IN226
Sri Lankamalleswara Wildlife Sanctuary


Site description (2004 baseline):

Site location and context
Sri Lankamalleswara Wildlife Sanctuary, situated in the Lankamalai Hill ranges, is about 30 km from Cuddapah. This sanctuary was declared mainly for the Critically Endangered Jerdon’s Courser Rhinoptilus bitorquatus after its rediscovery in 1986 (Bhushan 1986). The major types of forest in this Sanctuary are Southern Tropical Thorn and Southern Tropical Dry Deciduous (Champion and Seth 1968). The Sanctuary bears dry deciduous forest in the higher elevations to scrub forest in the plains. Major floristic components of the scrub forest are thorny species of Acacia, Zizyphus and Carissa, and non-thorny species of Cassia, Hardwickia and Anogeissus. The Red Sandal Pterocarpus santalinus, endemic to Andhra Pradesh, occurs here.

Key biodiversity

AVIFAUNA: Nearly 200 bird species are found in this Sanctuary (P. Jeganathan and A. R. Rahmani in prep.). The Critically Endangered Jerdon’s Courser was restricted to a small patch of scrub jungle within this Sanctuary. Recent studies reveal that this bird is found in three more localities within the Sanctuary (Jeganathan 2002). The Sri Lankamalleswara Wildlife Sanctuary has been selected on the basis of presence of a single species. It is a Secondary Area where a single Restricted Range species is found (Stattersfield et al. 1998).

OTHER KEY FAUNA: Although the Sanctuary was declared with the sole purpose of protecting the habitat of the Jerdon’s Courser, many other species have benefited, perhaps more than the target species! Leopard Panthera pardus, Dhole or Indian Wild Dog Cuon alpinus, Sloth Bear Melursus ursinus, Chital Axis axis, Sambar Cervus unicolor, Chinkara Gazella bennettii and Wild Boar Sus scrofa are seen in the forested areas. Even the Wolf Canis lupus has been sighted a couple of times since the year 2000 (P. Jeganathan pers. comm. 2001).

Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
MAIN THREATS: Quarrying on the hills; Developmental activities; Clearing the scrub jungle for lemon farms; Habitat alteration by introduction of exotic plants.

The major land use around the Sanctuary is agriculture, mainly for paddy, sunflower and cotton and in recent times sweet lime farming. Developmental activities such as construction of check dams, percolation ponds and trenching also carried on. The scrub jungle is being cleared to provide space for local people and for lemon farms, which is most alarming. Collection of fuel wood, illegal felling of trees, poaching of small animals and poisoning the water holes to kill deer and antelopes is known to occur in the Sanctuary.

Acknowledgements
Key contributor: Panchapakesan Jeganathan.


Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Sri Lankamalleswara Wildlife Sanctuary (India). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/sri-lankamalleswara-wildlife-sanctuary-iba-india on 23/11/2024.