Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary

Munnar – Udumalpet Road, Munnar, Kerala 685612

Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary (CWS) is located 18 km north of Marayoor on SH 17 in the Marayoor and Kanthalloor panchayats of Devikulam taluk in the Idukki district of Kerala state in South India. It is one of twelve wildlife sanctuaries among the protected areas of Kerala.

Settlements and crops
There are 11 tribal settlements inside the Chinnar WLS, each is well demarcated by temporary stone walls. The main inhabitants are Muthuvas and Pulayars. Cultivation of maize, ragi and lemongrass is practiced in the settlements. The Mudhuvas carry out small scale ganja cultivation for their religious purposes.

Fauna
34 species of mammals live here, including many panthers and spotted deer, 50 -60 Indian elephants, gaur, tigers, sambar deer, common langur, bonnet macaque, Hanuman monkey, threatened Nilgiri tahr, vulnerable rusty-spotted cats and about 240 of the only vulnerable grizzled giant squirrels in Kerala. 245 species of birds including yellow-throated bulbuls. 52 species of reptiles including 29 species of snakes, Indian star tortoise and the largest population of vulnerable mugger crocodiles in Kerala live in the sanctuary. Most common of the 42 species of fishes observed in the Chinnar and Pambar rivers are Garra mullya minnows, river-carp baril, giant danio and the endangered hill stream game fish Deccan mahseer. 22 amphibian species live in the sanctuary. There are 156 species of butterflies. Recently, 101 species of spiders were discovered here.

Flora
There are 965 species of flowering plants in the sanctuary Ecoregions of the sanctuary comprise mostly grassland and wet grasslands vegetation and some South Western Ghats montane rain forests and high shola at the higher western elevations. South Western Ghats moist deciduous forests at mid elevations give way to dry deciduous forests and thorny scrub forests in the lower dryer eastern edges of the valley. The major xerophyticspecies in the throny scrub forests are Acacia arabica, Acacia leucofolia, Acacia concinna, Prosporis juliflora, and Opuntia stricta.

The Marayoor sandalwood forest is located here.
Source : wikipedia 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajnO0R_ZR_8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duizYtd24Lw
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