Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary is located in South-Eastern Goa,

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

. It constitutes one of the vital corridors of the Western Ghats and covers an area of about 211km². Netravali or Neturli is an important tributary of River Zuari, which originates in the sanctuary. Forests mostly consist of moist deciduous vegetation interspersed with evergreen and semi-evergreen habitat; there are also two all-season waterfalls in the sanctuary.

Location

Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary is located in Verlem, in the Sanguem Taluka region of South-Eastern Goa, around 65km from Goa Airport. It is adjacent to Dandeli-Anshi Tiger Reserve, Karnataka on the eastern side, Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary, Goa on the southern side and

Bhagwan Mahaveer Sanctuary and Mollem National Park Bhagwan Mahaveer Sanctuary and Mollem National Park is a protected area located in the Western Ghats of West India, in Dharbandora taluk, Goa State, along the eastern border with Karnataka. The area is situated near the town of Molem, east of ...

on the northern side which in turn forms a contiguous protected area along with

Madei Wildlife Sanctuary The Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary is a 208.5-km2 (80.5-mi2) protected area in the Indian state of Goa in the Western Ghats of South India. It is located in the North Goa District, Sattari taluka near the town of Valpoi. The sanctuary is an area of ...

, Goa and

Bhimgad Wildlife Sanctuary Bhimgad Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected area in the Western Ghats, in Khanapur Taluk of Belgavi District near Jamboti Village, Karnataka state, India. This of Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests forest area was long awaiting to ...

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO 15919, ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reor ...

Flora and fauna

The sanctuary sustains a good mammal population due to its rich habitat and plenty of perennial streams. Gaur or Indian Bison (''

Bos gaurus 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 ...

''), Malabar giant squirrel ('' Ratufa indica''), four-horned antelope or chousingha (''

Tetracerus quadricornis The four-horned antelope (''Tetracerus quadricornis''), or ''chousingha'', is a small antelope found in India and Nepal. Its four horns distinguish it from most other bovids, which have two horns (with a few exceptions, such as the Jacob sheep) ...

''), leopard ('' Panthera pardus''), black

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 ...

along with a host of other predators and

herbivores A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage or marine algae, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthpart ...

find home in the sanctuary. Birds like the rare Malayan night heron (''

Gorsachius melanolophus The Malayan night heron (''Gorsachius melanolophus''), also known as Malaysian night heron and tiger bittern, is a medium-sized heron. It is distributed in southern and eastern Asia. Distribution and habitat The Malayan night heron has been f ...

''), Nilgiri wood pigeon ('' Columba elphinstonii''), great pied hornbill (''

Buceros bicornis The great hornbill (''Buceros bicornis''), also known as the concave-casqued hornbill, great Indian hornbill or great pied hornbill, is one of the larger members of the hornbill family. It occurs in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It ...

''), grey-headed bulbul ('' Pycnonotus priocephalus''), white-bellied blue flycatcher (''

Cyornis pallipes The white-bellied blue flycatcher (''Cyornis pallidipes'') is a small passerine bird in the flycatcher family Muscicapidae. It is endemic to the Western Ghats (including the Nilgiris) of southwest India. Males are dark blue with a lighter ...

''), Wynaad laughingthrush (''

Garrulax delesserti The Wayanad laughingthrush (''Pterorhinus delesserti'') is a species of laughingthrush in the family Leiothrichidae. It is endemic to the Western Ghats south of Goa in India. These laughingthrushes move in groups in dense forests, producing ...

''), white-bellied treepie ('' Dendrocitta leucogastra''), rufous babbler (''

Turdoides subrufa The rufous babbler (''Argya subrufa'') is an endemic species of bird found in the Western Ghats of southern India of the family Leiothrichidae It is dark brown and long tailed, and is usually seen foraging in noisy groups along open hillsides ...

'') have been sighted many times in the sanctuary. The sanctuary is a host for many rare butterfly species including the Malabar banded swallowtail (''

Papilio liomedon ''Papilio liomedon'', the Malabar banded swallowtail, is a member of the swallowtail butterfly family found in southern India. Earlier considered a subspecies of the banded swallowtail ('' Papilio demolion'') of southeast Asia, it is now cons ...

''), Malabar banded peacock (''

Papilio buddha ''Papilio buddha'', the Malabar banded peacock, is a species of swallowtail butterfly found in the Western Ghats of India. The Government of Kerala declared it as the official Kerala state butterfly Description ''P. buddha'' resembles '' ...

''), Malabar tree nymph ('' Idea malabarica''), southern birdwing (''

Troides minos ''Troides minos'', the southern birdwing, also called Sahyadri birdwing, is a large and striking swallowtail butterfly endemic to south India. With a wingspan of 140–190 mm, it is the second largest butterfly of India. It is listed as L ...

''), blue nawab (''

Polyura schreiber ''Polyura schreiber'', the blue nawab, is a butterfly species found in tropical Asia. It belongs to the Charaxinae (rajahs and nawabs) in the brush-footed butterfly family (Nymphalidae). It occurs from south India and Assam through Myanmar, Te ...

''), black rajah (''

Charaxes solon ''Charaxes solon'', the black rajah, is a butterfly species found in tropical Asia. It belongs to the Charaxinae (rajahs and nawabs) in the brush-footed butterfly family (Nymphalidae). Description The black rajah is a medium-sized butterfly ...

'') and redspot duke ('' Dophla evelina'').Goa Forest Department, Goa State, India.

References

{{Goa topics
Wildlife sanctuaries in Goa Geography of South Goa district Tourist attractions in South Goa district Wildlife sanctuaries of the Western Ghats Protected areas with year of establishment missing