Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary

Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary is a 285 km² Protected area in Chittur taluk in Palakkad district of Kerala state, South India. Established in 1973, it is in the Sungam range of hills between the Anaimalai Hills and Nelliampathy Hills., , The Western Ghats, Anamalai Sub-Cluster, including all of Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary, is under consideration by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee for selection as a World Heritage Site. The sanctuary is the home of 4 different tribes of indigenous peoples including the Kadar, Malasar, Muduvar and Maha Malasar settled in six colonies. The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests has agreed to the Kerala government’s proposal for declaring the Parambikkulam Wildlife Sanctuary as a Tiger Reserve.

Geography

The sanctuary is located between Longitude:76° 35’- 76° 50’ E, and Latitude:10° 20’ – 10° 26’ N. It is 135 km from Palakkad town and adjacent to the Annamalai Wildlife Sanctuary to the east in Tamil Nadu. It is bordered to the north by Nemmara Forest Division, to the south by Vazhachal Forest Division and the west by Chalakudy Forest Division. The sanctuary has a hornblende, biotite, gneiss and charnockite geology.

Altitude ranges between 300 m and 1438 m. There is a 600 m elevation opening through the Nelliampathy hills from Anamalai hills on the northern boundary of the sanctuary at Thoothampara. Major peaks in the sanctuary are Karimala (1438 m) in the southern boundary of the sanctuary, Pandaravarai (1290 m) in the north, Kuchimudi, Vengoli Malai (1120 m) in the eastern boundary and Puliyarapadam (1010 m) in the west. The sanctuary has three man-made reservoirs; Parambikulam, Thunacadavu and Peruvaripallam, with a combined area of 20.66 km². The Thuvaiar water falls empty into one of the reservoirs. There are 7 major valleys and 3 major rivers, the Parambikulam, the Sholayar and the Thekkedy. The Karappara river and Kuriarkutty river also drain the area. See 3-D topographic maps

Visitor information

Trekking in the forest is allowed with prior permission.Contact: Ecocare Centre, Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary, Anappady, Thunakadavu (PO), Pollachi (Via), Palakkad, Kerala – 678 661.Phone : 04253 – 245025 Boating can be done at the reservoir. The Cannimare Teak Tree, which is said to be Asia’s largest, is here near Thoonakkadavu village.

There is a tree-house in the Reserve Forest area in Thoonakkadavu, the headquarters of Parambikkulam, which has to be booked in advance. The Rest Houses of the State Forest Department at Thoonakkadavu, Thellikkal and Elathode offer comfortable lodging.

Parambikkulam is accessible by a road from Pollachi, Tamilnadu. Palakkad to Pollachi is about 45 km then Pollachi to Parambikkulam is about 65 km. The nearest railway station is at Pollachi and the nearest airport is at Coimbatore, Tamilnadu, about 120 km via Palakkad.

Fauna

The sanctuary has a rich diversity of animal life including: Mammals 39 species, Amphibians 16 sp., Birds 268 sp., Reptiles 61 sp., Fish 47 sp., Insects 1049 sp. and Butterflies 124 sp.

• Mammals- Important mammals include: Lion-tailed Macaques, Nilgiri Tahr, elephants, tigers, panthers, Wild boar, Sambar, Bonnet Macaques, Nilgiri Langurs, Sloth Bears, Nilgiri Marten Small Travancore Flying Squirrel and Gaur, the flagship mammal of Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary.
• Reptiles- Reptiles of very high importance in Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary include: King cobra, Kerala sheildtail , Travancore kukri snake, Travancore wolf snake, Cochin cane turtle, Travancore tortoise, Indian day gecko and Western Ghats flying lizard. Others Important Reptiles are Indian rock python, Malabar pit viper, Travancore tortoise, South Indian forest ground gecko ?, South Indian rock lizard, Mountain skink, Mugger Crocodile, Varanus, Pond terapin, Chameleon and the snakes Spectacled Cobra, Krait, Green keelback, Olivaceous keelback, Western Rat snake and Vine snake. See Checklist Of Reptile Species
• Fish- 47 species of fish are recorded in the Sanctuary of which seven species are listed as endangered and 17 are endemic to Western Ghats. Some fishes include: Aral, bral, vattudi, tilapia, noori, mooshu, poochutti, kollotty, exyprius and taral. See full listing of Fish.
• Birds- 268 bird species have been recorded in the sanctuary. 134 species are listed as rare and 18 species are endemic to Western Ghats. Lesser adjutant stork, Grey-headed Fish-eagle Peninsular bay owl, Broad-billed roller and Great pied hornbill. Other birds include: Darter, Little Cormorant, Black eagle, Black-capped kingfisher, Great Indian hornbill, and Black woodpecker. See complete checklist of birds of Parambikulam Wildlife sanctuary: PDF
• Butterflies- There are 124 species of butterflies recorded in the sanctuary of which 34 are rare and endemic. See checklist of Butterflies found in Parambikulam PDF
• Amphibians- 23 amphibians living in the sanctuary include: Ridged toad Bufo parietalis, Common Asiatic toad Bufo melanostictus, Large wrinkled frog Nyctibatrachus major, Small wrinkled frog Nyctibatrachus minor, Rana tigerina, Rana keralensis, Rana cyanophlyctis, Rana leptodactyla, Rana limnocharis, Rana beddomil, Rana semipalamata, Bicoloureol frog Rana curtipes, Bronzed frog Rana temporalis, Reddish burrowing frog Tomopterna rufescens, Parambikulam frog Tomopterna parambikulamana, White-nosed bush frog Philautus leucorhinus, White-spotted bush frog Philautus chalzodes, Kerala warty frog Limnonectes keralensis, Indian skipper frog Euphlyetis cyanophlyctis, Limnonectes limnocharis, Beddome’s leaping frog Indirana beddomii, Short webbed leaping frog Indirana brachytarsus and the Common frog Micrixalus fuscus

Flora

The sanctuary has a variety of trees mainly teak, neem, sandalwood and rosewood.

Threats

In April 2007 a wild fire in parts of Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary and the adjoining Nelliampathy forests destroyed hundreds of acres of forest tracts and plantations. Fires were caused by unemployed firewatchers and honey gatherers.

One of the reasons for the fires was the lack of pre-monsoon rain in the area. The area used to get rain in during January, February, March and April. This year, there was only 4 mm rain in January and after that there was no rain. Nelliampathy was facing an unprecedented drought this summer. The temperature reached 34^oC in April when the average high is usually 26^oC.

Notes