Mount Abu Wildlife Sanctuary

Mount Abu Wildlife Sanctuary is located in one of the oldest mountain ranges of India, the Aravalli range. It was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1980.[1]

Mount Abu Wildlife Sanctuary
Location in India
Mount Abu Wildlife Sanctuary (India)
LocationRajasthan, India
Nearest cityMount Abu
Coordinates24°33′0″N 72°38′0″E
Area288 km².
Established1960
VisitorsNA (in NA)
Governing bodyMinistry of Environment and Forests, Government of India

Geography

Mount Abu Wildlife Sanctuary spreads out into a plateau which is about 19 km (12 mi) long and 6 km (3.7 mi) wide. In altitude, it ranges from 300 to 1,722 m (984 to 5,650 ft) at Guru Shikhar,[1] the highest peak in Rajasthan. The rocks are igneous and due to the weathering effect of wind and water, large cavities are common in them.

The sanctuary is in the Khathiar-Gir dry deciduous forests ecoregion.[2]

Flora

It is very rich in floral bio-diversity starting from xenomorphic sub-tropical thorn forests in the foot hills to sub-tropical evergreen forests along PRIYEN water courses and valleys at higher altitudes. There are about 112 plant families with 449 genera and 820 species. Of these, 663 species are dicots while 157 species are monocots.[3] About 81 species of trees, 89 species of shrubs, 28 species of climbers and 17 species of tuberous plants of medicinal importance have been identified in this sanctuary.[4]

Mount Abu is the only place in Rajasthan where one can observe a variety of orchids. The place is also rich in bryophytes and algae. Three species of wild roses and 16 species of feras some of which are quite rare have also been reported from here. The south-west part of the sanctuary is rich in bamboo forests.

Fauna

Among the fauna living in Mount Abu Wildlife Sanctuary are Indian leopard, sloth bear, Sambar deer, wild boar and chinkara.[1] The jungle cat, small Indian civet, Indian wolf, striped hyena, golden jackal, Indian fox, gray langur, Indian pangolin, Indian grey mongoose, Indian hare, Indian crested porcupine and Indian hedgehog have also been recorded. The Asiatic lion was last recorded in 1872, and the Bengal tiger in 1970.[5]

More than 250 species of birds have been recorded including the grey jungle fowl.[6][7] The rare green avadavat is commonly found here.

See also

References
  1. Negi, S. S. (2002). "Mount Abu Wildlife Sanctuary". Handbook of National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries and Biosphere Reserves in India (3rd Edition). Indus Publishing. p. 151. ISBN 978-81-7387-128-3.
  2. "Khathiar-Gir dry deciduous forests". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  3. Mount Abu Wildlife Sanctuary. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  4. Mount Abu Wildlife Sanctuary, p. 2. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  5. Sharma, B. K.; Kulshreshtha, S.; Sharma, S.; Singh, S.; Jain, A.; Kulshreshtha, M. (2013). "In situ and ex situ conservation: Protected Area Network and zoos in Rajasthan". In Sharma, B. K.; Kulshreshtha, S.; Rahmani, A. R. (eds.). Faunal Heritage of Rajasthan, India: Conservation and Management of Vertebrates. Heidelberg, New York, Dordrecht, London: Springer Science & Business Media. pp. 3–66.
  6. Storer, R. W. (1988). Type Specimens of Birds in the Collections of the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology (PDF). University of Michigan, Miscellaneous publications No. 174.
  7. Ali, S.; Ripley, S. D. Handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan. 2 (Second ed.). Oxford University Press. pp. 106–109.
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