Chandaka Elephant Sanctuary () is a wildlife reserve located in the south fringe of

Cuttack Cuttack (, or officially Kataka in Odia language, Odia ), is the former capital, deputy capital and the 2nd largest city of the Indian state of Odisha. It is also the headquarters of the Cuttack district. The name of the city is an anglicised f ...

in the Indian state of

Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...

. Nestled on Khurdha uplands of the

Eastern Ghats The Eastern Ghats is a mountain range that stretches along the East Coast of India, eastern coast of the Indian peninsula. Covering an area of , it traverses the states and union territories of India, states of Odisha, Telangana, Andhra Prade ...

biotic region, Chandaka forest is spread over of rolling table land and small sprawling hillocks of Khurdha and

districts. It was designated as an

elephant Elephants are the largest living land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant ('' Loxodonta africana''), the African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''), and the Asian elephant ('' Elephas maximus ...

reserve in December 1982.

Flora

The floral diversity is distributed in six types, viz., secondary moist miscellaneous semi- evergreen forests, moist (''

Xylia xylocarpa ''Xylia xylocarpa'' is a species of tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only ...

'') forests, coastal Sal forests (''

Shorea robusta ''Shorea robusta'', the sal tree, sāla, shala, sakhua, or sarai, is a species of tree in the family Dipterocarpaceae. The tree is native to India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Tibet and across the Himalayan regions. Evolution Fossil evidence from lig ...

''), thorny bamboo brakes (''

Bambusa bambos ''Bambusa bambos'', (synonym Gigantichloa maxima) the giant thorny bamboo, Indian thorny bamboo, spiny bamboo, or thorny bamboo (but see '' Bambusa spinosa'') is a species of clumping bamboo native to southern Asia (India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka ...

''), planted

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 (panic ...

and '' Eupatorium'' scrub. The main tree species are kochila, kalicha, belo, kangada, (''

Pterospermum ''Pterospermum'' is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family Malvaceae. Its species are tropical trees that range from southern China across tropical Asia. Traditionally included in the family (biology), family Sterculiaceae, it is incl ...

xylocarpum''), sunari, sal, kumbhi, jamu, karanja,

and sidha. Male bamboo ('' Dendrocalamus strictus'') has a very restricted distribution. Common medicinal plants of the sanctuary are , ('' Mucuna pruriens''), brudhadaraka, bhuinlimbo, guduchi lata, shalparni ('' Desmodium gangeticum''), satabari, bhuin-kakharu, indrajaba, thalkudi, apamaranga, kurchi, and patalgaruda. A few species of ground

orchids Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Earth ...

ferns The ferns (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta) are a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. They differ from mosses by being vascular, i.e., having specialized tissue ...

, club

mosses Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta ('' sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and ho ...

bryophytes Bryophytes () are a group of land plants ( embryophytes), sometimes treated as a taxonomic division referred to as Bryophyta '' sensu lato'', that contains three groups of non-vascular land plants: the liverworts, hornworts, and mosses. In t ...

and

lichens A lichen ( , ) is a hybrid colony (biology), colony of algae or cyanobacteria living symbiotically among hypha, filaments of multiple fungus species, along with yeasts and bacteria embedded in the cortex or "skin", in a mutualism (biology), m ...

are distributed in shady wet pockets and rock escarpments.

Fauna

The

Indian elephant The Indian elephant (''Elephas maximus indicus'') is one of three extant recognized subspecies of the Asian elephant, native to mainland Asia. The species is smaller than the African elephant species with a convex back and the highest body po ...

is the flagship species and indicative of the potential productivity of the habitat. The

leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant cat species in the genus ''Panthera''. It has a pale yellowish to dark golden fur with dark spots grouped in rosettes. Its body is slender and muscular reaching a length of with a ...

is at the apex of the biological pyramid.

Chital The chital or cheetal (''Axis axis''; ), also called spotted deer, chital deer and axis deer, is a deer species native to the Indian subcontinent. It was first described by Johann Christian Polycarp Erxleben in 1777. A moderate-sized deer, mal ...

, barking deer, mouse deer,

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 Suidae, suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The speci ...

gray langur ''Semnopithecus'' is a genus of Old World monkeys native to the Indian subcontinent, with all species with the exception of two being commonly known as gray langurs. Traditionally only the species ''Semnopithecus entellus'' was recognized, but si ...

rhesus monkey The rhesus macaque (''Macaca mulatta''), colloquially rhesus monkey, is a species of Old World monkey. There are between six and nine recognised subspecies split between two groups, the Chinese-derived and the Indian-derived. Generally brown or g ...

, small Indian civet, Indian mongoose, ruddy mongoose,

pangolin Pangolins, sometimes known as scaly anteaters, are mammals of the order Pholidota (). The one extant family, the Manidae, has three genera: '' Manis'', '' Phataginus'', and '' Smutsia''. ''Manis'' comprises four species found in Asia, while ' ...

, sloth bear,

honey badger The honey badger (''Mellivora capensis''), also known as the ratel ( or ), is a mammal widely distributed across Africa, Southwest Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. It is the only living species in both the genus ''Mellivora'' and the subfami ...

