The State Board of Wildlife of Karnataka recently granted conditional approval for the Sharavathy Pumped Storage Project within the Sharavathy Lion-Tailed Macaque Sanctuary.

About Sharavathy Lion-Tailed Macaque Sanctuary

• Location: Situated in the Sharavathi River Valley of Sagar taluk in Shivamogga District, Karnataka.
• Geographical Region: Lies within the Western Ghats.
• Vegetation: Primarily covered with evergreen and semi-evergreen forests in the valleys, with grassy patches on the hilltops.
• Formation: Created by merging the existing Sharavathi Valley Wildlife Sanctuary, Aghanashini Lion-Tailed Macaque Conservation Reserve, and the adjoining reserve forest blocks.
• Boundaries: Shares its southwestern boundary with the Mookambika Wildlife Sanctuary.
• Key Species: Serves as a crucial habitat for the endangered Lion-Tailed Macaque (Macaca silenus), which is endemic to the Western Ghats.
• Other Mammals Present: Includes tigers, leopards, sloth bears, spotted deer, barking deer, mouse deer, bonnet macaques, and Malabar giant squirrels.

Sharavati River

• Location: Western Karnataka, southern India.
• Source: Originates in the Western Ghats.
• Course: Flows for approximately 100 km (60 miles) in a northwesterly direction.
• Mouth: Empty into the Arabian Sea at Honavar.
• Jog Falls: The river makes a sudden 250-meter (830-foot) drop, splitting into four scenic waterfalls known as Jog Falls.
• Projects on Sharavati River
  • Mahatma Gandhi Hydroelectric Power Station: Located downstream (east) of Jog Falls, it plays a crucial role in power generation.
  • Sharavati Valley Project: A major hydroelectric project contributing significantly to Karnataka’s electricity supply.

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About Lion-Tailed Macaque

• Habitat of Lion-tailed macaque:  In the wild, they are only native to India.
  • Native to the fragmented rainforests of Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu in India’s Western Ghats
  • It prefers the upper canopy of primary tropical evergreen rainforest.
• Conservation status of Lion-tailed macaque
  • IUCN: Endangered
  • CITES : Appendix I 
  • The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 : Schedule I
• Behaviour
  • Use some seventeen different vocal calls to communicate with each other
  • Communicate a lot through facial expressions, posture and Tail
  • Very territorial.
  • Primarily diurnal arboreal
• Protected areas (Found in):
• • Kudremukh National Park (Karnataka),Sharavathy Lion-Tailed Macaque Sanctuary ( Karnataka), Periyar National Park (Kerala) & Silent Valley National Park (Kerala)

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