Brahmagiri Wildlife Sanctuary

About:

The species of animals found in the sanctuary are gaur, elephant, tiger, leopard, jungle cat, leopard cat, wild dog, sloth bear, wild pig, sambar, spotted deer, lion-tailed macaque, Nilgiri langur, slender loris, bonnet macaque, common langur, barking deer, mouse deer, Malabar giant squirrel, giant flying squirrel, Nilgiri marten, common otter, brown mongoose, civets, porcupine and pangolin. It also houses a variety of snakes including python, cobra and king cobra. Avian fauna includes emerald dove, black bulbul and Malabar trogon.

The forest-clothed, cloud-kissed Kodagu district (formerly Coorg) in Karnataka is among the few that have preserved their beauty and rich wildlife. The high forest cover is represented by three wildlife sanctuaries and the world-famous Nagarahole National Park. Among them is the Brahmagiri Wildlife Sanctuary. This sanctuary consists of low-elevation rainforests (40 m above mean sea level at Makut) in Makut wildlife range to high altitude shola-grasslands in Srimangala Wildlife Range (1607 m above MSL at Brahmagiri peak). It is the birthplace of many perennial streams. Prominent among them are the Lakshman thirtha which takes its birth in the high sholas and cascades down in the form of the 60 meter high Iruppu falls near the Iruppu Shree Rameshwara temple.

The sanctuary derives its name from the highest point, the Brahmagiri peak, which is 1607 m in height. The temperature here ranges from 5° to 32°C, and mean annual rainfall varies from 2500 to 6000 mm.

FLORA: The area has mainly evergreen and semi-evergreen Shola forest in bloomforest, and in the higher altitudes, there are grasslands with shola forest patches. Bamboos are well represented in these forests, with Bambusa bambos being dominant.The sholas are made up of dwarf evergreen trees or 'krummholz', stunted due to the strong winds at higher altitudes. Sholas are surrounded by grasslands.

FAUNA: Mammals in the Sanctuary include elephant, gaur, tiger, jungle cat, leopard cat, wild dog, sloth bear, wild pig, sambar, spotted deer, lion-tailed macaque, NilgiriBlack bulbuls are found in the upper reaches of the Western Ghats langur, slender loris, bonnet macaque, common langur, barking deer, mouse deer, Malabar giant squirrel, giant flying squirrel, Nilgiri marten, common otter, brown mongoose, civets, porcupine and pangolin. Python, cobra and king cobra are some of the snakes found in the Sanctuary. Interesting birds in the Sanctuary include emerald dove, black bulbul and Malabar trogon.

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Nature camps are undertaken for school children at the Narimalai campsite. There is a trekking path from the lrpu falls, where the River Lakshmana Tirtha begins its journey, to the Narimalai camp, and further on to the Brahmagiri peak and to the Munikal caves.

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> From Narimale, you can also walk through the sanctuary from east to west over the next two days. There are hardly any trails after either the Brahmagiri peak or the Pakshipatalam caves even in summer. On advice of the local forest department and led by a forest guide, our team walked along the narrow clearing that marks the boundary between Karnataka and Kerala.

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Deputy Conservator of Forests, Wildlife Division. Hunsur- 571105, Mysore District. Phone: 0821 - 652 041