The Tamil Nadu government has declared an area in the reserve forests of Krishnagiri and Dharmapuri as the Cauvery South Wildlife Sanctuary. Comprising an expanse of 686.406 sq. km, this would be part of a protected landscape contiguous with the forests that currently constitute the Cauvery North Wildlife Sanctuary, shared between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
The declaration of Cauvery South Wildlife Sanctuary to include 686.406 Sq.Km of Reserve Forests in Anchetty, Urigam and Jawalagiri ranges of the Hosur Forest Division that comprises forest stretches of Krishnagiri and Dharmapuri districts, has been made under Section 26A(1) (b) of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.
Legal status and protection
The declaration will give uniform legal status and protection to a contiguous network of protected areas that would stretch to over 50 km. The declared landscape lends continuity to the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve through the Malai Mahadeshwara Wildlife Sanctuary, Billigiri Rangaswamy Temple Tiger Reserve of Karnataka and the Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve and Erode Forest Division of Tamil Nadu.
The declaration was an outcome of a draft notification proposal by the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and the Chief Wildlife Warden.
Elephant habitat
According to the notification, the landscape now declared as the Cauvery South Wildlife Sanctuary is an important elephant habitat comprising of two elephant corridors: the Nandimangalam-Ulibanda Corridor and the Kovaipallam-Anebiddahalla Corridor.
The ecosystem of the Cauvery basin is also critical to a large number of riverine species dependent on River Cauvery, the government notification said. The sanctuary’s rich biodiversity supports over 35 species of mammals and 238 species of birds, which also includes red-listed species in need of conservation.
Tiger conservation
The Cauvery South Wildlife Sanctuary is also seeing a spill-over effects of tiger conservation in the adjacent contiguous areas, and habitat improvement will help recover prey base and support tigers that once inhabited this landscape in the past, the notification stated
In a Twitter post, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin said: “I’m happy to announce that the GoTN has notified ‘Cauvery South Wildlife Sanctuary’ as the 17th wildlife sanctuary in TN. This significant step along with the TN Green Climate Company’s missions will go a long way in conserving the rich biodiversity of our State.”
