34-622: The Biligirirangana Hills or Biligirirangan Hills (as referred to in biology and geology) is a hill range situated in Chamarajanagar District in south-western Karnataka , at its border with Tamil Nadu (Erode District) in South India . The area is called Biligiri Ranganatha Swamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary or simply BRT Wildlife Sanctuary. It is a protected reserve under the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 . Being close to
68-410: A sex ratio of 989 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 61.43%. 17.14% of the population lives in urban areas. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 25.42% and 11.78% of the population respectively. The district has a high percentage of Scheduled Castes, with a population of 259,000, making up a quarter of the district's population. Having a large percentage of forest cover
102-614: A close affinity to the Western Ghats. The Biligiris are charnockite hills, covered with tropical dry broadleaf forest , part of the South Deccan Plateau dry deciduous forests ecoregion. The forests range from scrub forests at lower elevations, degraded by over-use, to the tall deciduous forests typical of the ecoregion, to stunted shola forests and montane grasslands at the highest elevations, which exceed 1800 meters. The forests form an important wildlife corridor between
136-463: A diverse flora and fauna in view of the various habitat types present. A wildlife sanctuary of 322.4 square kilometres (124.5 sq mi) was created around the temple on 27 June 1974, and enlarged to 539.52 square kilometres (208.31 sq mi) on 14 January 1987. The sanctuary derives its name Biligiri (white hill in Kannada ) from the white rock face that constitutes the major hill crowned with
170-595: A live bridge between the Eastern Ghats and Western Ghats with the sanctuary located almost in the middle of this bridge. Thus, the biota of BRT sanctuary can be expected to be predominantly of Western Ghats in nature with significant proportion of eastern elements as well. The sanctuary, ~35 km long north–south and ~15 km wide east–west, is spread over an area of 540 km with a wide variation in mean temperature (9 °C to 16 °C minimum and 20 °C to 38 °C maximum) and annual rainfall (600 mm at
204-413: A scientist who studied the elephants of the area in the early eighties. A recent (2017) survey has revealed the presence of 62 tigers in this sanctuary. The forests are well known for many gaur , the largest bovines . BR hills are a good place for viewing many other large and small animals. There are about 26 species of mammals recorded in the sanctuary. The other mammals include sambhar , chital ,
238-472: Is Kattari Betta, at 1800 metres. Various observations point to a possible biogeographic link between BR hills and Nilgiri ranges. Biogeographically , the sanctuary is unique. It is located between 11° and 12° N and the ridges of the hills run in the north–south direction. It is a projection of the Western Ghats in a north-easterly direction and meets the splintered hills of the Eastern Ghats at 78° E. This unique extension / offshoot of Western Ghats constitutes
272-551: Is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominated by shrubs , often also including grasses , herbs , and geophytes . Shrubland may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity. It may be the mature vegetation type in a particular region and remain stable over time, or a transitional community that occurs temporarily as the result of a disturbance, such as fire. A stable state may be maintained by regular natural disturbance such as fire or browsing . Shrubland may be unsuitable for human habitation because of
306-967: Is a Buddhist monastery at Dhondeling. Another road connects Kollegala to Anthiyur via Hanur , Ramapura, Burgur and Moongilpalya. The road from Kollegala to Mettur goes through Hanur Kowdalli( Cowdalli), Male Mahadeshwara Betta (MM Hills), Palar, Govindapadi, Kaveripuram and Kolathur. The above-mentioned three roads pass through forest teeming with wild animals, including elephants, Indian Bison, leopards and tigers. These roads are isolated and narrow at many stretches without any human habitation or cellular phone signals. National Highway 181 connects Gundlupete town of Chamarajanagara district with Ooty via Bandipura and Gudalur. National Highway 766 connects Gundlupete with Kalpetta via Mulehole and Sulthan Bathery . The national highways 181 and 766 are closed for private vehicles at night in stretch between Gundlupete and neighbouring states.. Only state government buses are allowed at night in these section of highway. According to
340-457: Is a descriptive system widely adopted in Australia to describe different types of vegetation is based on structural characteristics based on plant life-form , plus the height and foliage cover of the tallest stratum or dominant species . For shrubs that are 2–8 metres (6.6–26.2 ft) high, the following structural forms are categorized: For shrubs less than 2 metres (6.6 ft) high,
374-509: Is the headquarters of this district. It is the third least populous district in Karnataka (out of 30 ), after Kodagu and Bangalore Rural . Chamarajanagar was earlier known as Sri Arikottara. Chamaraja Wodeyar , the Wodeyar of Mysuru was born here and hence this place was renamed after him. The Vijaya Parsvanath Basadi, a holy Jain shrine was constructed by Punisadandanayaka, the commander of
