BiogeographicalProvince-4.01.01(Malabar Rainforest)

Geographical Location- Situated 80km from Mysore City in Mysore District, on the border with Kerala to the south and Tamil Nadu to the west. The national park lies at the heart of an extensive forest at the confluence of the Western Ghats and Nilgiri Hills. 11°20'-11°40'N, 76°20'-76°32'E

Date and History of Establishment- Created a national park in 1974. Originally established as a sanctuary in the early 1930s with an area of 6,000ha. The sanctuary was elevated in status and enlarged to 80,300ha in 1941 and renamed Venugopal Wildlife Park after a temple. The national park is included in the proposed Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve (Basappanarar, 1983, 1985; Rodgers and Panwar, 1988; Sestiadti, 1986).

Area- 87,400ha, comprising a wilderness zone of 33,500ha, buffer zone of 43,400ha, tourism zone of 10,500ha and an administration zone of 100ha. Initially in 1974, the tiger reserve comprised 69,000ha of the national park; the remaining 18,400ha of the park came under Project Tiger in 1984. The park is contiguous to Nagarhole National Park (57,200ha), Mudumalai Sanctuary (32,100ha) and Wynad Sanctuary (34,400ha) (Rodgers and Panwar, 1988; Neginhal, 1974).

Land Tenure- State

Altitude- Ranges from 780m to 1,455m, at the top of Gopalswamy Betta (Basappanavar, 1985).

Physical Features- The terrain is undulating and broken by chains of hills, flat-topped hillocks and water-courses. The reserve is drained by the Kubini, Nugu and Moyar rivers and by the Bavali, Moolehole, Kekkanalla, and Marandi streams. The River Moyar has cut a picturesque gorge, known as Mysore Ditch, which is 260m deep (Neginhal, 1974). Underlying rocks are mainly metamorphic: gneiss, quartzite, mica, and hornblende schists are generally widespread. Igneous intrusions of granite and charnokite appear as out crops at high levels and in the
beds of water courses (Neginhal, 1974). The soil is usually a mixture of red laterites and black cotton soil, but the latter does not show a higher concentration of salt. In some places sandstones, semi-quartzites and shales are present (Jain and Sastry, 1983).

Climate- Cold, dry and wet seasons are distinguished. The cold season lasts from November to mid-February, and is followed by a dry season lasting until June. The wet season starts mid-June, though heavy pre-monsoon showers fall in April and May. Temperatures range between 18-24°C in November and 21-33°C in June (Sestiadti, 1986; Neginhal, 1973).

Vegetation- Three main types of vegetation are evident: scrub, in the eastern most portion; tropical dry deciduous forest, which occurs in the central portion, in areas of poor site quality, with shallow hard soil, flat floor and low rainfall; and tropical moist mixed deciduous forest in the western part. Scrub is characterised by stunted tree growth in areas of shallow hard soil with almost no humus. Shorea
talura, sandal Santalum album, Terminalia chebula, Anogeissus latifolia, Azadirachta indica, Chloroxylon swietenia, Acacia leucophloea, A. catechu, Stereospermum chelonoides, Zizyphus spp. Diospyros melanoxylon and Diospyros montana are predominant. Tropical dry deciduous forest comprises a top canopy of Anogeissus latifolia, Tectona grandis, Terminalia tomentosa, T. belerica, T. chebula, T. paniculata, Pterocarpus marsupium, Dalbergia latifolia, D. paniculata, rewia tillaefolia, Salmalia malabarica, Gmelina arborea, Albizzia odoratissima, Coreya arborea, Schleichera trijuga, Odina wodier, Stereospernum chelonoides, S. xylocarpum, Schrebera swietenoides, Butea monosperma, Emblica officinalis, Lagerstroemia parviflora and Gardenia spp., and a lower canopy of Vangueria spinosa, Randia dumetorum, R. uliginosa, Wrightia tinctoria, Zizyphus jujuba, Z. xylocarpus, Santalum album, Kydia calycina, Bridelia retusa, Shorea talura and Cassia fistula. Undergrowth is mainly grasses and Lantana sp. Tropical moist mixed deciduous forest, the most valuable forest of the state, used to feature extensive stands of bamboo (Bambusa arundinacea and Dendrocalamus strictus), much of which died off after flowering. Top canopy species include: Tectona grandis, Lagerstroemia lanceolata, Terminalia tomentosa, T. belerica, Dalbergia latifolia, Pterocarpus marsupium, Salmolia malabarica, Adina cardifolia, Grewas tilaefolia, Anogeissus latifolia, Stereospermum zylocarpum, Schleichera oleora, Albizzia odorotissima, Odina wodier, Ficus infectoria and other species of Ficus. The lower canopy consists of Embilica officinalis, Mallotus philippinensis, Kydia calycina, Butea monosperma, Zizyphus xylocarpus, Vangueria spinosa, Grewia tiliaefolia, Gmelina arborea, Bridelia retusa, Bauhinia racemosa, Cassia fistula, Cordia myxa and Randia dumetonum. The undergrowth comprises Kydia calycina young growth,
Solanum ferox, S. indicum, Helicteris isora, Hemidesmus indicus, Holarrhena antidysentrica, Lantana camara, Eupatorium dermodium sp. Fleminga sp., Veronia sp., and Grewia hirsuta (Neginhal, 1974).

Fauna- The park is very rich in wildlife. Two species of primate are present: common langur Presbytis entellus and bonnet macaque Macaca radiata. Among the larger carnivores are tiger Panthera tigris (E), leopard Panthera pardus (T), wild dog Cuon alpinus (V), jungle cat Felis chaus and sloth bear Melursus ursinus (I). Less common are striped hyena Hyaena hyaena and jackal Canis aureus. Large herbivores include Indian elephant Elephas maximus (E), of which there are approximately 700-800 animals (Salim et al., 1985), mouse deer Tragulus meminnia, Indian muntjac Muntiacus muntjak, spotted deer Cervus axis, sambar C. unicolor, four-horned antelope Tetracerus quadricornis, gaur Bos gaurus (V), and wild boar Sus scrofa. Indian porcupine Hystrix indica and Indian hare Lepus nigricollis are present. Reptiles include mugger crocodile Crocodylus palustris (V) in the Nugu River and python Python molurus (V). Over 180 bird species have been recorded, including peafowl Pavo cristatus and grey jungle-fowl Gallus sonneratii. These are listed in Neginhal (1974). Other details are given by Sharatchandra (1975), and Johnsingh (1983, 1984).

Cultural Heritage- The national park features many of the water tanks characteristic of this region, and also derelict temples and villages. There is an old fort and a famous ancient temple on Gopalswamy Betta, suggesting large-scale cultivation and occupation in the past.