Chandoli National Park is a

national park A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual ...

established in

Sangli Sangli () is a city and the district headquarters of Sangli District in the state of Maharashtra, in western India. It is known as the Turmeric City of Maharashtra due to its production and trade of the spice. Sangli is situated on the banks ...

district on May 2004. Earlier it was a Wildlife Sanctuary declared in 1985. Chandoli Park is notable as the southern portion of the

Sahyadri Tiger Reserve Sahyadri Tiger Reserve is a reserve in the state of Maharashtra, created by the Indian government in 2008. Located in the Sahyadri Ranges of the Western Ghats of Maharashtra, it is part of the ecoregions of North Western Ghats moist deciduous ...

, with Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary forming the northern part of the reserve

Sahyadri Tiger Reserve

The Sahyadri Tiger Reserve, including all of Chandoli National Park and Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary was declared by The

National Tiger Conservation Authority The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) was established in December 2005, following a recommendation of the Tiger Task Force, constituted by the Prime Minister of India for reorganised management of Project Tiger and the many Tiger Res ...

as a

Project Tiger Project Tiger is a tiger conservation programme launched in April 1973 by the Government of India during Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's tenure. The project aims at ensuring a viable population of the Bengal tiger in its natural habitats, prote ...

tiger reserve Project Tiger is a tiger conservation programme launched in April 1973 by the Government of India during Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's tenure. The project aims at ensuring a viable population of the Bengal tiger in its natural habitats, protecti ...

on May 21, 2007. The Sahyadri Tiger Reserve was then estimated to have nine

tigers The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus ''Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on un ...

and 66

leopards The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus ''Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, a ...

Location

Chandoli National Park is located near th
Chandoli Dam
between longitudes 73°40' and 73°53' E and latitudes 17°03' and 17°20'N in Sangli District of Western Maharashtra. It lies between the Radhanagiri and Koyna Wildlife Sanctuaries and forms the southern part of the Sahyadri Tiger Reserve. it is near about 101 km from

sangli Sangli () is a city and the district headquarters of Sangli District in the state of Maharashtra, in western India. It is known as the Turmeric City of Maharashtra due to its production and trade of the spice. Sangli is situated on the banks ...

History

The park includes historical places of note including 17th century forts of the

Maratha Empire The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern Indian confederation that came to dominate much of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century. Maratha rule formally began in 1674 with the coronation of Sh ...

Prachitgad Prachitgad is a fort in the Sahyadri mountain range in Sangli district of Maharashtra state, India. It covers an area of . Location It is located at on the western edge of Chandoli National Park in Sangli district but easiest way to reach ...

and Bhairavgad. Most of the protected area was used an open jail for the "prisoners of war" of the early

battles A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

during Chhatrapati

Shivaji Maharaj's Shivaji Bhonsale I (; 19 February 1630 – 3 April 1680), also referred to as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, was an Indian ruler and a member of the Bhonsle Maratha clan. Shivaji carved out his own independent kingdom from the declining Adilsh ...

rule.

Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj Sambhaji Bhosale (14 May 1657 – 11 March 1689) was the second Chhatrapati of the Maratha Empire, ruling from 1681 to 1689. He was the eldest son of Shivaji, the founder of the Maratha Empire. Sambhaji's rule was largely shaped by the ongoing ...

used Prachitgad as an observation point and recreational place.

Geography

The park spreads along the crest of the Sahyadri Range of the northern Western Ghats. It forms and protects many perennial water channels, water holes and the Vasant Sagar Reservoir.

Elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § ...

of the park ranges from . The park receives its water supply from the Warna river and reservoir as well as several other small streams and rivers. Flat topped mountains, rocky, lateritic

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ...

s called 'Saddas', almost devoid of vegetation, large boulders and caves are distinctive to the protected areas in the Sahyadri region of the Western Ghats.

Flora

The forest types seen here are a mix of Malabar Coast moist forests and

North Western Ghats moist deciduous forests The North Western Ghats moist deciduous forests is a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion of southwestern India. Geography The North Western Ghats moist deciduous forests lies in the northern portion of the Western Ghats (Sahyadri) range ...

