Nagarhole National Park


Nagarahole National Park is a national park located in Kodagu district and Mysore district in Karnataka, India. This park was declared the 37th Tiger Reserve of India in 2003. It is part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. The Western Ghats Nilgiri Sub-Cluster of, including all of Nagarhole National Park, is under consideration by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee for selection as a World Heritage Site. The park has rich forest cover, small streams, hills, valleys and waterfalls, and populations of Bengal tiger, gaur, Indian elephant, Indian leopard, chital and Sambar deer.

Geography

The park ranges the foothills of the Western Ghats spreading down the Brahmagiri hills and south towards Kerala state. It lies between the latitudes 12°15'37.69"N and longitudes 76°17'34.4"E. The park covers located to the north-west of Bandipur National Park. The Kabini reservoir separates the two parks. Elevation of the park ranges from.
Its water sources include the Lakshmmantirtha river, Sarati Hole, Nagar Hole, Balle Halla, Kabini River, four perennial streams, 47 seasonal streams, four small perennial lakes, 41 artificial tanks, several swamps, Taraka Dam and the Kabini reservoir.

Climate and ecology

The park receives an annual rainfall of.

History

The park derives its name from nagara, meaning snake and hole, referring to streams. The park was an exclusive hunting reserve of the kings of the Wodeyar dynasty, the former rulers of the Kingdom of Mysore. It was set up in 1955 as a wildlife sanctuary. It was upgraded into a national park in 1983. The park was declared a tiger reserve in 2003 and its area was increased to. In 2012, the reserve was expanded to a total area of.

Flora

The dry deciduous forest harbour crocodile bark, crêpe myrtle, Indian kino, Grewia tiliifolia and axlewood ''.
Other tree species include golden shower, flame-of-the-forest and clumping bamboo.

Fauna

Mammals

The big predators in the park are Bengal tiger, Indian leopard, dhole, Indian jackal and sloth bear. Large herbivores include Indian elephant, gaur, sambar deer, chital, barking deer, four-horned antelope and wild boar. Arboreal mammals include gray langur, bonnet macaque, red slender loris, red giant flying squirrel, Indian giant flying squirrel and Indian giant squirrel. Small predators include jungle cat, leopard cat, small Indian civet, Asian palm civet, Indian grey mongoose, Indian brown mongoose, stripe-necked mongoose and Eurasian otter. Other mammals include Indian spotted chevrotain, Indian hare, Indian pangolin and Indian crested porcupine.

Birds

Over 250 species of birds live in Nagarhole National Park. Besides the enormous variety of woodland birds, there are large congregations of waterfowl in the Kabini river. Birds range from blue-bearded bee-eater to the more common osprey, herons and ducks. Recognised as an Important Bird Area, the park has over 270 species of birds, including the white-rumped vulture, lesser adjutant, greater spotted eagle and Nilgiri wood pigeon. Near threatened species like Oriental darter, black-headed ibis, grey-headed fish eagle also occur. Endemic species include the blue-winged parakeet, Malabar grey hornbill, white-bellied treepie, white-cheeked barbet, Indian scimitar babbler, Malabar trogon and Malabar whistling thrush. Birds seen in drier regions include painted bush quail, Sirkeer malkoha, ashy prinia, Indian robin, Indian peafowl and yellow-footed green pigeon.

Reptiles and amphibians

Common reptiles include the mugger crocodile, Asian vine snake, Indian wolf snake, Oriental ratsnake, bamboo pit viper, Russell's viper, common krait, Indian python, Bengal monitor. Amphibians include Chunam tree frog, green pond frog, golden bullfrog and Asian common toad.

Insects

The insect biodiversity of Nagarhole National Park includes over 96 species of dung beetles and 60 ant species. Unusual species of ants that have been identified, including the jumping ants, such as Harpegnathos saltator. The ant species Tetraponera rufonigra may be useful as a marker for the forest health because these ants feed on termites and are abundant in places where there are many dead trees. Identified dung beetles include Onthophagus dama, Heliocopris dominus and Onthophagus pactolus.

