Bannerghatta National Park

Last updated

Bannerghatta National Park
Lurking tiger.jpg
Tiger at the Bannerghatta National Park
India Karnataka location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Bannerghatta Biological Park
Location Karnataka, India
Nearest city Bangalore
Coordinates 12°48′03″N77°34′32″E / 12.80083°N 77.57556°E / 12.80083; 77.57556
Area260.51 km2 (100.58 sq mi)
Established1974
Governing body Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India
bannerghattabiologicalpark.org

Bannerghatta National Park is a national park in India, located near Bangalore, Karnataka. It was founded in 1970 and declared as a national park in 1974. [1] In 2002, a small portion of the park became a zoological garden, the Bannerghatta Biological Park. [2]

Contents

There are ancient temples in the park for worship and it is a destination for trekking and hiking. Within the national park area are six rural villages enclosed within three large enclosures for sheep and cattle farming. [3] This park offers a wide range of diverse wildlife to the explorers. Coming from the finest of Bengaluru, Karnataka, this park offers a guided bus tour all along the 6 km safari roads, which is specially made for safaris and foreign tourist gatherers.

Between 1995 and 2021, the dry deciduous forests in the National Park shrunk approximately by 44% due to uncontrolled diversion of forest land for agricultural purpose, urbanisation, etc [1]

Geography

The 65,127.5 acre (260.51 km2 [4] ) national park is located about 22 km south of Bangalore in the hills of the Anekal range with an elevation of 1245 - 1634m. [5] The park has a hilly terrain of granite sheets under moist deciduous forest valleys and scrubland on higher areas. [6] Sixteen villages border the park. Most of the national park consists of artificial forest, and some animals have been introduced. [7] The park is part of a wildlife corridor for elephants which connects the BR Hills and the Sathyamangalam forest. The park is contiguous with Talli reserve forest in the southeast and Bilikal forest in the south. [3]

Water sources

The park's rainfall is 700 mm per year. The Suvarnamukhi stream runs through the national park. On 15 May 2014, four bore wells were opened to provide water in dry times. [8]

Flora

Flora in the park include: [5]


wild bear Wild bear.jpg
wild bear

One hundred and one species of birds have been recorded in the park. [9] The fauna pose some risk to humans. In August 2012, a man was trampled to death by an elephant. [10] Occasionally, animals leave the reserve, coming into contact with humans. For example, elephants have been sighted on the Bantamweight-Anekal road which passes close to the park. In 2007, a leopard and her cubs entered a local school. [11]

Illegal mining around Bannerghatta national park

The park is threatened by multiple granite quarries operating around the national park. [12] These quarries are located alarmingly close to critical elephant corridors inside the national park such as Kardikal - Madeswara corridor. [13] While there is ban on mining and granite quarrying around the national park within a radius of One km from the boundary demarcated as "Safe Zone", quarries operate unabatedly. Vehicular movement is also uncontrolled. Tremors from the explosives used in the quarry operations are felt across a radius of at least five km adversely affecting elephants and other wild animals. [14]

Bannerghatta, A 2021 Malayalam language movie released on Amazon Prime , Title of the film is based on the Bannerghatta National park. [15]

See also

Related Research Articles

The Birdwatchers' Field Club of Bangalore is a birdwatching club in Bangalore founded in the 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biligiriranga Hills</span> Wildlife sanctuary in South India

The Biligirirangana Hills or Biligirirangan Hills is a hill range situated in south-western Karnataka, at its border with Tamil Nadu in South India. The area is called Biligiri Ranganatha Swamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary or simply BRT Wildlife Sanctuary. It is a protected reserve under the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972. Being close to the Eastern Ghats as well as the Western Ghats, the sanctuary has floral and faunal associations with both regions. The site was declared a tiger reserve in January 2011 by the Government of Karnataka, a few months after approval from India's National Tiger Conservation Authority.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">State Highway 87 (Karnataka)</span> State Highway in Karnataka, India

Bannerghatta Road is an Indian State Highway in Karnataka. It connects Bangalore with the towns of Bannerghatta, Jigani, and Anekal. It extends for 49 kilometres (30 mi). It starts as a branch from Hosur Road near the Adugodi Christian Cemetery and ends at Anekal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kali Tiger Reserve</span> Protected area and tiger reserve in Karnataka, India

Kali Tiger Reserve is a protected area and tiger reserve. It is located in Uttara Kannada district, in Karnataka, India. The park is a habitat of Bengal tigers, black panthers and Indian elephants, amongst other distinctive fauna. The Kali River flows through the tiger reserve and is the lifeline of the ecosystem and hence the name. The tiger reserve is spread over an area of 1300 square kilometres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kalesar National Park</span> Protected area in Haryana, India

