DANDELI
WILDLIFE RESERVE - ENVIRONMENT
News:
Union environment
ministry seeks report on Canopy Walk project in Dandeli Wildlife Reserve
What's
in the news?
●
Years after National Tiger Conservation
Authority (NTCA) favoured the construction of a canopy walk inside Dandeli
Wildlife Reserve, it is learnt that the Union Environment Ministry has asked
the Karnataka government to furnish a report if any action was taken against
the erring officials who were involved in the project.
Canopy
Walk Tourism Project:
●
Canopy Walk Tourism Project was
implemented with the financial aid provided by the Karnataka Tourism Department.
●
The project began near Kuveshi in the
Castlerock Wildlife Range, which is part of the Dandeli Wildlife Reserve.
●
However, for better protection and
management, the Director of the Kali Tiger Project has administrative control
of the area.
●
The canopy is a 240-metre walkway at
around 30 feet above the ground.
Dandeli
Wildlife Sanctuary:
●
The Dandeli sanctuary covers part of the
rich forests of the Uttara Kannada District, on the banks of the river Kali, Karnataka.
●
The sanctuary now covers an area of 834.16
square kilometres. This sanctuary is the second largest wildlife sanctuary of
Karnataka.
●
Along with its adjoining Anshi National
Park, Dandeli is an abode of 40 tigers.
Flora
and Fauna:
●
Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary is a beautiful
and viable habitat for approximately 200 species of birds.
●
The most famous among these are the Malabar pied hornbill and the great
hornbill (great Indian hornbill or great pied hornbill). Apart from birds,
the sanctuary is inhabited by animals like tigers, leopards, elephants, deer,
sloth bears, and more.
●
A unique attribute of this sanctuary is
that it is the only known place in the country which reports frequent sightings
of the extremely rare and elusive black panther.
Integration
with Anshi National Park:
●
The Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary is
contiguous with the Anshi National Park.
●
Together, they form the Dandeli-Anshi
Tiger Reserve, which was declared a Project Tiger Reserve in 2007 to focus on
the conservation of the endangered tiger
species.