Manjira wildlife sanctuary is a wildlife sanctuary and

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

located in the Sangareddy district of

Telangana State Telangana is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated in the Southern India, south-central part of the Indian subcontinent on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ele ...

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 ...

. Originally a crocodile sanctuary developed to protect the

vulnerable species A vulnerable species is a species which has been Conservation status, categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as being threatened species, threatened with extinction unless the circumstances that are threatened species, ...

mugger crocodile, today it is home to more than 70 species of

birds Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

. The

, located in the sanctuary, provides drinking water to

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

and Secundarabad.

Geography

Manjira Wildlife Sanctuary is located in the Medak District of Telangana, India, 50 km northwest of

. The sanctuary follows the course of the Manjira River for 36 km. This man-made reservoir provides drinking water to

and

Secunderabad Secunderabad () is a twin cities, twin city of Hyderabad and one of the six zones of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Telangana. It is the headquarters of the South ...

. It has nine small islands, including Puttigadda, Bapangadda, Sangamadda and Karnamgadda. These islands contain extensive marshy fringes, which act as nesting sites for aquatic birds. Additionally, a thick cover of trees provide nesting spots for other birds. Dry Savannah-type of vegetation is found in the sanctuary. The reservoir supports both submergent and emergent types of vegetation. The plant species of ''

Typha ''Typha'' is a genus of about 30 species of monocotyledonous flowering plants in the family Typhaceae. These plants have a variety of common names, in British English as bulrushStreeter D, Hart-Davies C, Hardcastle A, Cole F, Harper L. 2009. ' ...

'', ''

Ipomoea ''Ipomoea'' () is the largest genus in the plant family Convolvulaceae, with over 600 species. It is a large and diverse group, with common names including morning glory, Ipomoea aquatica, water convolvulus or water spinach, sweet potato, ...

'' and ''

Acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as wattles or acacias, is a genus of about of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa, South America, and Austral ...

'' cover the periphery of the waterline, while agricultural fields surround the reservoir and river. Average temperature of the region ranges from 15°C-42°C. Average rainfall of the region is 915 mm.

Flora and fauna

Flora: This wildlife sanctuary is a

freshwater ecosystem Freshwater ecosystems are a subset of Earth's aquatic ecosystems that include the biological communities inhabiting freshwater waterbodies such as lakes, ponds, rivers, streams, springs, bogs, and wetlands. They can be contrasted with marine ec ...

. The plant species of ''

'', ''

'' and ''

'' cover the periphery of the waterline, while agricultural fields surround the reservoir and the river. Some of the major plant species found are '' Ipomea'', Babool, '' Prosopis'', '' Vallisneria'', '' Eichhornia'', and reeds. Fauna: This wildlife sanctuary is a riverine habitat supporting mugger crocodile, fresh water

turtle Turtles are reptiles of the order (biology), order Testudines, characterized by a special turtle shell, shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Crypt ...

prawns Prawn is a common name for small aquatic crustaceans with an exoskeleton and ten legs (members of the order of decapods), some of which are edible. The term ''prawn''Mortenson, Philip B (2010''This is not a weasel: a close look at nature's most ...

molluscs Mollusca is a phylum of protostome, protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant taxon, extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum ...

, and fish like

catla Catla (''Labeo catla''; ) also known as the major South Asian carp, is an economically important South Asian freshwater fish in the carp family Cyprinidae. It is native to rivers and lakes in northern India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakis ...

, rohu, murrel, eel, karugu and chidwa. Among reptiles,

monitor lizard Monitor lizards are lizards in the genus ''Varanus,'' the only extant genus in the family Varanidae. They are native to Africa, Asia, and Oceania, and West African Nile monitor, one species is also found in south America as an invasive species. A ...

