Periyar Tiger Reserve

Periyar National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary (PNP) is a protected area located in the districts of Idukki and Pathanamthitta in Kerala, India. It is notable as an elephant reserve and a tiger reserve. The protected area encompasses , of which of the core zone was declared as the Periyar National Park in 1982. The park is a repository of rare, endemic, and endangered flora and fauna and forms the major watershed of two important rivers of Kerala: the Periyar and the Pamba.

The park is located high in the Cardamom Hills and Pandalam Hills of the south Western Ghats along the border with Tamil Nadu. It is from Kumily, approximately east of Kottayam, west of Madurai and southeast of Kochi.

History

The first official action towards the conservation of wildlife and biodiversity in Kerala was taken in 1934 by the Maharaja of Travancore, Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma, by declaring the forests around Periyar lake as a private reserve to stop the encroachment of tea plantations. It was founded as Nellikkampatty Reserve. It was consolidated as a wildlife sanctuary in 1950 after the political integration of India.

Geography

Periyar National Park lies in the middle of a mountainous area of the Cardamom Hills. In the north : The boundary commences from the point nearest to the Medaganam in the
interstate boundary up to Vellimalai. and the east Thence the boundary follows the inter-state boundary from Vellimalai to
Kallimalai Peak (G.O. (P) No.65/2003/F&WLD dated Thiruvananthapuram, 20 December 03) (1615 M) it is bounded by mountain ridges of over altitude and toward the west it expands into a high plateau. From this level the altitude drops steeply to the deepest point of the reserve, the 100 metre valley of the Pamba River. The highest peak in the park is the high Kottamala, the southernmost peak in India higher than . The Periyar and Pamba Rivers originate in the forests of the reserve, both in Mlappara.

The other prominent peaks within the park are Pachayarmala, Vellimala, Sunderamala, Chokkampetti mala and Karimala. The topography consists of steep and rolling hills which are thickly wooded.
The sanctuary surrounds Periyar Lake, a reservoir measuring , which was formed when the Mullaperiyar Dam was erected in 1895. The reservoir and the Periyar River meander around the contours of the wooded hills, providing a permanent source of water for the local wildlife.

Climate

The temperature varies depending upon the altitude and it ranges between 15 °C in December and January and 31 °C in April and May. Annual precipitationis between 2000 and 3000 mm, about two-thirds occurring during the outhwest monsoonbetween June to September. Much of the rest occurs during the ortheast monsoonbetween October and December.
Summers are warm with some precipitation in April and winters are cold.

Boundaries

*North: The boundary commences from the point nearest to the Medaganam in the interstate boundary up to Vellimalai.
*East: Thence the boundary follows the inter-state boundary from Vellimalai to Kallimalai Peak (1615 M)
*South: Thence the boundary follows along the main ridge to Chokkampettymalai Peak (1805 M). Thence along the main ridge to Udumalai (1594 M) (the same boundary which divides Ranni Forest Division and existing Periyar Tiger Reserve).
*West:Thence the boundary proceeds due north along the main ridge dividing Periyar Tiger Reserve and Ranni Forest Division to Manikamalai and thence along the ridge to Sundaramalai 1813 M from Sundaramalai the boundary runs along the main ridge to Mangaladevi top 1737 M, and thence to Pachimalai top 1805 M from Puchimala top the boundary follows the Nallah in itself bank, Nallah coming from Mannarkavala and then proceed along Cherakottai river till it joins the Periyar lake between Pandaravara-malai and Poupara.

(G.O. (P) No.65/2003/F&WLD dated Thiruvananthapuram, 20 December 03)

Flora

The park is made up of tropical evergreen, semi -evergreen and moist deciduous forests, montane grasslands, montane savannas, man - made stands of eucalyptus, wetlands, lake and river ecosystems.Flora - Periyar Tiger Reserve.
Department of Tourism, Kerala. A total of 1965 taxa (species and infraspecific) of flowering plants have been collected and described from the park. These include 17 species categorized as "possibly extinct". out of the aforementioned flowering plant taxa, about 171 species of grass and 140 species of orchids have been recorded within the park. The grasses are found in the open grasslands found on the edges of the water bodies and montane habitats where fire resistant vegetation grows and dense grasses like elephant grass are found. Various herbivores such as sambar, asian elephants, gaur and wild boar have been observed to graze here.

Forests found here are composed of deciduous, evergreen and semi evergreen trees like teak, rosewoods, terminalia, sandalwoods, mangoes, jamun, tamarind, banyans, sacred fig, kino tree, bamboos, Diospyros bourdillonii, Hopea parviflora, Dipterocarpus indicus, Semecarpus travancorica and the only south Indian conifer, Nageia wallichiana. The medicinal gloriosa lily grows in the park. The endemic flora includes '' Habenaria periyarensis'' and '' Syzygium periyarense''.

The park is surrounded by agricultural regions, especially plantations of such crops as tea, cardamom, and coffee.

