The Western Ghats or the Western Mountain range is a mountain range that covers an area of 160,000 km2 (62,000 sq mi) in a stretch of 1,600 km (990 mi) parallel to the western coast of the Indian peninsula, traversing the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the eight biodiversity hotspots in the world. It is sometimes called the Great Escarpment of India. It contains a very large proportion of the country's flora and fauna, many of which are endemic to this region. According to UNESCO, the Western Ghats are older than the Himalayas. They influence Indian monsoon weather patterns by intercepting the rain-laden monsoon winds that sweep in from the south-west during late summer. The range runs north to south along the western edge of the Deccan Plateau and separates the plateau from a narrow coastal plain called Konkan along the Arabian Sea. A total of 39 areas in the Western Ghats, including national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and reserve forests, were designated as world heritage sites in 2012 – twenty in Kerala, ten in Karnataka, six in Tamil Nadu and four in Maharashtra.
The South Western Ghats montane rain forests is an ecoregion in South India, covering the southern portion of the Western Ghats in Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu at elevations from 1,000 to 2,695 m. Annual rainfall in this ecoregion exceeds 2,800 mm (110 in).
The lion-tailed macaque, also known as the wanderoo, is an Old World monkey endemic to the Western Ghats of South India.
The South Deccan Plateau dry deciduous forests is a tropical dry forest ecoregion in southern India. The ecoregion lies in the southernmost portion of the Deccan Plateau, and includes the southernmost portion of the Eastern Ghats.
The Madras treeshrew, also known as the Indian treeshrew, is a species of treeshrew in the monotypic genus Anathana found in the hill forests of central and southern India. The genus name is derived from the Tamil name of moongil anathaan and the species name is after Sir Walter Elliot of the Indian Civil Services in Madras.
The grizzled giant squirrel is a large tree squirrel in the genus Ratufa found in the highlands of the Central and Uva provinces of Sri Lanka, and in patches of riparian forest along the Kaveri River and in the hill forests of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala states of southern India. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the species as near threatened due to habitat loss and hunting.
Cnemaspis otai, also known commonly as Ota's day gecko or the Vellore day gecko, is a species of lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is endemic to southeastern India.
Uropeltis dindigalensis, commonly known as the Sirumalai Hills earth snake or the Dindigul Uropeltis, is a species of snake in the family Uropeltidae. It is endemic to Sirumalai and surrounding hill ranges of Southern Eastern Ghats, in Dindigul district of Tamil Nadu state in South India.
The yellow-throated bulbul is a species of songbird in the bulbul family of passerine birds. The species is endemic to southern peninsular India. They are found on scrub habitats on steep, rocky hills many of which are threatened by granite quarrying. It is confusable only with the white-browed bulbul with which its range overlaps but is distinctively yellow on the head and throat apart from the yellow vent. The calls of this species are very similar to that of the white-browed bulbul.
Meghamalai, commonly known as the High Wavy Mountains, is a mountain range located in the Western Ghats in the Theni district near Kumily, Tamil Nadu. It is dotted with cardamom plantations and tea plantations. The mountain range is 1,500 metres above sea level, and it is rich in flora and fauna. The area, now mostly planted with tea plants, includes cloudlands, high wavys, venniar, and the manalar estates belonging to the Woodbriar Group. Access is largely restricted and includes largely untouched remnants of evergreen forest.
Kitti Thonglongya was an eminent Thai ornithologist and mammalogist. He is probably best known for two discoveries of endangered species.
The Elvira rat is a critically endangered species of rodent in the family Muridae. The species was first described by Sir John Ellerman in 1946. It is found only in the Eastern Ghats of Tamil Nadu, India.
The greater short-nosed fruit bat, or short-nosed Indian fruit bat, is a species of megabat in the family Pteropodidae found in South and Southeast Asia.
The Kolar leaf-nosed bat, or leafletted leaf-nosed bat is a species of bat in the family Hipposideridae. It is endemic to India. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and caves. It is found in only one cave in India, and its population is less than 200 individuals.
The Aldabra flying fox is a species of megabat in the genus Pteropus. It is endemic to the Aldabra Atoll in the Seychelles, like Chaerephon pusilla, though the latter may be the same species as the little free-tailed bat.
The lenis woolly bat is a species of bat in the family Vespertilionidae. It is found in South and Southeast Asia.
The lesser short-nosed fruit bat is a species of megabat within the family Pteropodidae. It is a small bat that lives in South Asia and Southeast Asia. It weighs between 21 and 32 grams, and/or 70 to 127 mm. It occurs in many types of habitat, but most frequently in disturbed forest, including lower montane forest and tropical lowland rain forest, plus gardens, mangroves, and vegetation on beaches.
Angus Finlay Hutton was a British naturalist born in India. Working in the High Wavy range, he discovered a species of pit viper that is now named after him as Hutton's pit viper. He also collected a species of bat that was later named as Salim Ali's fruit bat after Indian ornithologist Salim Ali. Until his death is 2016, Hutton was the oldest living member of the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS). He helped set up butterfly gardens in Southeast Asia before settling in Queensland, Australia.
The Himalayan thrush or Himalayan forest thrush is a species of bird described in 2016 and separated out from the alpine thrush Zoothera mollissima with which they were formerly lumped. The species is separated on the basis of phylogenetic studies that suggest that the population diverged from the common ancestor at least 3 million years ago. The alpine thrush breeds above the tree line whereas the Himalayan thrush breeds in forested habitats. The species breeds from Sikkim and Darjeeling in India and extends east into Tibet and further east into northwest Yunnan in China. The species differs in its song from that of the alpine thrush. The Himalayan thrush has a more musical call while that of the Alpine thrush is raspy and grating. A newly discovered Himalayan forest thrush bird was named after the birdman of India, Ornithologist Dr.Salim Ali. The name of the bird is "Zoothera salimalii". A fruit bat is also named after him "Latidens salimalii"
Ficus amplissima, also known as the Indian Bat tree, Indian Bat fig, Pimpri, Pipri (Piparee), Pipali or Bilibasari mara is a tree species of flowering plants that belongs to Moraceae, the fig or mulberry family. It is native to Central and southern Peninsular India, Sri Lanka and Maldives, having a significant distribution throughout Western Ghats of India. It is most commonly planted to provide shade in coffee plantations due to its dense and wide foliage. The ripened figs attract many birds, especially during the spring.
