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Site description (2004 baseline):

The Kumbalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary in the Aravalli ranges is situated in the hilly tracts of Rajsamand, Udaipur and Pali districts. These wooded tracts formed the dividing line between the erstwhile states of Mewar and Marwar and were favourite hunting grounds of the rulers of these states. Kumbalgarh commands a spectacular view of the vast sandy plains of Marwar in the west, the northeast to southwest streak of parallel ranges of the Aravalli in the middle, and the undulating plains of Mewar in the east. The Sanctuary also forms a dividing line between the two major watersheds of Rajasthan. To its eastern side is found the source of the River Banas, which flows into the Bay of Bengal routed through the rivers Chambal, Yamuna and Ganga. The rainwater on the western slope forms small rivers including Sukdi, Mithadi, Sumer and Kot which form the tributaries of River Luni that flows out in the Great Rann of Kutch. The Sanctuary is well known for the presence of a large population of Grey Junglefowl Gallus sonneratii and Grey Wolf Canis lupus. It is also one of the best protected forests left in the Aravalli mountains. The Sanctuary is connected by road to Udaipur (75 km), Rajsamand (40 km) and Pali (80 km). The nearest railway station is Falna.

AVIFAUNA: The Sanctuary, with perennial waterbodies and streams supports dense forest cover. More than 200 bird species are reported (Sharma 2002, Chhangani 2002). The threatened bird species are Sarus Crane Grus antigone and Indian Skimmer Rynchops albicollis, reported by Sharma (2002) and Chhangani (2002) respectively. Kumbalgarh is an excellent representative of the natural vegetation and avifauna of the Aravalli. Twenty five out of 59 bird species of Biome-11 (Indo-Malayan Tropical Dry Zone) are found here. The site was selected on the basis of criteria A3 (Biome restricted assemblages), although some threatened species are also found.

OTHER KEY FAUNA: Among the large mammals, the Sanctuary harbours Leopard Panthera pardus, Sloth Bear Melursus ursinus, Wild Boar Sus scrofa, Sambar Cervus unicolor, Spotted Deer Axis axis, Chinkara Gazella bennettii, Four-horned antelope Tetracerus quadricornis and Bluebul Boselaphus tragocamelus Common Langur Semnopithecus entellus is a commonly seen primate of the Sanctuary. Grey Wolf Canis lupus, Golden Jackal C. aureus, Hyena Hyaena hyaena, Indian Fox Vulpes bengalensis, Pangolin Manis crassicaudata, Porcupine Hystrix indica, Mongoose Herpestes edwardsii and Black-naped Hare Lepus nigricollis are the more commonly observed smaller mammals.

MAIN THREATS: Grazing; Poaching; Illegal felling of trees; Agricultural expansion; Human settlements; Firewood collection; Man-animal conflicts; Paucity of water; Invasive species (Lantana camara and Prosopis chilensis).

Due to village settlements in adjacent areas, activities such as collection of firewood, illegal felling of trees and poaching are known to occur inside the Sanctuary area. Strict patrolling is needed to prevent such activities. Awareness campaigns are required to control poaching and killing of animals. The Muchalla Maharaj Temple Trust is helping the Forest Department to look after the injured animals inside the Sanctuary, as well as the other wild fauna. The Trust has opened a small hospital to provide medical aid to the animals in and around the Sanctuary. The site has very rich flora with dense cover in the core area, which has not yet been studied due to its remote undulating landscape. This area needs field surveys to document the fauna and flora. Rodgers and Panwar (1988) have strongly recommended establishment of at least a 20,000 ha national park as core area to prevent biotic pressures, and also have important water conservation benefits locally.

Key contributors: Satish K. Sharma, Raza Tehsin, Satya P. Mehra, and Sarita Sharma..

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Kumbalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary (India). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/kumbalgarh-wildlife-sanctuary-iba-india on 22/11/2024.