Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary was created in the Ambegaon and Khed

taluka A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluk, or taluka () is a local unit of administrative division in India and Pakistan. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administrative ...

s of Pune District, in the Western

India India, officially the Republic of India, 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 by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

n state of

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

in order mainly to protect the habitat of the

Indian Giant Squirrel The Indian giant squirrel or Malabar giant squirrel (''Ratufa indica'') is a large multi-coloured tree squirrel species endemic to forests and woodlands in India. It is a diurnal, arboreal, and mainly herbivorous squirrel. Distribution and hab ...

. It spreads through 3 district of Maharashtra that is Pune District , Raigad District & Thane District. 2

Details

Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary has an area of and is a part of the Western Ghats (Sahyadri Ranges), which itself is recognised as one of the 12 biodiversity hotspots of the world. The sanctuary was notified by the state government of Maharashtra in 1985 with the total area of is 130.78sq. km., under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972. The sanctuary includes nine tribal villages. The area's bio-diversity has been retained as it will be preserved as a cluster of

sacred groves Sacred groves, sacred woods, or sacred forests are groves of trees that have special religious importance within a particular culture. Sacred groves feature in various cultures throughout the world. These are forest areas that are, for the most ...

for generations. These sacred groves act as gene pools of this area, from where seeds were dispersed. In Ahupe - a tribal ( Mahadev Koli) village's sacred grove in the sanctuary, a climber Khombhal - '' Xantolis tomentosa'' was found to be 800–1000 years old in 1984.

Flora and Fauna

The sanctuary harbours large diversity of

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

& specialised

flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...

and

fauna Fauna (: faunae or faunas) is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding terms for plants and fungi are ''flora'' and '' funga'', respectively. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively ...

. Sanctuary is home to the state animal of Maharashtra- Ratufa indica elphistonii, sub species of the

Indian Giant squirrel The Indian giant squirrel or Malabar giant squirrel (''Ratufa indica'') is a large multi-coloured tree squirrel species endemic to forests and woodlands in India. It is a diurnal, arboreal, and mainly herbivorous squirrel. Distribution and hab ...

that is one of three threatened Indo-Malyan squirrel species. The particular sub species found here is endemic to Bhimashankar. Important mammals reported from the sanctuary are

carnivores A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose nutrition and energy requirements are met by consumption of animal tissues (mainly mu ...

like Leopard Panthera pardus, and

Golden Jackal The golden jackal (''Canis aureus''), also called the common jackal, is a wolf-like canid that is native to Eurasia. The golden jackal's coat varies in color from a pale creamy yellow in summer to a dark tawny beige in winter. It is smaller a ...

(''Canis aureus''), Sambar (''Cervus unicolor''),

Barking Deer Muntjacs ( ), also known as the barking deer or rib-faced deer, (URL is Google Books) are small deer of the genus ''Muntiacus'' native to South Asia and Southeast Asia. Muntjacs are thought to have begun appearing 15–35 million years ago, ...

(''Muntiacus muntjak''), Wildboar (''Sus scrofa''), Common Langur (''Semnopithecus entellus''),

Rhesus Macaque The rhesus macaque (''Macaca mulatta''), colloquially rhesus monkey, is a species of Old World monkey. There are between six and nine recognised subspecies split between two groups, the Chinese-derived and the Indian-derived. Generally brown or g ...

(''Macaca mulatta'') and the

Mouse Deer Chevrotains, or mouse-deer, are small, even-toed ungulates that make up the family Tragulidae, and are the only living members of the infraorder Tragulina. The 10 extant species are placed in three genera, but several species also are k ...

(''Moschiola meminna''). The Indian

Pangolin Pangolins, sometimes known as scaly anteaters, are mammals of the order Pholidota (). The one extant family, the Manidae, has three genera: '' Manis'', '' Phataginus'', and '' Smutsia''. ''Manis'' comprises four species found in Asia, while ' ...

(''Manis crassicaudata'') is also reported. Sanctuary is rich in specialised and endemic

reptiles Reptiles, as commonly defined, are a group of tetrapods with an ectothermic metabolism and Amniotic egg, amniotic development. Living traditional reptiles comprise four Order (biology), orders: Testudines, Crocodilia, Squamata, and Rhynchocepha ...

amphibians Amphibians are ectothermic, anamniote, anamniotic, tetrapod, four-limbed vertebrate animals that constitute the class (biology), class Amphibia. In its broadest sense, it is a paraphyletic group encompassing all Tetrapod, tetrapods, but excl ...

butterflies Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

and

insects Insects (from Latin ') are hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs of jointed ...

. During the monsoon (rainy season), various species of

mosses Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta ('' sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and ho ...

and

epiphytes An epiphyte is a plant or plant-like organism that grows on the surface of another plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphyt ...

including bioluminescent fungi can be seen on the trees.

References

External links

Wildlife tour travelworld.com: Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary
* http://www.bhimashankar.in * http://www.bhimashankar.net.in Wildlife sanctuaries in Maharashtra Wildlife sanctuaries of the Western Ghats North Western Ghats moist deciduous forests Narmada Valley dry deciduous forests Tourist attractions in Pune district 1984 establishments in Maharashtra Protected areas established in 1984 {{India-protected-area-stub

Details

Flora and Fauna

See also

References

External links