Kaveri In Full Swing 20 Aug 2009

Seen from Mutthathi Kaveri in full swing. Flanking Kaveri River both the sides you can see Terminalia arjuana in groups and also Tamarind. I could enjoy black-violet Jamun Fruits of Eugenia Jamboolana trees which are also found in numbers decorated in a line along the river bank.

Deer Plenty in Basavanbetta Valley

While on way to Basavanbetta Top of the mountain deer herds in plenty can be seen. Entering Muthathi from Sathanur we can clearly see the Bandalli Gudda top of the mountain. Road to Basavanbetta Top is highly damaged & Forest IB is also not well maintained.

Top of the Basavan Betta Mountain Kanakapura Range

Having halted night at Soligere Forest Guest House, it was lush green all over with a panchromatic view of vast stretch of Kaveri River. While cruising through coppice shoots of old salvaged teak trees infested with variety of flowering shrubs make scene luscious. Butea monosperma galore around ponds. Hefty Tamarind & Neem Trees could be seen amid Anogeissus & Zizyphus . Ground floor grasses were plenty. I followed one old coupe road which was treked by Sambhar & Elephants too.

Hanur Range A Heaven for Cheetals 20 Aug 09

Cheetal (Axis axis), also known as chital deer, spotted deer or axis deer is a deer which commonly inhabits wooded regions of Sri Lanka, Nepal,Bangladesh, and India. It is the most common deer species in Indian forests. Its coat is reddish fawn, marked with white spots, and its underparts are white. Its antlers, which it sheds annually, are usually three-pronged and curve in a shape and may extend to 75 cm (2.5 ft). It has a protracted breeding season due in part to the tropical climate, and births can occur throughout the year. For this reason, males do not have their antler cycles in synchrony and there are some fertile females at all times of the year. Males sporting hard antlers are dominant over those in velvet or those without antlers, irrespective of their size and other factors. A chital stands about 90 cm (3 ft) tall at the shoulder and masses about 85 kg (187 lb). Lifespan is around 20-30 years. After having lunch from Galibore I descended in Jungle Lodges Resort Vehicle with Mr Nemith Manager and crossed the Kaveri River at Basavankada Ferry and had cup of tea with Anti Poaching Staff of Basavankada at 3.30 PM. Thereafter I went towards right bank of the Kaveri upto Galibore Camp I saw almost 6 herds of Spotted Deer moving opposite the river towards Chikkailur reserve forests. Spotted deer were shy and hiding themselves away in bushes.

Globose berry or Karonda Along Kaveri River

Karonda is a medium-sized, wild, thorny shrub growing gregariously in scrub forests of its habitat from an altitude of 300 to 1800 m. It has a greenish white bark on young shoots and greyish brown on mature stems. The spines are straight and 1-3 cm long. At times, these are also forked. Its leaves are opposite, generally 2-3 cm x 1-1.5 cm, and ovate. They are green with shine above and a dull green shade below. Old leaves keep shedding throughout the year. New buds also keep sprouting through the year, though more during spring.Karonda flowers from February to June. The flowers are white and scented. The corymbose cymes appear at the ends of twigs. Children at times suck the base of the calyx of individual florets for it has traces of nectar.The fruit is a globose berry. It appears from March to August and ripens between May and December. Raw fruit is green while the ripe one is purple to shining black, depending on the state of ripening. These are full of sweet, though slightly acidic, juice when fully ripe.

Abrus precatorius in plenty along the kaveri river

Abrus precatorius, known commonly as Jequirity, Crab's Eye, Rosary Pea, 'John Crow' Bead, Precatory bean, Indian Licorice, Saga Tree or Giddee Giddee(Abrus precatorius), is a legume with long, pinnate-leafleted leaves. It is also known as Gunja in Sanskrit and some Indian languages. Their seeds are often used as beads and in percussion instruments. The seed contains the toxic poison abrin. The plant is native to Indonesia and grows in tropical and subtropical areas of the world where it has been introduced. It has a tendency to become weedy and invasive where it has been introduced.the seeds of Abrus precatorius are much valued in native jewelry for their bright coloration. The third of the bean with the hilum (attachment scar) is black, and the rest is bright red, suggesting a ladybug. Jewelry-making with jequirity seeds is dangerous, and there have been cases of death by a finger-prick while boring the seeds forbeadwork. However, it has long been a symbol of love in China.

Eco Tourism at Hoganekal Falls Gopinatham at Kaveri River on TN Border

Watch Tower under constructi0n right in the middle of the Kaveri River at Gopinatham village of Old Mysore in Karnataka. Eco Tourism Infrastructure is coming up very fast on the once disputed site between Karnataka & Tamilnadu. Now number of small public utility buildings are coming up like changing room, staircase to get down to river boats.

Rural Employment & Habitat Improvement in Kaveri Wild Life Sanctuary

National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme has just recently been launched since last one month only. Almost 500 mandays are being made in various Gram Panchayats in all the three Ramnagar, Mandya and Chamrajnagar Districts. SC STs and Poorest of the poor and specifically women members are being given emphasis in the rural employement. Habitat Improvement like Tank Desiltation, Lantana Uprootal, Weed Removal around the Water Holes, View Lines and Boundary Consolidation like Elephant Proof Trench repair etc works are being taken up. There is target to produce almost 1000 manday daily. Job Cards have been issued, Bank Accounts have been opened and NMRs are being created for carrying out the physical repair and maintenance of the works of improvement of the habitat of the wild animals in the Kaveri Wild Life Sanctuary.

