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M.M. Hills sanctuary to be a tiger reserve soon
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- The decks have been cleared to notify the Malai Mahadeshwara Wildlife Sanctuary in Karnataka’s Chamarajanagar district as a tiger reserve. The approval from the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) is expected any time now.
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- Once notified, Chamarajanagar district will have the rare distinction in the country of having three tiger reserves.
- It already has Bandipur and Biligiri Ranganatha Temple (BRT) Tiger Reserve within its territorial limits.
- Also, with this, Karnataka will have six tiger reserves, the others being Nagarahole, Bhadra, and Anshi-Dandeli, apart from Bandipur and BRT Tiger Reserves.
- The sanctuary will be renamed Malai Mahadeshwara Hill Tiger Reserve with a core area of 670.95 sq km spread across Malai Mahadeshwara Reserve Forest, Hanur Reserve Forest and Yediyarahalli Reserve Forest.
- The sanctuary presently has about 20 tigers.
- About MM Hills Sanctuary:
(1) Malai Mahadeshwara Wildlife Sanctuary or Male Mahadeshwara Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected Wildlife sanctuary in the Eastern Ghats and is located in Karnataka.
(2) It is named after the presiding deity "Lord Male Mahadeshwara" of the famed Malai Mahadeshwara Hills Temple located within the sanctuary.
(3) The sanctuary is part of a contiguous tiger habitat, located very close to the tri-junction of the states of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
(4) The sanctuary has Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary (Karnataka) to its North and East, Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (Tamil Nadu) to its South and Biligirirangaswamy Temple Tiger Reserve (Karnataka) to its West.
(5) Flora: The predominant forest type of the sanctuary is dry and moist deciduous forests. As per research reports published, Lantana has invaded substantial areas around Malai Mahadeshwara Hills.
(6) Fauna: The sanctuary also has other fauna like gaur (Bos gaurus), wild boar (Sus scrofa), leopard (Panthera pardus), dhole, spotted deer (Axis axis), barking deer (Muntiacus muntjak), sambar (Cervus unicolor), four-horned antelope (Tetracerus quadricornis), black-naped hare (Lepus nigricollis), chevrotain, common langur, bonnet macaque, honey badger (ratel) etc.
Sources
The Hindu