We are thrilled to announce that thanks to the work of our conservation partners the Nature Conservation Foundation and Sanjay Gubbi, the government of India has approved expansion of the Cauvary Wildlife Sanctuary in the Western Ghats.
The Western Ghats is a hotspot for wildlife and biodiversity, and as such is the focus of much attention and conservation efforts to protect it.
Based on the scientific work of NCF and a proposal to the government being approved, the Muneshwarbetta Reserve Forest and Sattegala Jageri areas will be added to the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary – an addition of over 13,000 acres. Both of these areas are home to healthy populations of elephants, dholes, leopards, sambar and other large mammals and as such adding these areas to the Sanctuary will protect wildlife and bolster funding to support efforts to reduce human-wildlife conflict.
NCF’s work also recently identified a second population of chinkara antelope in Karnataka, achieving recognition and approval for the new Bukkapatna Chinkara Wildlife Sanctuary to be put in place. This means that a total of 32,572 acres of dry woodland savannah habitat has been designated for protection.
Additionally, NCF have also been carrying out research into wildlife behaviour and movement. Their studies have shown that the Doddasampige-Edyaralli corridor that connects BRT Tiger Reserve and MM Hills Wildlife Sanctuary is in use by tigers, leopards, dholes, elephants, gaur and other large mammals. However, NCF’s research has revealed that their movement is affected by road traffic on the state highway-38 that passes through this corridor. As such, they are now directing their focus onto mitigating the impact of traffic on wildlife movement in this corridor.
This is a wonderful update to end the year on, and we are very pleased to see the conservation efforts of NCF making such progress!