Fauna

Mammals

Thirty-five species of mammals have been recorded in the park, including many threatened species. It is an important tiger and elephant reserve. A total of 40 Bengal tigers were counted across 925 square kilometers of the park in 2017. It is valuable for Asian elephant and also for a few of white tigers found here. Other mammals include the gaur, sambar, wild pig, Indian giant squirrel, Travancore flying squirrel, jungle cat, Dhole, sloth bear, Nilgiri tahr, lion-tailed macaque, Nilgiri langur, Salim Ali's fruit bat, stripe-necked mongoose, and Nilgiri marten.

Birds

About 266 species of birds can be seen in the park, including migrants. Endemic birds include the Malabar grey hornbill, Nilgiri wood pigeon, blue-winged parakeet, Nilgiri flycatcher, crimson-backed sunbird, and white-bellied redstart, and black-necked stork.
A four-day survey was conducted on 1–4 December 2016, organised under the aegis of the Periyar Tiger Reserve (PTR) and found the presence of 13 new bird and 16 butterfly species that were undetected earlier. The newly found bird species included Eurasian woodcock ('' Scolopax rusticola''), steppe gull ('' Larus fuscus barbensis''), grey-necked bunting ('' Emberiza bruniceps'') and paddyfield warbler ('' Acrocephalus agricola'').

Reptiles (reptilia)

There are 45 species of reptiles - 30 snakes, 13 lizards, and two turtles. Snakes include the king cobra, Malabar pit viper, and striped coral snake.

Amphibians

Amphibians in the park include caecilians, frogs, and toads. Species include the Malabar gliding frog, Asian toad, fungoid frog, and bicolored frog.

Fish

About 40 species of fish are found in the local lakes and rivers. These include the Periyar trout, Periyar latia, Periyar barb, channa barb, and Travancore loach.

Insects

There are about 160 butterfly taxa, including the South India's largest butterfly southern birdwing, lime butterfly, Malabar tree nymph, Choaspes benjaminii(Indian awlking), Thoressa evershedi(Evershed's Ace) which is endemic to the South Western Ghats, Thoressa astigmata(Southern spotted ace) which is also endemic to the southern parts of the western ghats, but is more common and with a greater range than T.evershedi, Thoressa honorei(Madras ace), the highly threatened Travancore evening brown, which can only be found in cane brakes, various kinds of uncommon Mycalesis species(the bushbrowns), some of which are endemic to the Western Ghats, and many kinds of moths, such as the Southern Atlas moth. A survey jointly conducted by the Periyar Tiger Conservation Foundation, Indian Dragonfly Society and the Forest and Wildlife Department in October 2017 found 77 species of odonata including Asian emerald ('' Hemicordulia asiatica''). A survey jointly conducted by the same team in September 2018 found eight more new species.

Timeline

*1895 – Construction of the Mullaperiyar Dam
*1899 – Formation of the Periyar Lake Reserve
*1933 – S.C.H. Robinson made the first game warden
*1934 – Formation of Nellikkampatty Game Sanctuary
*1950 – Consolidation of Periyar as a wildlife sanctuary
*1978 – Declaration of Periyar as a tiger reserve
*1982 – Preliminary notification of the core area as a national park
*1991 – Brought under Project Elephant
*1996 – India Eco-development Project launched
*2001 – Divided into Periyar East and Periyar West
*2004 – Formation of Periyar Foundation
*2007 – 148 km² of the Goodrical Range added to the reserve
*2011 – The management of Periyar Tiger Reserve has been assessed as "very good" by the National Tiger Conservation Authority and the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests.
*2012 - An additional 148 km² of evergreen forest at Ponnambalamedu added to the reserve

Ecosystem valuation

It is estimated that the Periyar Tiger Reserve (PTR) provides flow benefits worth 17.6 billion rupees (1.9 lakh (190,000)/ hectare) annually. Important ecosystem services included gene-pool protection (7.86 billion), water provisioning to districts of Tamil Nadu (4.05 billion), habitat and refugia for wildlife (3.55 billion), employment generation for local communities (25 million), water purification services to nearby towns and districts (483 million) and recreation value (425 million).http://21tiger.zslsites.org/assets/21tiger/Resources/NTCA_Report2015.pdf

Gallery

Periyar National Park foxes.jpg, Dholes in the park
Periyar National Park - 3.JPG, Landscape
Periyar National Park - 2.JPG, A boat cruise on Periyar Lake
Entrance to Information Centre at Periyar Tiger Reserve.jpg, Entrance to the Information Centre

See also

*Karimpuzha Wildlife Sanctuary
* List of birds of South India
*Ranni Forest Division

Films

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Life for Lives
'

References

External links

Online Booking for Periyar Tiger Conservation Foundation

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{{Tourism in Kerala, state=collapsed

Tiger reserves of India
Protected areas of Kerala
Periyar (river)
Protected areas established in 1982
South Western Ghats moist deciduous forests
Wildlife sanctuaries of the Western Ghats
South Western Ghats montane rain forests
1982 establishments in Kerala
Geography of Idukki district
Tourist attractions in Idukki district
Geography of Kottayam district
Geography of Pathanamthitta district
Tourist attractions in Pathanamthitta district
Tourist attractions in Kottayam district
Elephant reserves of India
National parks in Kerala
Pamba River