CHIMMONY WILDLIFE SANCTUARY

 

CHIMMONY WILDLIFE SANCTUARY

 

GENERAL INFORMATION

Chimmony Wildlife Sanctuary lies within the geographical extremes of latitudes 10°24'N and 10°29'N and longitudes 76° 25'E and 76°33'E in Thrissur District of Kerala State. Mukundapuram Taluk within the administrative Jurisdiction of Northern Wildlife Circle, Palakkad. It was notified vide G.O.(P) No.259/84/AD dated 25-8-84 . The Sanctuary consists of parts of Kodassery Reserve with an extent of 85.067 Sq km. The legal status of the entire area is that of Wildlife Sanctuary declared under section 18 of Wildlife Protection Act. 1972 

The forest of the Chimmony Wildlife Sanctuary in the catchment of Chimmony Reservoir attain greatest conservation value by providing Irrigation water to thousands of hectares of agricultural land in Thrissur District. The area is a large and representative example of southern, Western Ghats Eco-system with geological biological, cultural and scenic attributes. Outstanding species diversity and endemic wealth with almost the entire south Indian Wildlife being represented here.

HISTORY

The Chimmony Wildlife Sanctuary was formed by diverting portions of Palappilly Range. Chalakudy Forest Division. The sanctuary consists of parts of Kodassery Reserve. Chimmony Wildlife Sanctuary was notified vide GO (P) 258/84/AD dated: 25/08/1984 was administered by the Chalakudy Forest Division till March 1988 From April 1988 to March 1991. the sanctuary was administered by Parambikulam Division. Again from April 1991 the administration was entrusted to Chalakudy Division. As per GO (RI) No 117/96 F&WL dated: 19/03/1996 the administrative control of the sanctuary was transferred to the newly formed Peechi Wildlife Division

 

GEOPHYSICAL FEATURES SUCH AS

a) Location

Chimmony Sanctuary is about 45 km South-East of Thrissur town. The

nearest Airport at Nedumbassery is 60 km away. The Sanctuary is accessible by

road through NH 47 by taking a diversion from Amballore junction on the way to

Chalakudy

b) Year of Establishment

1984
GO(P)No. 259/84/AD dated: 25/08/1984 

 C) Area

85.067 Sq.km

d) Altitude and Aspect

The terrain is hilly and the altitudinal range varies from 40 m above MSL at the Dam site at the low margin of the sanctuary to 1110 m above MSL  in the eastern end. The highest peak, Ponmudi (1116 m) of Chimmony Wildlife Sanctuary is located here.

Major peaks with altitude
Pundimudi                 - 1116 meter

Poomala                    - 1099 meter

Mangattu Komban - 854 meter

E) Annual rainfall

The sanctuary receives an average rainfall of about 2980 mm annually. The bulk of the annual rainfall is from the southwest monsoons. The Sanctuary also receives the northeast monsoons during October-November.

f)Temperature

The dry season is from December to May. The hottest months are March-April and May. The maximum temperature varies between 36°C
and 24'C. During December - January, the minimum temperature falls to
15°C

g)Climate

The sanctuary is blessed with copious rains, typical of the state, good sunlight and hot and humid weather. The northeast winds blowing through the Palakkad gap of Western Ghats have desiccating effect on forest.

MAJOR FOREST TYPES

The major forest type in the Sanctuary is semi evergreen forests followed by moist deciduous forests and patches of Evergreen forests restricted to higher reaches. Teak & Teak -elavu plantations are also present.

FLORA

Evergreen forests are found only in the higher reaches of the Sanctuary. Top canopy is dominated by the species like Palaquim ellipticum (Pali). Mesua ferrea (Nange), Cullenia exarillata (Vediplavu), Dipterocarpus indicus (Kalpine). Hopea parviflora (Kambakam) and Dysoxylum malabaricum (Vellagil). Predominant species found in the lower canopy are Aporosa lindleyana (Vetti), Canarium strictum (Thelly), Euodia roxburghiana (Nasagam) and Mallotus philippensis (Karukutty). Mainly comprises of Calamus rotang Calamus travancoricus, Laportea crenulata and Ochlandra wightii. The ground vegetation is mostly of Wild arrowroot. Curcuma spp. Strobilanthus sp. and Elettaria cardamomum .Semi-Evergreen Forests contain elements of both the evergreen and moist deciduous forests, the ground floor receives more light than in evergreen forests. The dominant species in the top canopy are Adina cordifolia (Manjakadambu), Bombax ceiba (Elavu), Cedrala toona (Chandana vembu). Sastom cromini (Njaval) and Lagerstroemia lanceolata (Venteak). Whereas the lower canopy consists of cinnamomum zeylanicum (dana), Ewiu roxburgia (Nasagam), and Mallotus philippensis (Karukutty). Species like Calamus rotang Calamus travancoricus, Laportea crenulata, Ochlantru wightil, Croton malaburica and Clerodendrum infortunatum constitute under growth and ground vegetation.
Moist deciduous forests occur in the lower elevation of the Sanctuary. The canopy remains leafless from March to May Adina cordifolia (Manjakadambu). Albizia procera (Karimthakara), Alstonia scholaris (Exam pala), Dalbergia latifolia (Rosewood), Lagerstroemia lanceolata (Venteak) and Xia xylocarpa Crolar the dominant species in the top canopy. The lower canopy is predominantly occupied by species like Bridelia retusa (Kayanni), Careya arborea (Pezhu). Cassia fistula (Konna) and Dillenia pentagyna (Malampunna). The under growth and ground vegetation consists of Bamboosa arundinacea, Clerodendrum infortunatum, Glycosmis pentaphylla, Helicteres isora, Holarrhena antidysenterica, Lantana camara. Acacia indica, Bauhinia vahlii and Calycopteris floribunda

FAUNA

Species of conservation important like Lion tailed macaque, Nilgiri Langur. tiger and Elephant are present in the sanctuary .Chimmony Sanctuary is having rich Avifauna .Survey of birds of Chimmony was done by 'Nature Education Society, Thrissur (NESTI collaboration with KFRI and Kerala Forest Department during March 1992 The study recorded 160 species of birds of these 22 species were migrants. The birds observed in the area include rare ones, viz. Rufus turtledove. Nilgiri wood pigeon, Ceylon frogmouth, Black crested baza, Grey headed fishing eagle, Bonnelli's cagle, Indian scops owl, Great Indian hornbill, Great black woodpecker and Grey headed bulbul.
The sighting of Rufous turtle dove, Ceylon frogmouth and the nesting of Brown flycatcher deserve special mention. Rufus turtledove is not included in the Birds of Kerala' (Salim Ali 1969). Ceylon frogmouth is a rare resident of evergreen forests of Western Ghats. The nesting of Brown flycatcher in Kerala is also very rare. Chimmony Sanctuary is an abode of reptiles. Of these 6 species viz Indotestudo foresteris, Draco dussumieri. Calotes rouxi, Calotes ellioti. Cnemaspis wynadensis and Ristella beddomei are endemic to the Western Ghats. Rare reptiles. Cane turtle and King cobra are also reported from the Sanctuary, Other important species of conservation importance are Chameleon Python and Cobra. Detailed study of reptilian fauna of the Sanctuary is not done so far

SEASON FOR VISIT

September to January is preferable, but the sanctuary can be visited throughout the year and all the facilities are available in other seasons also