Koundinya Wildlife Sanctuary

Koundinya Wildlife Sanctuary

 #GS-03 Biodiversity Conservation

For Prelims

Koundinya Wildlife Sanctuary:

  • Koundinya Wildlife Sanctuary is the only sanctuary in Andhra Pradesh with a population of Asian elephants.
  • The sanctuary is covered by southern tropical dry deciduous and thorn forests.
  • Some of the important flora consists of Albizia amara, Acacia, Lagerstroemia, Ficus, bamboo, and a species which is a regeneration of Santalum album.
  • Apart from Elephant, some of the animals found in the sanctuary are: sloth bear, panther, cheetal, chowsingha, sambar, porcupine, wild boar, jungle cat, jackal, jungle fowl, starred tortoise and slender loris.
  • The sanctuary is situated in region where the Kolar Plateau ends and slopes down into the plains of Tamil Nadu creating many valleys and ghats.

Asian Elephant:

  • IUCN Status: Endangered
  • Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule I
  • Threat: Habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation.

African elephants are listed as “vulnerable” and Asian elephants as “endangered” in IUCN Red List of threatened species.

Initiatives:

Project Elephant:
  • It was launched by the Government of India in 1992 as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme for the protection of elephants, their habitats and corridors.
Asian Elephant Specialist Group (AsESG):
  • It is an integral part of the Species Survival Commission (SSC) of the IUCN to promote the long-term conservation of Asia’s elephants and wherever possible, the recovery of their populations to viable levels.
Gaj Yatra:
  • It is a nationwide awareness campaign led by Wildlife Institute of India (WII)  to celebrate elephants and highlight the necessity of securing elephant corridors.
Monitoring the Killing of Elephants (MIKE):
  • The Monitoring the Killing of Elephants (MIKE) programme launched in 2003 is an international collaboration that tracks trends in information related to the illegal killing of elephants from across Africa and Asia, to monitor effectiveness of field conservation efforts.

Source “Koundinya sanctuary sees a massive shift as all-female herd from Tamil Nadu enters Chittoor