Shoolpaneshwar Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected area in

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 ...

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

state, located in the western Satpura Range south of the Narmada River and is large. It shares a common boundary with

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (; ; ) is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and the largest city is Indore, Indore. Other major cities includes Gwalior, Jabalpur, and Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar. Madhya Pradesh is the List of states and union te ...

and

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 ...

. It encompasses mixed dry deciduous forest, riverine forest, few pockets of moist teak forest, agricultural fields and two water reservoirs. It was established in 1982.

Ecosystem

The physical aspect is dominated by Rajpipla hills. Dhanmal is the highest peak in this region. The general slope is towards west. The sanctuary has a vast undulating terrain, lush ever pervading greenery, tall canopy, deep valleys, sombre rocks, gentle

stream A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a strea ...

s, and waterfalls. All of these are in the Vindhyan and Satpuran ranges.

Zarwani Waterfall

The Zarwani Waterfall is deep inside the sanctuary.

Flora

The Shoolpaneshwar Wildlife Sanctuary is a part of the North Western Ghats moist deciduous forests

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecological and geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and c ...

. The forests are moist

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

with a few small dry

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of mostly evergreen perennial plant, perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily (biology), subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family, in th ...

brakes, a few pockets of moist teak forest in hilly areas, degraded scrub forest, and riverine forest bordering Terav and Narmada Rivers and small water courses. The hilly tract of the sanctuary supports forests harboring

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 ...

l 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 ...

l elements, which bear similarities to those in the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...

and Western Ghats. It is also a major watershed feeding two major reservoirs thus conserving the soil and water. There are vast groves of

, and the sanctuary has 575 species of flowering plants.

Fauna

The sanctuary was initially established for the protection of the sloth bear. A rusty-spotted cat was sighted for the time in 1991. The Shoolpaneshwar Wildlife Sanctuary's herpetofauna includes Indian softshell turtle, Indian flapshell turtle, Bengal monitor, Indian rock python, red sand boa, Indian krait,

Russell's viper Russell's viper (''Daboia russelii)'' is a species of highly venomous snake in the Family (biology), family Viperidae. The species is native to South Asia. It was Species description, described in 1797 by George Shaw (biologist), George Shaw and ...

, Indian chameleon, rock agama, Brooke's house gecko, Yellow-bellied house gecko, oriental garden lizard and a small population of Mugger crocodile. Frogs recorded include '' Ramanella'' species, Asian common toad, marbled toad, ornate narrow-mouthed frog, Indian skipping frog, Indian tree frog, green pond frog, Indian bullfrog,

cricket frog Cricket frogs, genus ''Acris'', are small, North American frogs of the family Hylidae. They occur in northern Mexico (Coahuila), the United States east of the Rocky Mountains, and in southern Ontario, Canada. They are more aquatic than other m ...

and Indian burrowing frog Other

mammal A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three ...

ian fauna occurring includes the Indian leopard, leopard cat, rhesus macaque, chousingha, barking deer, pangolin, chital, large Indian civet, palm civet, Indian porcupine and feral dogs. Locally extinct mammal species include Indian giant squirrel,

tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large Felidae, cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is ...

and gaur.Worah, S. (1991). The ecology and management of a fragmented forest in south Gujarat India: the Dangs. Ph.D. thesis, University of Poona, Pune, India. Birds, including Alexandrine parakeet, grey jungle fowl, red jungle fowl, crested serpent eagle, shikra, sparrow hawk, great horned owl and grey hornbill are found here.

Access and accommodation

The nearest airport is that of Vadodara, which is about away. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport at Ahmedabad, which is about away, is the nearest international airport. The nearest rail head and bus stand are those of Ankleshwar, which is about away. There are rest houses to stay at Bharuch, Dediapada, Rajpipla, and the sanctuary.

External links

Shoolpaneshwar Wild Life Sanctuary

References

{{commons category, Shoolpaneshwar Wildlife Sanctuary Wildlife sanctuaries in Gujarat Narmada district North Western Ghats moist deciduous forests Environment of Gujarat Wildlife sanctuaries of the Western Ghats 1982 establishments in Gujarat Protected areas established in 1982