Parambikulam

Parambikulam (10°28′N 76°50′E ) is located in the Palakkad district of Kerala state, south India. Established in 1973, the Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary is in the Sungam range of hills, sprawling over 285 km². It is at a distance of 135 km from Palakkad town and is situated adjacent to the Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary in Tamil Nadu. The Western Ghats, Anamala Hills Sub-Cluster, including all of Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary has been considered for selection as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Besides being an abode of elephants, wild boar, sambar, gaur, crocodiles and a few tigers and panthers, Parambikulam has a rich diversity of flora and fauna. Trekking in the forest is allowed with prior permission. Boating is available at the reservoir.

Facts

Located adjacent to the Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary, the 285 km² stretch of forest known as the Parambikulam Sanctuary is one of Kerala’s prime wildlife reserves. Parambikulam lies in the Anamala Hills, south of the Palghat Gap in the Western Ghats. The area is hilly and rocky, drained by several rivers, including the Parambikulam, the Sholayar and the Thekkady.

Thickly forested with stands of Bamboo, Sandalwood, Rosewood and Teak, the sanctuary has some marshy land and scattered patches of grassland. Parambikulam was once home to some of south India’s finest stands of Teak. However, most of them have now been replaced by Teak plantations. Little remains of the original Teak forests, other than the famous Kannimara teak tree, allegedly the largest tree in Asia. It is located about 5 km from Thunakadavu. Parambikulam wildlife sanctuary was declared as a tiger reserve on 19/2/2010.

Visitor Information

Visitors are allowed into Parambikulam between 7 am and 6 pm. No vehicles may leave the park after 6.30 pm. The entry fee is a paltry Rs. 0.50. Depending on the vehicle, the entry fee can be between Rs. 5 (for light vehicles) and Rs. 10 (for heavy vehicles).

Permits are issued by the Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) at Thiruvananthapuram, the Field Director, Project Tiger at Kottayam and the Divisional Forest Officer at Parambikulam.

There is a tree-house in the Reserve Forest area in Thoonakkadavu, the headquarters of Parambikkulam. It has to be booked in advance. The Rest Houses of the State Forest Department at Thoonakkadavu, Thellikkal and Elathode offer comfortable lodging.

Parambikulam is open throughout the year, but should be avoided during the monsoon. Between June and August, the monsoon rains lash Parambikulam, making hillsides unstable and causing slush, mosquitoes, dripping roofs and other inconveniences.

Fauna

The sanctuary has a rich diversity of animal life including: 39 species of mammals, 16 species of amphibians, 268 species of birds, 61 species of reptiles, 47 species of fish, 124 species of butterflies and more than a thousand species of insects.

• Important mammals include: lion-tailed Macaque, Nilgiri Tahr, elephant, tiger, panther, Wild boar, Sambar deer, Bonnet Macaque, Nilgiri Langur, Sloth Bear as well as Nilgiri Marten Small Travancore Flying Squirrel and Gaur, the mascot mammal of Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary.
• Reptiles of high importance in Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary include: King cobra, Kerala sheildtail, Travancore kukri snake, Travancore wolf snake, Cochin cane turtle, Travancore tortoise, Indian day gecko and Western Ghats flying lizard. Others include Indian rock python, Malabar pit viper, South Indian forest ground gecko, South Indian rock lizard, Mountain skink, Mugger crocodile, Varanus, Pond terapin, chameleon and the a lot of snakes.
• Of the recorded species in the sanctuary, seven are listed as endangered and 17 are endemic to Western Ghats.
• 268 bird species have been recorded in the sanctuary. 134 species are listed as rare and 18 species are endemic to Western Ghats such as Lesser adjutant stork, Grey-headed Fish-eagle, Peninsular bay owl, Broad-billed roller and Great pied hornbill. Other birds include Darter, Little Cormorant, Black eagle, Black-capped kingfisher, Great Indian hornbill and Black woodpecker.
• There are 124 species of butterflies recorded in the sanctuary of which 34 are rare and endemic.
• Amphibians living in the sanctuary include Ridged toad (Bufo parietalis), Common Asiatic toad (Bufo melanostictus), Large wrinkled frog (Nyctibatrachus major), Small wrinkled frog (Nyctibatrachus minor), Rana tigerina, Rana keralensis, Rana cyanophlyctis, Rana leptodactyla, Rana limnocharis, Rana beddomil, Rana semipalamata, Bicoloureol frog (Rana curtipes), Bronzed frog (Rana temporalis), Reddish burrowing (frog Tomopterna rufescens), Parambikulam frog (Tomopterna parambikulamana), White-nosed bush frog (Philautus leucorhinus), White-spotted bush frog (Philautus chalzodes), Kerala warty frog (Limnonectes keralensis), Indian skipper frog (Euphlyetis cyanophlyctis), Limnonectes limnocharis, Beddome’s leaping frog (Indirana beddomii), Short webbed leaping frog (Indirana brachytarsus) and the Common frog (Micrixalus fuscus).

Flora

The Sanctuary has a variety of trees mainly Teak, Neem[Veppu], Sandalwood[Chandhana Maram] and Rosewood.

Nature Threats

In April 2007, a wild fire in parts of Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary and the adjoining Nelliampathi forests destroyed hundreds of acres of forest tracts and plantations. Fires were caused by unemployed firewatchers and honey gatherers.

There was also a lack of pre-monsoon rain in the area. Normally, the area gets rain between January and April. In 2007, however, there was only 4 mm of rain in January and after that there was no rain at all. Nelliampathi was facing an unprecedented drought. The temperature reached 34^oC in April when the average high is usually 26^oC.

Links

• http://www.parambikulam.org