, mugger crocodile,

s and

cobra COBRA or Cobra, often stylized as CoBrA, was a European avant-garde art group active from 1948 to 1951. The name was coined in 1948 by Christian Dotremont from the initials of the members' home countries' capital cities: Copenhagen (Co), Brussels ...

are present. The Indian hare,

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a Suidae, suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The speci ...

mongoose A mongoose is a small terrestrial carnivorous mammal belonging to the family Herpestidae. This family has two subfamilies, the Herpestinae and the Mungotinae. The Herpestinae comprises 23 living species that are native to southern Europe, A ...

and

jackal Jackals are Canidae, canids native to Africa and Eurasia. While the word has historically been used for many canines of the subtribe Canina (subtribe), canina, in modern use it most commonly refers to three species: the closely related black-b ...

are also present. Avifauna: Around 73 species of birds are present in the sanctuary, including large flocks of common teal,

cotton pygmy goose The cotton pygmy goose or cotton teal (''Nettapus coromandelianus'') is a small perching duck which breeds in Asia, Southeast Asia extending south and east to Queensland where they are sometimes called white-quilled pygmy goose. They are among t ...

and ruddy shelduck. A large number of cranes and barheaded geese can be found upstream of the Manjeera lake. Fourteen species of birds breed in the sanctuary, including the Asian openbill, painted stork, Eurasian coot and black-crowned night heron. Other birds found in the sanctuary include the little egret,

cormorant Phalacrocoracidae is a family of approximately 40 species of aquatic birds commonly known as cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed, but in 2021 the International Ornithologists' Union (IOU) ado ...

, pochard,

spoonbill Spoonbills are a genus, ''Platalea'', of large, long-legged wading birds. The spoonbills have a global distribution, being found on every continent except Antarctica. The genus name ''Platalea'' derives from Ancient Greek and means "broad", refe ...

, brahminy duck, pintail,

kite A kite is a tethered heavier than air flight, heavier-than-air craft with wing surfaces that react against the air to create Lift (force), lift and Drag (physics), drag forces. A kite consists of wings, tethers and anchors. Kites often have ...

quail Quail is a collective name for several genera of mid-sized birds generally placed in the order Galliformes. The collective noun for a group of quail is a flock, covey, or bevy. Old World quail are placed in the family Phasianidae, and New ...

, and

peacock Peafowl is a common name for two bird species of the genus '' Pavo'' and one species of the closely related genus '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae (the pheasants and their allies). Male peafowl are referred t ...

. In recent times,

like lesser adjutant and Indian skimmer have been spotted at the sanctuary, as have the

near-threatened A near-threatened species is a species which has been categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as that may be vulnerable to endangerment in the near future, but it does not currently qu ...

species darter and Oriental white ibis.

Crocodiles

In 1974, the mugger crocodile had reached the threshold of extinction in

Telangana Telangana is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated in the Southern India, south-central part of the Indian subcontinent on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ele ...

, with only four pairs of mugger crocodile remaining in the Manjira wildlife sanctuary. To conserve the mugger crocodile, the Andhra Pradesh Government established a crocodile sanctuary at this present day site. Today there are approximately 400 to 600 crocodiles in the sanctuary helped by a crocodile breeding program that is carried out here. In the mid-1980s, Manjira became a popular destination for bird watchers and an annual aquatic bird count was initiated, leading to the park's conversion into a general wildlife sanctuary.

Cultural sites

On the banks of the river, in a village called Kalabgur, there is a temple that is said to have been constructed some 800 years ago during the Kakatiya period. The temple has magnificent architecture and is entirely made of stone, with some standing pillars created out of a single stone. The temple deity is lord Shiva. The temple also has other gods such as lord

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

, lord Ganapathy and goddess Saraswathi.

Park-specific information

The sanctuary has an Environmental Education Centre consisting of a museum, a library, and an auditorium. Films about birds and animals are shown daily. Boat services are available to take the visitors around the sanctuary for bird watching, with binoculars and books to identify birds provided to visitors. The museum has exhibits which depict the complex biodiversity of the wetlands. The best season to visit this sanctuary is from November to March when major migrant birds nest and breed here. Accommodation for visitors is available in inspection bungalows at Sangareddy, Singur and Sadasivapet.

References

External links

Official Page
{{Protected areas in Telangana Central Deccan Plateau dry deciduous forests Wildlife sanctuaries of Telangana Medak district Tourist attractions in Hyderabad, India 1978 establishments in Andhra Pradesh Protected areas established in 1978