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KARNATAKA'S
WILDLIFE
Karnataka State in southwestern
India is a region naturally endowed with a diversity of bioclimatic,
topographic and edaphic variations.
As a result of such natural variations, the state has a
variety of wildlife habitats and a rich diversity of plant and
animal communities. The
habitats of Karnataka include montane grasslands and short stature
valley forests (sholas), wet-evergreen, semi-evergreen, moist
decidous, dry decidous, thorny scrub as well as riverine, mangrove
and other wetland vegetations.
The diverse habitat
types mentioned above naturally supports an equally rich diversity
of animal species; mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fishes
and insects and other species. Nearly 6,600 sq kms covering just over 3 percent of the state’s
land area has been designated as wildlife sanctuaries, national
parks and tiger reserves.
Western Ghats where
most of Karnataka’s important protected areas are located is recognized
as one of the 18 global bio-diversity hotspots and also forms
a part of the high priority tiger conservation unit TCU-55 (Tiger
Conservation Unit – 55).
A brief description
of Karnataka’s fauna are as given below.
Mammals
Karnataka state amounts
to over 50 species of mammals (Karanth JBNHS 1986) which includes
endangered and threatened mammals.
Asiatic cheetah that occurred in Karnataka in the past
called as “Sivangi” in Kannada is now extinct.
Important carnivore species include the tiger, leopard,
wild dogs, Indian wolf, striped hyena, jackal, Indian fox, sloth
bear and other lesser-known carnivores including civets, mongoose,
otters, lesser felids, etc.
The list of mammals also includes endangered primates like
the lion-tailed macaque and the niligiri langur.
Karnataka supports good
densities of ungulates mostly in protected areas.
Elephants, gaur (Indian bison), sambar, axis deer, muntjac
and chevrotain are mostly found throughout the Western Ghat regions.
Blackbucks occur in scattered localities of both northern
and southern plains. Many
other rare and interesting species of mammals are found in the
state of Karnataka.
Birds
The highly endangered
great hornbill of the evergreen forests and the great Indian bustard
of the dry arid areas are found in the state.
Some of the other attractive birds of the state include
the Malabar whistling thrush, Indian pitta, shama, peafowl, Malabar
trogon, etc. Karnataka
is home to over 400 species of birds.
Reptiles
Marsh crocodiles occur in Cauvery
River and also in Nugu, Kabini and Bhadra reservoirs apart from
being found in several other smaller tanks.
The species of snakes includes the king cobra mainly found
in the wet forests of the Western Ghats and other species like
the common cobra, vipers, kraits and other species.
The olive ridley turtle is known to nest in some areas
along the coast. Several
species of fresh water turtles and land tortoises are also found.
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