Kalesar National Park and adjacent Kalesar Wildlife Sanctuary (13,209 acres are protected areas in Kalesar of Yamunanagar district of Haryana state in India, 46 kilometres from Yamunanagar city, 122 kilometres from Chandigarh. Kalesar National Park was established in 2003. Kalesar National Park and Kalesar Wildlife Sanctuary are contiguous to Simbalbara National Park in Himachal Pradesh and Rajaji National Park in Uttarakhand. Kalesar is a popular destination for leopards, panthers, elephants, red jungle fowl and bird-watching. This forested area in the Shivalik foothills is covered primarily with sal with smattering of Semul, Amaltas and Bahera trees as well. Wildlife jeep safaris are available on 3 tracks. Park is closed July to September and during the remaining months visiting hours are 6 am to 10 am and 4 pm to 7 pm during summers, and 7 am to 11 am and 3.30 pm to 6 pm during winters.

Rajaji National Park is an Indian national park and tiger reserve in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. that encompasses the Shivaliks, near the foothills of the Himalayas. It covers 820 km2 (320 sq mi) and includes three districts of Uttarakhand: Haridwar, Dehradun and Pauri Garhwal. In 1983, three wildlife sanctuaries in the area namely, Chilla, Motichur and Rajaji were merged into one.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nagarhole National Park</span> National park in Karnataka, India

Nagarahole National Park is a national park located in Kodagu district and Mysore district in Karnataka, India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Koundinya Wildlife Sanctuary</span> Wildlife sanctuary and elephant reserve in Andhra Pradesh, India

Kaundinya Wildlife Sanctuary is a wildlife sanctuary and an elephant reserve situated in Andhra Pradesh, India. It is the only sanctuary in Andhra Pradesh with a population of Asian elephants, which migrated after 200 years from neighbouring regions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tourism in Karnataka</span> Overview of tourism in Karnataka, India

Karnataka, the sixth largest state in India, has been ranked as the third most popular state in the country for tourism in 2014. It is home to 507 of the 3600 centrally protected monuments in India, second only to Uttar Pradesh. The State Directorate of Archaeology and Museums protects an additional 752 monuments and another 25,000 monuments are yet to receive protection.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildlife of Karnataka</span>

The state of Karnataka in South India has a rich diversity of flora and fauna. It has a recorded forest area of 38,720 km2 which constitutes 55 of the geographical area of the state. These forests support 25% of the elephant population and 20% of the tiger population of India. Many regions of Karnataka are still unexplored and new species of flora and fauna are still found. The mountains of the Western Ghats in the western region of Karnataka are a biodiversity hotspot. Two sub-clusters of the Western Ghats, Talacauvery and Kudremukh, are on a tentative list of sites that could be designated as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. The Bandipur and Nagarahole national parks which fall outside these subclusters were included in the Nilgiri biosphere reserve in 1986, a UNESCO designation. In the Biligiriranga Hills the Eastern Ghats meet the Western Ghats. The state bird and state animal of Karnataka are Indian roller and the Indian elephant. The state tree and state flower are sandalwood and lotus. Karnataka is home to 524 tigers.

Tiger and Lion Safari, Thyavarekoppa, Shimoga is located the state of Karnataka, India, with an area of 250 hectares (2.5 km2), at a distance of about 10.0 km (6.2 mi) from Shimoga town, and 275.0 km (170.9 mi) from Bangalore. Started in 1988, it is Karnataka's second safari park, after Bannerghatta National Park near Bangalore. Despite the name, the lion and tiger are neither the only animals here, nor are they the only big cats here.

Someshwara Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected wildlife sanctuary in the Western Ghats of Karnataka state in India. It is named after the presiding deity "Lord Someshwara" of the famed Someshwara temple located within the sanctuary. The sanctuary lies in Udupi & Shivamogga districts of Karnataka, below Agumbe. The sanctuary houses Sitanadi nature camp run by Karnataka Forest Department. Udupi to Agumbe road passes through this wildlife sanctuary. The nearest town is Hebri which is connected by bus service to Udupi, Mangaluru and Bengaluru on a daily basis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve</span> Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu, India

Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve is a protected area and tiger reserve located along the area straddling both the Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats in the Erode District of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The Sathyamangalam Forest Division is part of the Bramhagiri-Nilgiris-Eastern Ghats Elephant Reserve notified in 2003. In 2008, part of the Sathyamangalam Forest Division was declared as a wildlife sanctuary and enlarged in 2011, it covers a forest area of 1,411.6 km2 (545.0 sq mi). It is the largest wildlife sanctuary in Tamil Nadu. In 2013, an area of 1,408.6 km2 (543.9 sq mi) of the erstwhile sanctuary was notified as a tiger reserve. It was the fourth tiger reserve established in Tamil Nadu as a part of Project Tiger and is the third largest in the state.

