Pulicat Lake Bird Sanctuary

Pulicat Lake Bird Sanctuary is a famous sanctuary, 759 km² in size, located in the Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh and a protected area of the Thiruvallur District of Tamil Nadu, India. Pulicat Lake is the second largest brackish-water eco-system in India after Chilka lake in Orissa.[1] The sanctuary's international name is Pulicat Lake Wildlife Sanctuary, IBA Code: IN261, Criteria: A1, A4iii.[2]

Pulicat-spotted pelican
Painted stork (Mycteria leucocephala)

Main article: Pulicat Lake

Geography

Central location is: 13°34′N 80°12′E. 327.33 km² is managed by the Andhra Pradesh Forest Department[3] and 153.67 km² is managed by the Tamil Nadu Forest Department. 108 km² is National Park area. Rainfall ranges from 800 - 2000mm. Temperature varies from 14 °C to 33 °C. Altitude ranges from 100’ MSL to 1200’ MSL.[1]

Fauna

The sanctuary is most noted for the many greater flamingos seen here.[1][4] It also attracts many migratory birds and also is a feeding and nesting ground for aquatic and terrestrial birds such as pelicans, storks,etc. The biodiversity of this lake attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors per year.

Threats

Pulicat Lake may disappear within 100 years by being filled up with silt.[5] Government and private NGO efforts are working to halt lake destruction. AARDE Foundation does regular activities at Pazhaverkadu to create awareness on the vanishing lagoon.

See also

References
  1. Tamil Nadu Forest Department retrieved 9/9/2007 Pulicat Lake Bird Sanctuary Archived 4 January 2017 at the Wayback Machine
  2. BirdLife International Pulicat Lake Wildlife Sanctuary
  3. Andhra Pradesh Forest Department, PULICAT Wildlife Sanctuary Archived 25 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  4. Bird Forum, Pulicat Lake (Andhra Pradesh) (2008)
  5. Raj,P. J. Sanjeeva. MACRO FAUNA OF PULICAT LAKE Archived 27 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine, National Biodiversity Authority Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. (2006)
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