Anshi national park

From Wild India

Table of contents

1 Introduction

2 Geography

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Introduction

Located in an eco-sensitive part of the Western Ghats, Anshi (250 sq km) is rich in rare species of flora and fauna. About 197 species of birds have been spotted here. Anshi was earlier a part of the Dandeli Sanctuary. The park lies in the Western Ghats, adjoining the state of Goa. To its north is the Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary. There are no tourist facilities available in the park yet.

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Geography

It is located in Uttara Kannada district from 14°54' to 15°07'N latitude and 74°16' to 74°30'E longitude. Altitude varies from 27 m to 927 m, and temperatures from 15°C to 35°C. Average annual rainfall is about 4700 mm. It is interesting to know that despite the high rainfall in this area, waterholes go dry very early in summer. This is because the soil is very lateritic with very minimal water-holding capacity. To overcome the scarcity of water for animals in the park, a bore well pumps water into a man-made tank.

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Flora

The area has semi-evergreen and evergreen forests. Some common tree species in the area are Callophyllum tomentosa, C. wightianum, Garcina cambogia, G. morealla, Knema attenuata, Hopea wightiana, Tetrameles nudiflora, Alstonia scholaris, Flacourtia montana, Machilus marcrantha, Carallia brachiata, Artocarpus hitsuta, A laoocha and Cinnamomum zeylanicum.

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Fauna

Mammals in the park include elephant, gaur, wild pig, sambar, spotted deer, barking deer, mouse deer, common langur, bonnet macaque, slender loris, tiger, jungle cat, leopard (black panther), leopard cat, small Indian civet, common mongoose, jackal, wild dog, sloth bear, malabar giant squirrel, giant flying squirrel and porcupine. King cobra, python, cobra, rat snake, viper and krait are among the snakes that inhabit the park. The king cobra is commonly seen in the Gund range. Interesting birds include the great pied hornbill, malabar pied hornbill and ceylon frogmouth.

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