Forests Department, Haryana is a department of the Government of Haryana in India that runs and maintains many protected nature areas in the state of Haryana. It has two administrative divisions: Forest and Wildlife. The department is responsible for maintaining National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries and Conservation Reserves in Haryana. It also provides a special emphasis on Soil and Moisture Conservation works in the hills to conserve water and deliver it to adjacent farmlands. Two National Parks, eight Wildlife Sanctuaries, two Conservation Reserves, four Animal & Bird Breeding Centres, one Deer park, and 49 herbal parks. Kanwar Pal Gujjar has been the cabinet minister responsible for this department since October 2019. constitute the Protected Area network of the department, covering 0.75% of the state. It also maintains a list of Protected Areas in Haryana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bannerghatta Biological Park</span> Zoo in Bannerghatta, Bengaluru

Bannerghatta Biological Park, also known as the Bannerghatta Zoo, is a zoological garden located in the city of Bengaluru. It was initially a small zoo and picnic corner within Bannerghatta National Park (BNP) which was started in 1974. The bifurcation of the Biological Park and the National Park took place in 2002. The Bannerghatta Biological Park covers a total area of 731.88 hectares and includes a zoo, safari park, butterfly park and rescue centre. The Zoo Authority of Karnataka, the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, and the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and Environment (ATREE), Bangalore, are collaborating agencies. For the convenience of the general public, the Governing Council of Zoo Authority of Karnataka had decided to rename Bannerghatta Biological Park as 'Bengaluru Bannerghatta Biological Park' (BBBP).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 Bandipur forest fires</span>

In February 2019, massive forest fires broke out in numerous places across the Bandipur National Park of the Karnataka state in India. The National Remote Sensing Centre of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) carried out an assessment of the total area affected by the fire. On 25 February 2019, it estimated the extent of burnt area to be about 10,920 acres in the last five days since 21 February 2019.

Sanjay Gubbi is a conservation biologist based in Karnataka, India. His work focuses on the conservation of large carnivores like tigers and leopards, working on applied aspects and understanding their population biology, proposing conservation policies for their protection, and working to minimize human-wildlife conflict. He currently works as a scientist with Nature Conservation Foundation, a Mysore based NGO.

Sathanur is a village in Ramanagara district of Karnataka, India. It is located around 70 km from the city of Bengaluru. The Bengaluru - Coimbatore National Highway 948 passes via this town.

Nugu Wildlife Sanctuary is situated north of Bandipur National Park in Mysore District of Karnataka, India. The northern part of Nugu WLS is occupied by the Nugu Reservoir. It serves as a home to many species of flora and fauna such as Dipterocarpus indicus, Calophyllum tomentosum, elephants, wild pigs, spotted deer, leopards, jungle cats, etc. This wildlife sanctuary serves as a great tourist attraction, especially in the months of October to April.

References

  1. 1 2 "Bannerghatta National Park" Karnataka.com Accessed 23 May 2014.
  2. "Bannerghatta Biological Park" Park website Accessed 23 May 2014.
  3. 1 2 Brondizio E. and Moran E. "Human-Environment Interactions." Springer, 2012 p131 ISBN   9400747802, 9789400747807.
  4. Karnataka Government Gazette Notification vide No:FEE302 FWL2011-(11), Bangalore, dated:27-12-2011
  5. 1 2 "Bannerghatta National Park" Bengaloorutourism.com Accessed 24 May 2014.
  6. "Bannerghatti national park" Arocha organisation website. Accessed 23 May 2014.
  7. Khanna B. "Safari closed in Bannerghatta zoo due to foot and mouth disease." Bangalore Citizen Accessed 24 May 2014.
  8. "Bannerghatta National Park gets four bore wells to quench thirst of animals." The Hindu 15 May 2014. Accessed 24 May 2014.
  9. Lepage D. "Bannerghatta National Park bird checklist" Avibase website. Accessed 24 May 2014.
  10. Vattam S. "Bannerghatta National Park now open for trekking" newindianexpress.com 21 November 2012. Accessed 24 May 2014.
  11. "Sights, sounds and smells from Bangalore: Leopards on prowl on Bannerghatta main road". Bangalorebuzz.blogspot.com 26 September 2007. Accessed 8 May 2014.
  12. "'Save Bannerghatta National Park': Bengaluru activists approach Centre". www.thenewsminute.com. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  13. Thakur, Aksheev (21 March 2018). "The curious case of the disappearing forest". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  14. "Protect Bannerghatta buffer zone from quarrying: Activists". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  15. "ബാനേർഘട്ട - ഒരു വൺ മാൻ ത്രില്ലർ| Bannerghatta Review". Mathrubhumi. 21 March 2022. Retrieved 6 September 2023.