Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary
Highlights: Flora and Fauna
How To Reach:
By Air: Cochin is the nearest airport (at a distance of 300 kilometers)
By Rail: The nearest railway station is Calicut (at a distance of 110 kilometers)
By Bus: Wayanad can be approached from all parts of the country. The sanctuary is well connected to various states by a fine network of roads.
Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary was established in 1973. The sanctuary is a part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve and has a rich biodiversity. The foundation stone of the sanctuary was laid with the objective of conserving the biological heritage of the region. The sanctuary has a rich variety of flora and fauna. The highest peak of this region is Karottimala (1158 meters high). Wayanad Wildlife Division takes care of the sanctuary and the headquarters of the sanctuary are at Sultan Bathery.
South India falls in the belt of deciduous type vegetation. However, there are a few patches of semi evergreen forests in the sanctuary. Around 110 square kilometers area is covered by teak, eucalyptus and grevelia. Common trees of the moist deciduous forest are rosewood, maruthi, venteak, karimaruthi, vengal, chadachi, mazhukanjiram and bamboo. The plants commonly seen in the semi-evergreen region of the sanctuary are Veteria indica, Lagerstroemia, Lanceolata and Termianalia paniculata.
The sanctuary provides refuge to a number of animals. Panthers, Elephants, tigers, jungle cats, monkeys, civet cats, wild dogs, bisons, deers and bears inhabit the sanctuary. The visitors can also see various reptiles like monitor lizard and of snakes. Among avifauna one can see babblers, Peacock, owl, cuckoos, woodpecker and jungle fowl, etc.
During the months of June to August, the sanctuary receives a reasonable amount rainfall. The months from March to May are somewhat warm.
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