Lofty Terminalia arjuna Trees Flanking Cauvery River

Terminalia arjuna is a medicinal plant of the genus Terminalia, widely used by Ayurvedic physicians for its curative properties in organic/functional heart problems including angina, hypertension and deposits in arteries. According to Ayurvedic texts it also very useful in the treatment of any sort of pain due a fall, ecchymosis and sexually transmitted diseases such as gonorrhoea. Arjuna bark (Terminallia arjuna) is thought to be beneficial for the heart.In this research, they found that powdered extract of the above drug provided very good results to the people suffering from Coronary heart diseases.

Research suggests that Terminalia is useful in alleviating the pain of angina pectoris and in treating heart failure and coronary artery disease. Terminalia may also be useful in treating hypercholesterolemia. The cardioprotective effects of terminalia are thought to be caused by theantioxidant nature of several of the constituent flavonoids and oligomeric proanthocyanidins, while positive inotropic effects may be caused by the saponin glycosides.In addition to its cardiac effects, Terminalia may also be protective against gastric ulcers. Along the river course on the bank Terminalia arjuna tree canopy can be recognized from the satellite imagery also.

Goat & Sheep Grazing Observed Abundantly Throghout The Sanctuary

Goat & Sheep are known for their nature of browsing various herbs and shrubs including different grasses. Palatable grasses which the wild animals like spotted dear, sambhar, barking deers and other herbivores graze are exhausted by these livestock. Herbivores are limited in their feeding ability by either time or resources. Animals that are time limited, meaning they have a limited amount of time to consume the food they need, use a feeding strategy of grazing and browsing, while those animals that are resource limited, meaning that they are limited in the type of food they eat, use a selective feeding strategy. Grazers/browsers tend to be either very large herbivores that need to consume a lot of food in order to maintain their metabolism, or herbivores that have a very short amount of time to eat as much as possible before reproducing, like many generalist insects.

Abode of Indian Otter & Monitor Lizard

Monitor lizards also known as Huda genus Varanus, are members of the family Varanidae. Varanus is a group of carnivorous lizards which includes the heaviest living lizard, the Komodo dragon and the crocodile monitor which is the longest lizard in the world.

Monitor lizards are generally large reptiles, although some can be as small as 12 centimetres in length. They have long necks, powerful tails and claws, and well-developed limbs. Most species are terrestrial, but arboreal and semi-aquatic monitors are also known. Almost all monitor lizards are carnivorous, althoughVaranus prasinus and Varanus olivaceus are also known to eat fruit.They are oviparous, laying from 7 to 37 eggs, which they often cover with soil or protect in a hollow tree stump.Along the river bank & through the streams these can be seen in plenty in Cauvery Wild Life Sanctuary. Otters are fish eating mammals. They are very active chasing prey in the water or searching the beds of rivers, lakes or the seas. Most species live beside water, entering it mainly to hunt or travel, otherwise spending much of their time on land to avoid their fur becoming waterlogged. The sea otter does live in the sea for most of its life.

Otters are playful animals and appear to engage in various behaviors for sheer enjoyment. Different species vary in their social structure, with some being largely solitary, while others live in groups – in a few species these groups may be fairly large.

Grizzled Giant Squirrel

Grizzled Giant Squirrel (Ratufa macroura), is a large species of squirrel found in the forests of southern India. The species is found in patches of riverine forest along the Kaveri River in south India, in hill forests towards the southern tip of peninsular India and in parts of Sri Lanka. The name of one of the Sri Lankan races is R. macroura dandolena from the Sinhalese name of dandolena. The IUCN lists the species as near threatened due to habitat loss and hunting.With a head and body length of 25-45 cm (the tail is about the same or more) it is the smallest of the giant squirrels found in India. It has small rounded ears with tufts visible. Spotted deers can be seen adjoing to river strolling here and there in herds.

Cauvery Wild Life Sanctuary Bangalore

Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary: It is spread across the districts of Bangalore, Mysore and Mandya and extends over 527 km². Dry deciduous trees found in this park like Terminaliaarjuna, Hardwikia banata, Albizia amara & Syzgium cumini. Animal species found in this park include leopard, elephant, sambar and common otter. This is also one of the last refuge of the highly endangered grizzled giant squirrel in Karnataka. Bird species include billed malkoha, white-browed bulbul and pigmy woodpecker. This sanctaury is also famous for mahseer fish. Right from the Hanur to Palar River Sangam the Sanctuary streches over around 60 Km where the Kaveri River enters the Tamilnadu. Presently there is immense anthropogenic pressure over the wild life sanctuary from the surrounding villages like Hanur, Shagyam, Kaudalli, Koratti hosur, Dantalli, etc. Due to situation of the adjoining forest livestock rearing is in vogue in almost all the villages. Number of Shepherds are move inside the Wild Life Sanctuary who indulge in hunting and poaching of various other wild animals.