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#1733084993455408-494: The 2011 census Chamarajanagar district has a population of 1,020,791, roughly equal to the nation of Cyprus or the US state of Montana . This gives it a ranking of 441st in India (out of a total of 640 ). The district has a population density of 200 inhabitants per square kilometre (520/sq mi) . Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 5.75%. Chamarajanagar has
442-687: The California coast, strandveld in the Western Cape of South Africa , coastal matorral in central Chile , and sand-heath and kwongan in Southwest Australia . Interior scrublands occur naturally in semi-arid areas where soils are nutrient-poor, such as on the matas of Portugal , which are underlain by Cambrian and Silurian schists . Florida scrub is another example of interior scrublands. Some vegetation types are formed of dwarf-shrubs : low-growing or creeping shrubs. These include
476-637: The Eastern Ghats as well as the Western Ghats , the sanctuary has floral and faunal associations with both regions. The site was declared a tiger reserve in January 2011 by the Government of Karnataka , a few months after approval from India's National Tiger Conservation Authority . The hills are located at the north-west of the Western Ghats and the westernmost edge of the Eastern Ghats. Thus this area supports
510-750: The Mediterranean scrub biome , located in the five Mediterranean climate regions of the world. Scrublands are most common near the seacoast and have often adapted to the wind and salt air of the ocean. Low, soft-leaved scrublands around the Mediterranean Basin are known as garrigue in France , phrygana in Greece , tomillares in Spain , and batha in Israel . Northern coastal scrub and coastal sage scrub occur along
544-677: The Badanaguppe-Kellamballi KIADB industrial estate. Notable ones are the KCM Appliances , Aditya Birla-Grasim Paint Plant , Kaynes Technology , Colortone Textiles among others. Three national highways of India pass through Chamarajanagara district namely NH-766, NH-181, and NH-948. Some state highways of Karnataka pass through this district. National Highway 948 ( previously NH 209), which starts from Bengaluru in Karnataka state and ends at Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, passes through
578-518: The Hoysala king Gangaraja in the year 1117 AD. Being the southernmost district of Karnataka , Chamarajanagar district borders the state of Tamil Nadu and Kerala . Specifically, it borders Mysore district of Karnataka to the west and north, Mandya and Ramanagara districts of Karnataka to the north-east, Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri districts of Tamil Nadu to the east, Salem to south-east, Erode districts and Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu to
612-584: The NTCA of the proliferation of illicit resorts inside the tiger reserve, the Chief wildlife warden of Karnataka recently issued orders against illegal resorts and homestays in the BRT Tiger Reserve. Chamarajanagar District Chamarajanagar or Chamarajanagara is the southernmost district in the state of Karnataka , India . It was carved out of the original larger Mysore District in 1998. Chamarajanagar town
646-462: The Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats, linking the largest populations of Asian elephants and tigers in southern India. The most conspicuous mammals in the BR Hills are the herds of wild elephants . The BR hills is the only forest east of the main Western Ghats mountain ranges in the central southern peninsula to harbor these pachyderms in large numbers. The forests were the study area for R. Sukumar,
680-720: The Western Ghats, allowing animals to move between them and facilitating gene flow between populations of species in these areas. Thus, this sanctuary serves as an important biological bridge for the biota of the entire Deccan plateau . The BR hills along with the Male Mahadeshwara Hills (MM Hills) range form a distinctly unusual ridge running north–south amidst the plains of Bangalore (~900 m), Mysore (~800 m) and Krishnagiri (~450 m). The peaks of these lofty ranges rise as high as 1,800 metres (5,900 ft) (BR hills 1,400–1,800 metres (4,600–5,900 ft); MM Hills 1,000–1,200 metres (3,300–3,900 ft)). The highest hill
714-592: The base and 3000 mm at the top of the hills) The hill ranges, within the sanctuary raise as high as 1200 m above the basal plateau of 600 m and run north–south in two ridges. The wide range of climatic conditions along with the altitude variations within the small area of the sanctuary have translated it into a highly heterogeneous mosaic of habitats such that we find almost all major forest vegetation types – scrub , deciduous , riparian , evergreen , sholas and grasslands . The forests harbour close to 800 species of plants from various families and shows
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#1733084993455748-434: The danger of fire. The term was coined in 1903. Shrubland species generally show a wide range of adaptations to fire, such as heavy seed production, lignotubers , and fire-induced germination. In botany and ecology a shrub is defined as a much-branched woody plant less than 8 m high and usually with many stems . Tall shrubs are mostly 2–8 m high, small shrubs 1–2 m high and subshrubs less than 1 m high. There
782-504: The district also has a high population of tribals, mostly the Nayakas but also forest tribes like the Soligas , Yeravas , Jenu Kurubas and Betta Kurubas . These tribals have their own languages and their total population is around 120,000, and make up 12% of the district population. Other communities include Lingayats, Muslims and Vokkaligas. Languages of Chamarajanagar district (2011) At