. In the dwarf evergreen forests, some tree species commonly seen here are the anjani ironwood tree, jamun,

pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the ci ...

(angustifolia),

fig The fig is the edible fruit of ''Ficus carica'', a species of small tree in the flowering plant family Moraceae. Native to the Mediterranean and western Asia, it has been cultivated since ancient times and is now widely grown throughout the world ...

Olea ''Olea'' ( ) is a genus of about 40 species in the family Oleaceae, native to warm temperate and tropical regions of the Middle East, southern Europe, Africa, southern Asia, and Australasia. They are evergreen trees and shrubs, with small ...

(diocia), katak spinous kino tree, nana or

Crape myrtle ''Lagerstroemia'' (), commonly known as crape myrtle (also spelled crepe myrtle or crêpe myrtle), is a genus of around 50 species of deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs native to the Indian subcontinent, southeast Asia, northern Aust ...

(lanceolata), kinjal, kokum tree and phanasi false kelat (brachiata). Other trees dominating the landscape include asan wood or ain or Indian laurel, amla or Indian gooseberry, umbar or devil fig (hispida) and harra or chebulic myrobalan. Grasses commonly seen here include bangala or

bluestem grass Bluestem can refer to various grasses: * Little bluestem (''Schizachyrium scoparium'') * Big bluestem (''Andropogon gerardii'') and other species of the genus '' Andropogon'' * Species in the genus ''Dichanthium'' * Cane bluestem and Caucasian b ...

sp., dongari or golden beard grass (fulvus), black spear grass, kalikusli or tangle grass, anjan grass or

buffel grass ''Cenchrus ciliaris'' (buffel-grass or African foxtail grass; syn. ''Pennisetum ciliare'' (L.) Link) is a species of grass native to most of Africa, southern Asia (east to India), southern Iran, and the extreme south of Europe (Sicily). Other na ...

, grader grass or karad or kangaroo grass (quadrivalvis) and grasses belonging to family

Poaceae Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns an ...

, like saphet-kusli or Aristida funiculata].FAO
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Insectivorous plant Carnivorous plants are plants that derive some or most of their nutrients from trapping and consuming animals or protozoans, typically insects and other arthropods. Carnivorous plants still generate some of their energy from photosynthesis. Car ...

species like sundews and

bladderworts ''Utricularia'', commonly and collectively called the bladderworts, is a genus of carnivorous plants consisting of approximately 233 species (precise counts differ based on classification opinions; a 2001 publication lists 215 species).Salmon, Br ...

sp. are also found in this protected area.

Fauna

Nearly 23 species of mammals, 122 species of birds, 20 species of amphibians and reptiles are known to be resident in the forests of Chandoli. The

tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living Felidae, cat species and a member of the genus ''Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily pr ...

leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus '' Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, ...

Indian bison The gaur (''Bos gaurus''; ), also known as the Indian bison, is a bovine native to South Asia and Southeast Asia, and has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1986. The global population was estimated at a maximum of 21,000 m ...

leopard cat The leopard cat (''Prionailurus bengalensis'') is a small wild cat native to continental South, Southeast, and East Asia. Since 2002 it has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List as it is widely distributed although threatened by hab ...

sloth bear The sloth bear (''Melursus ursinus'') is a myrmecophagous bear species native to the Indian subcontinent. It feeds on fruits, ants and termites. It is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, mainly because of habitat loss and degradation ...

and

giant squirrel Oriental giant squirrels are cat-sized tree squirrels from the genus ''Ratufa'' in the subfamily Ratufinae. They are a distinctive element of the fauna of south and southeast Asia. Species There are four living species of oriental giant squirre ...

are quite conspicuous here. Many

prey Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill ...

species of

ungulate Ungulates ( ) are members of the diverse clade Ungulata which primarily consists of large mammals with hooves. These include odd-toed ungulates such as horses, rhinoceroses, and tapirs; and even-toed ungulates such as cattle, pigs, giraffes, ...

s such as the

barking deer Barking may refer to: Places * Barking, London, a town in East London, England ** London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, a local government district covering the town of Barking ** Municipal Borough of Barking, a historical local government dist ...

sambar deer The sambar (''Rusa unicolor'') is a large deer native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia that is listed as a vulnerable species on the IUCN Red List since 2008. Populations have declined substantially due to severe hunting, local ins ...

