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Site description (2004 baseline):

The Bori Wildlife Sanctuary gets its name from the River Bori. It lies on the southern slopes of the Satpura Hills in Hoshangabad district. It has the distinction of being the first forest reserve declared in India (Pai 1993). Mahadeo Ranges, which form a part of Satpura National Park and Pachmarhi Sanctuary, bind this Sanctuary to the north, while the River Tawa forms its western and southwestern boundaries. Several streams and rivulets of the Bori and Sonbhadra rivers provide water inside the Sanctuary. The terrain varies from steep slopes in the east to plain or undulating land in the west. According to Champion and Seth (1968), Bori has South Indian Moist Deciduous Forest, sub-type Moist Teak Forests. It has many riparian forests along the streams. This area lies in the Teak and Sal transition zone which makes it very interesting from the faunal point of view.Bori Wildlife Sanctuary was intensively worked for Teak and Bamboo till 1991.

AVIFAUNA: More than 230 species of birds are reported from this IBA (Prachi Mehta pers. comm. 2003). Both the Critically Endangered Gyps species have been recorded from this IBA. BirdLife International (undated) has identified 59 species of birds present in Biome-11 (Indo-Malayan Tropical Dry Zone). In this IBA, 35 Biome-11 species are seen, perhaps the highest number known to occur in any IBA in central India. Besides Biome-11, three species of Biome-10 (Indian Peninsular Tropical Moist Zone) are also found. They are Malabar Pied Hornbill Anthracoceros coronatus, Malabar Whistling Thrush Myiophonus horsfieldii and Indian Scimitar Babbler Pomatorhinus horsfieldii. Bori has both Grey Gallus sonneratii and Red Gallus gallus Junglefowls, which are reported to hybridize in this area (Ali and Ripley 1987).

OTHER KEY FAUNA: Almost all large and small mammals of central India are found in Bori. Till now, 25 species of mammals have been recorded, from Tiger Panthera tigris, Leopard P. pardus, to Mouse Deer or Chevrotain Moschiola meminna. Three species of antelopes are found: Nilgai Boselaphus tragocamelus, Four-horned Antelope Tetracerus quadricornis and Chinkara Gazella bennettii. Bori is also famous for its herds of wild Gaur Bos frontalis.

MAIN THREATS: Poaching; Livestock grazing; Lopping of trees; Human habitation in the marginal area; Firewood collection; Unsustainable exploitation of forest resources.

About 5,000 cattle from the surrounding 24 villages graze inside the Sanctuary. Reclamation of land around Bunglapura has led to the destruction of large areas of virgin forest.

Key contributors: Koustubh Sharma and Prachi Mehta.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Bori Wildlife Sanctuary (India). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/bori-wildlife-sanctuary-iba-india on 26/12/2024.