816-435: The following places namely Kanakapura , Malavalli , Kollegal , Chamarajanagar , Punajanur and enters Tamil Nadu. It further goes to Hasanur, Dhimbam ghat, Thalamalai, Bannari , Satyamangalam , Puliampatti, Annur ends at Coimbatore. Few KSRTC buses run on NH 948. There are many roads from Chamarajanagara district to neighbouring Tamil Nnadu state. One road connects Kollegal to Hasanur via Dhondenling and Germalam. There
850-573: The following structural forms are categorized: Similarly, shrubland is a category used to describe a type of biome plant group. In this context, shrublands are dense thickets of evergreen sclerophyll shrubs and small trees, called: In some places, shrubland is the mature vegetation type, and in other places, the result of degradation of former forest or woodland by logging or overgrazing , or disturbance by major fires. A number of World Wildlife Fund biomes are characterized as shrublands, including: Xeric or desert scrublands occur in
884-418: The fringes of the hills is rampant after the brief lull of activities during the time when the dreaded bandit Veerappan was on the run. After his death, the quarrying activities have taken off with renewed vigour with strong political backing. The forest department and the local NGOs were instrumental in banning disposal of plastic within the sanctuary. After wildlife environmentalist, Giridhar Kulkarni informed
918-553: The number may be more. 254 species of birds have been recorded in the BR hills. These include the enigmatic southern population of the white-winged tit ( Parus nuchalis ), a specimen of which was collected by R. C. Morris and is now housed in the Natural History museum at Tring. A recently discovered species is the microhylid frog Microhyla sholigari , named after the Soligas , an indigenous tribe that inhabit these hills. Quarrying in
952-413: The shy barking deer which are quite common here and the rare four-horned antelope . Carnivores include tigers, leopards , wild dogs , lesser cats and sloth bears and among arboreal mammals two species of primates and three species of squirrels including the giant flying squirrel are recorded. A recent (2017) survey of tigers by DNA analysis of scat samples has revealed 62 tigers, although
986-613: The south, and to the extreme south-west, there is a very small border with Wayanad district of Kerala. Most of the district lies in the leeward region of the Nilgiris and consists of mainly semi-arid rain-dependent flatlands along with forested hills. The Karnataka state government has started a Rs.400 crore project on 1`,595 acres of land called Badanaguppe-Kellamballi Industrial Estate which will include sectors like automobile, food processing, textiles, leather, granite and agriculture related industries. Many industries have set up base in
1020-407: The south. By road, they are about 90 kilometres (56 mi) from Mysore and 160 kilometres (99 mi) from Bangalore . The road leading to the village on top of the hills may be approached either from Yelandur or Chamarajanagar . Kyathadevara Gudi or K Gudi is located close to BR Hills, where safari is conducted. The BR hills are a starting point of the Eastern Ghats and contact the border of
1054-757: The specially formed Special Task Force (STF) on 18 October 2004, in Dharmapuri district, Tamil Nadu. He had been on the run for over two decades. The presence of illegal quarrying for black stone imposes a great threat to the forests in the region. The main tourist attractions are Sri Chamarajeshwara temple in Chamarajanagar , Biligiriranga Hills , K Gudi, Male Mahadeshwara Hills , Gundal dam, Suvarnavati Dam , Hogenakal Falls , Shivasamudram , Bandipur National Park , and Gopalaswamy Hills in Gundlupet. Scrubland Shrubland , scrubland , scrub , brush , or bush
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1088-895: The temple of Lord Ranganathaswamy (Lord Vishnu) or from the white mist and the silver clouds that cover these hills for a greater part of the year. An annual festival of Lord Vishnu, held in the month of April, draws pilgrims from far and wide. Once in two years, the Soliga Tribals present a 1-foot and 9 inches slipper, made of skin, to the deity in Biligiriranga Hills. The hills are in the Yelandur, Kollegal and Chamarajanagar talukas of Chamarajanagar District of Karnataka. They are contiguous with hills in Sathyamangalam Wildlife Sanctuary in Erode District of Tamil Nadu to
1122-407: The time of the 2011 census, 86.10% of the population spoke Kannada , 4.58% Tamil , 4.42% Urdu and 3.29% Telugu as their first language. Since much of the southern area of the district is dense forest, it provided good refuge to the notorious bandit Veerappan , responsible for the death of over a hundred policemen in both states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. He was shot dead in an encounter with
1156-432: The world's deserts and xeric shrublands ecoregions or in fast-draining sandy soils in more humid regions. These scrublands are characterized by plants with adaptations to the dry climate, which include small leaves to limit water loss, thorns to protect them from grazing animals, succulent leaves or stems, storage organs to store water, and long taproots to reach groundwater. Mediterranean scrublands occur naturally in
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