, mouse deer and

blackbuck The blackbuck (''Antilope cervicapra''), also known as the Indian antelope, is an antelope native to India and Nepal. It inhabits grassy plains and lightly forested areas with perennial water sources. It stands up to high at the shoulder. Ma ...

are present. A census carried out in 2002 by the Forest Department showed a rise in the number of tigers, leopards, gaur, barking deer, mouse deer, sloth bears and blackbuck. A similar census carried out in 2004 showed a rise in gaur population in the Kolhapur Wildlife Division from 88 to 243. On 23 and 24 May 2018, a tiger was photographed in a

camera trap A camera trap is a camera that is automatically triggered by a change in some activity in its vicinity, like presence of an animal or a human being. It is typically equipped with a motion sensor – usually a passive infrared (PIR) senso ...

in Chandoli. This was the first direct evidence of tigers in the reserve in eight years. Prior to that, in 2014, scat DNA and model-based predictions were used to estimate that the reserve had five to eight tigers.

Development

Work undertaken for habitat improvement and development in the Chandoli National Park include removal of

invasive species An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species adv ...

soil conservation Soil conservation is the prevention of loss of the topmost layer of the soil from erosion or prevention of reduced fertility caused by over usage, acidification, salinization or other chemical soil contamination. Slash-and-burn and other uns ...

and

water conservation Water conservation includes all the policies, strategies and activities to sustainably manage the natural resource of fresh water, to protect the hydrosphere, and to meet the current and future human demand (thus avoiding water scarcity). Popula ...

vaccination Vaccination is the administration of a vaccine to help the immune system develop immunity from a disease. Vaccines contain a microorganism or virus in a weakened, live or killed state, or proteins or toxins from the organism. In stimulat ...

of cattle, research,

fire prevention Fire prevention is a function of many fire departments. The goal of fire prevention is to educate the public on the precautions which should be taken to prevent potentially harmful fires and how to survive these fires in the event that they do o ...

, providing

salt lick A mineral lick (also known as a salt lick) is a place where animals can go to lick essential mineral nutrients from a deposit of salts and other minerals. Mineral licks can be naturally occurring or artificial (such as blocks of salt that fa ...

s, demarcation of boundary, erection of watch towers, maintenance of

nature trail An educational trail (or sometimes educational path), nature trail or nature walk is a specially developed hiking trail or footpath that runs through the countryside, along which there are marked stations or stops next to points of natural, tec ...

s, desalting water holes, development of

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses ( Poaceae). However, sedge ( Cyperaceae) and rush ( Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur na ...

s, and procurement of

wireless Wireless communication (or just wireless, when the context allows) is the transfer of information between two or more points without the use of an electrical conductor, optical fiber or other continuous guided medium for the transfer. The most ...

two-way radio A two-way radio is a radio that can both transmit and receive radio waves (a transceiver), unlike a radio broadcasting, broadcast receiver which only receives content. It is an audio (sound) transceiver, a transmitter and radio receiver, receive ...

Threats

The Maharashtra government has plans to set up the Karadi-Bhogiv hydro-electric project in the catchment area of the Warna Dam that is expected to use up of forest land. On a positive note, nearly 7,894 people and a significant cattle population resident on of land in 32 villages within the park. These villages have been successfully relocated to areas outside the park. This measure has helped to preserve and regenerate some of the vegetation in this protected area.

Nearest City

Nearest Railway Station

Sangli railway station Sangli railway station serves the city of Sangli Sangli () is a city and the district headquarters of Sangli District in the state of Maharashtra, in western India. It is known as the Turmeric City of Maharashtra due to its production an ...

References

{{Authority control 1985 establishments in Maharashtra