owned or unowned. The global dog population is estimated to be 900 million, of w ...

. Other predators include

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 ...

Indian fox The Bengal fox (''Vulpes bengalensis''), also known as the Indian fox, is a fox endemic to the Indian subcontinent from the Himalayan foothills and Terai of Nepal through southern India, and from southern and eastern Pakistan to eastern India an ...

small Indian civet The small Indian civet (''Viverricula indica'') is a civet native to South and Southeast Asia. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List because of its widespread distribution, widespread habitat use and healthy populations living in agr ...

and

jungle cat 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 ...

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. ...

is frequently encountered. Sambar,

spotted deer 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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

four-horned antelope 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) ...

and

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 ...

are the main

ungulates Ungulates ( ) are members of the diverse clade Ungulata which primarily consists of large mammals with hooves. These include odd-toed ungulates such as horses, rhinoceroses, and tapirs; and even-toed ungulates such as cattle, pigs, giraffes, ca ...

. The nocturnal

slender loris The slender lorises (''Loris'') are a genus of loris native to India and Sri Lanka. The genus comprises two species, the red slender loris found in Sri Lanka and the gray slender loris from Sri Lanka and India. Slender lorises spend most of their ...

could be common but is seldom seen. 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 ...

and

tree shrew The treeshrews (or tree shrews or banxrings) are small mammals native to the tropical forests of South and Southeast Asia. They make up the entire order Scandentia, which split into two families: the Tupaiidae (19 species, "ordinary" treeshrews ...

are other interesting species. Among reptiles, the most interesting species is the

gliding lizard ''Draco'' is a genus of agamid lizards that are also known as flying lizards, flying dragons or gliding lizards. These lizards are capable of gliding flight via membranes that may be extended to create wings ( patagia), formed by an enlarged set ...

, found in some deep forested valleys. Another important reptile of this national park is the

Indian golden gecko The Indian golden gecko or Richard Henry Beddome, Beddome's golden gecko (''Calodactylodes aureus'' ) is a species of gecko known only from the Eastern Ghats of India.Sreekar R, Srinivasulu C, Seetharamaraju M, Srinivasulu CA. 2010. Selection of ...

. Originally reported from rocky

ravines A ravine is a landform that is narrower than a canyon and is often the product of streambank erosion.Eastern Ghats The Eastern Ghats are a discontinuous range of mountains along India's eastern coast. The Eastern Ghats pass through Odisha, Andhra Pradesh to Tamil Nadu in the south passing some parts of Karnataka as well as Telangana. They are eroded and cut ...

, the

was rediscovered from the same area in 1985 File:Pterocarpus santalinus in Talakona forest, AP W IMG 8099.jpg, ''Pterocarpus santalinus'' (red sandalwood) in Talakona forests of Sri Venkateswara National Park File:Artocarpus heterophyllus (Jak Fruit) on Tirumala hills.jpg, ''Artocarpus heterophyllus'' (jack fruit) at Sri Venkateswara National Park File:Spotted Deer axisaxis at deerpark Tirumala hills.JPG, ''Axis axis'' (spotted deer) at deerpark on Tirumala hills in Sri Venkateswara National Park File:Wild squirrel.jpg, ''Ratufa indica'' (Indian giant squirrel) at Sri Venkateswara National Park Semnopithecus priam (Gray Langur) at Tirumala hills.jpg, ''Semnopithecus priam'' (gray langur) at Sri Venkateswara National Park File:(Sus scrofa) Wild Boar spotted at Tirumala hills.JPG, ''Sus scrofa'' (wild boar) at Sri Venkateswara National Park

Threats

The key threats the national park are construction and quarrying. The Andhra Pradesh State Highway Project, is undertaking the upgrade of highways in the state of

, and this includes construction of Warangal-Pollacolu road, which passes close to the western boundary of the national park. Another construction is of the Kapil Teertham Dam inside the national park by the Andhra Pradesh Government and the

Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) is an independent trust which manages the temples including the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple in Andhra Pradesh. The trust oversees the operations and finances of the richest and the most visited religious cent ...

. Both these construction projects raise concerns over the potential impact of the road and the dam on the habitat and the wildlife in the sanctuary. Regular forest fires are also a constant threat to the biodiversity and ecological balance in the park.

References

External links

{{National Parks of India National parks in Andhra Pradesh Eastern Ghats Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams Tirupati district Geography of Tirupati district 1989 establishments in Andhra Pradesh Protected areas established in 1989