, Indian wolf and

hyena Hyenas or hyaenas ( ; from Ancient Greek , ) are feliform carnivoran mammals belonging to the family Hyaenidae (). With just four extant species (each in its own genus), it is the fifth-smallest family in the order Carnivora and one of the sma ...

are other mammals of the area. Chital is commonly encountered in groups of 3–7 individuals on forest roads, forest openings, grass lands, foreshore of water bodies and even near guard camps. Wild dogs are occasionally seen. After 40 years researchers have found evidence of a tigress and her cub in the forest; in the winter of 2012, they spotted footprints of those two. Prominent birds of the sanctuary are Indian peafowl,

red junglefowl The red junglefowl (''Gallus gallus''), also known as the Indian red junglefowl (and formerly the bankiva or bankiva-fowl), is a species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the a ...

, crested serpent eagle,

great horned owl The great horned owl (''Bubo virginianus''), also known as the tiger owl (originally derived from early naturalists' description as the "winged tiger" or "tiger of the air") or the hoot owl, is a large owl native to the Americas. It is an extreme ...

, Black-hooded oriole, paradise flycatcher, coucal and stone curlew. Kumarkhunti reservoir, during winter, serves as a transient roosting and feeding ground for several migratory

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family (biology), family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and goose, geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfam ...

species, notably

garganey The garganey (''Spatula querquedula'') is a small dabbling duck. It breeds in much of Europe and across the Palearctic, but is strictly bird migration, migratory, with the entire population moving to Africa, India (in particular Santragachi), Ban ...

and common teal, Eaton's pintail,

Indian spot-billed duck The Indian spot-billed duck (''Anas poecilorhyncha'') is a species of large dabbling duck that is a non-migratory breeding duck throughout freshwater wetlands in the Indian subcontinent. The name is derived from the red spot at the base of the bi ...

and Brahminy duck and white eyed Baer's pochard. Lesser whistling teal,

little grebe The little grebe (''Tachybaptus ruficollis''), also known as dabchick, is a member of the grebe family of water birds. The genus name is from Ancient Greek ''takhus'' "fast" and ''bapto'' "to sink under". The specific ''ruficollis'' is from Latin ...

, cotton teal, nakta, lesser

cormorant Phalacrocoracidae is a family of approximately 40 species of aquatic birds commonly known as cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed, but in 2021 the International Ornithologists' Union (IOU) ado ...

, bronze-winged jacana,

white-breasted waterhen The white-breasted waterhen (''Amaurornis phoenicurus'') is a waterbird of the rail and crake family, Rallidae, that is widely distributed across South and Southeast Asia. They are dark slaty birds with a clean white face, breast and belly. The ...

, pied, white breasted and little blue

kingfisher Kingfishers are a family, the Alcedinidae, of small to medium-sized, brightly coloured birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species living in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania, ...

s and red wattled lapwings are other resident birds around. In July the reservoir transforms into an abode of

migratory birds Bird migration is a seasonal movement of birds between breeding and wintering grounds that occurs twice a year. It is typically from north to south or from south to north. Migration is inherently risky, due to predation and mortality. The ...

, mainly Open-billed stork, pond heron, egrets and cormorants. Butterflies are abundant during monsoon and post-monsoon months. Among reptiles, the Asiatic rock python and Bengal

monitor lizard Monitor lizards are lizards in the genus ''Varanus,'' the only extant genus in the family Varanidae. They are native to Africa, Asia, and Oceania, and West African Nile monitor, one species is also found in south America as an invasive species. A ...

are quite common.

Chameleon Chameleons or chamaeleons (Family (biology), family Chamaeleonidae) are a distinctive and highly specialized clade of Old World lizards with 200 species described as of June 2015. The members of this Family (biology), family are best known for ...

, common skink, Indian flap shell turtle,

Russell's viper Russell's viper (''Daboia russelii)'' is a species of highly venomous snake in the Family (biology), family Viperidae. The species is native to South Asia. It was Species description, described in 1797 by George Shaw (biologist), George Shaw and ...

, bamboo pit viper, common krait and Indian bronze back are indicative reptiles. Mugger crocodiles have remarkably adapted to large water bodies after their release. The

Zoological Survey of India The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), founded on 1 July 1916 by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change of the Government of India as a premier Indian organisation in zoological research and studies to promote the survey, explora ...

(in 2002) reported 37 species of mammals, 167 species of birds, 33 species of reptiles, 13 species of amphibians and 28 species of fish in this sanctuary.Vertebrate Fauna of Chandaka Dampara Wildlife Sanctuary Odisha
/ref>

Watch towers

A number of watch towers allow the visitors to observe wildlife. While Kochilaberana, Pitagadia and Charichhak watch towers are excellent for observation of birds and animals, the ones at Kumarkhunti and Ambilo have the comfort of rest houses where one can make a night halt. Two water reservoirs, Deras Dam and Jhumka Dam, are situated within the reserve. The cottages near Deras provide a scenic view of the Chandaka reserve and a chance to see wildlife.

References

External links

Bhitarkanika Trip report - Wildlife Times

Gallery

File:Chandaka Forest and Elephant Reserve 02.JPG, Security checkpoint File:Chandaka Forest and Elephant Reserve 03.JPG, Nightlife details File:Chandaka Forest and Elephant Reserve 04.JPG, Mahout and tamed pachyderm File:Chandaka Forest and Elephant Reserve 05.JPG, Natural waterhole {{Protected areas of Odisha Wildlife sanctuaries in Odisha Geography of Bhubaneswar Elephant reserves of India 1982 establishments in Orissa Protected areas established in 1982