Tribal and native inhabitants

The Jenu Kurubas, primary inhabitants of this forest area, are a tribe in Karnataka state and their traditional practices and rituals are slowly disappearing. The government is restricting their entry inside the National park and forest due to multiple factors including but not limited conservation efforts and bringing the community to the mainstream society. The Ministry of Home Affairs identified the Jenu Kuruba and the Koraga as tribal groups in Karnataka. The Jenu Kurubas are traditional food gatherers and honey collectors. In Kannada, the term 'Jenu' means 'honey' and the term 'kuruba' generally mean 'shepherd'. It is derived from the Kannada word 'kuri' which means 'sheep'. The term kuruba is also associated with non-shepherd communities. They speak a variant form of Kannada commonly known as Jenu-nudi within their family kin group, and Kannada with others. They use Kannada script. According to the Census of 1981, the population of Jenu Kuruba community is 34,747 out of which 17,867 are male and 16,880 are female.

Relocation efforts

In the last decade there has been enormous activity undertaken both by the Government and NGOs to relocate tribal people to the periphery of the forests. The relocation efforts are part of a larger focus to conserve the existing tiger population and elephant habitat, which were under serious threat due to change in lifestyles of the tribal residents within the forests. There has been much resistance to relocation efforts from the tribal groups. Many schools and houses have been built with basic amenities like lighting, hospitals and roads to support the relocated tribal population.

Threats and conservation efforts

Threats to the national park come from a large-scale cutting of sandalwood and teak trees. Timber smuggling, especially sandalwood smuggling, happens quite extensively here. Timber felling has been reported from plantation areas in Kollihadi, Vadodara Modu, Tattikere in Veerahosanahalli, and Mettiupe in Kalahari. Other places where timber felling has been reported include Arekatti, Badrikatte, Bidurukatte, Veerana Hosahalli, and Marhigodu ranges. In July 2002, hundreds of trees were cut down in the Veeranahosalli range. A study carried out between 1996 and 1997 revealed that hunting was the biggest threat to wildlife in Kudremukh and Nagarhole National Parks. The survey carried out on 49 actives and 19 retired hunters revealed that 26 species of wildlife were hunted at an average intensity of 216 hunter days per month per village. As much as 48% of the hunters reported hunting for the 'thrill'. The study showed that in Nagarhole, 16 mammal species weighing over 1 kg were regularly hunted with shotguns and also by traditional methods used by tribal communities. Poaching of birds and other mammals is another serious issue. A high number of elephant deaths have been reported from this park, with nearly 100 elephants dying between 1991–92 and 2004–05 in the Kodagu and Hunsur Forest Division. Elephants are killed for their ivory. A study carried out by Wildlife First! found that nearly 77 elephants were reported dead between 1 January 2000 and 31 October 2002. Another study carried out by the Institute for Natural Resources, Conservation, Education, Research and Training in 2002 revealed that as many as seven elephants had been killed earlier that year.
A report submitted by the Project Tiger Steering Committee stated that barely 25% of the park's staff were involved in vigilance work, thus putting the park at high risk of both, poaching and tree felling. Irregular payment to the forestry staff has been reported in both Bandipur and Nagarhole National Parks and there have also been reports of improper use of project funds. In January 2012, there was a catastrophic forest fire that destroyed over of forest. Huge trees were reduced to cinder. Burnt remains of snakes, monitor lizards, giant Malabar squirrels lay scattered on the charred remains of what was once a verdant patch of moist-deciduous forest. Forest fires and seasonal droughts coupled with water shortage have caused many wild animals to migrate to other greener spaces.
In 1997, tribal activist groups won public interest litigation in the Karnataka High Court to halt the setting up of a resort called the Gateway Tusker Lodge. With nearly 125 villages present inside the park, NGOs actively working to protect the tribal communities include, Living Inspiration for Tribals, Coorg Organisation of Rural Development, DEED, FEDINA-VIKASA and Nagarhole Budakattu Janara Hakkustapana Samithi. In 2000, the first relocation attempts initiated by a World Bank-funded eco-development project of the local tribal population was begun with 50 tribal people. The relocated families were given land possession certificates for five acres of land and houses at Veeranahosalli, near Hunsur. The state and union government planned to relocate 1,550 tribal families at a cost of 155 million.

Literature

  • K K Gurung & Raj Singh: Field Guide to the Mammals of the Indian Subcontinent, Academic Press, San Diego,
  • William Riley, laura Riley: Nature's Strongholds. The World's Great Wildlife Reserves. Princeton University Press, 2005.
  • Kazmierczak, K. 2000. A field guide to the birds of India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and the Maldives. OM Book Service, New Delhi, India. 352 pp.
  • Menon, V. 2003. A field guide to Indian mammals. DK Pvt Ltd and Penguin Book India Ltd. 201 pp.