Chimmony Wildlife Sanctuary (18240)
India, Asia
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2007
National site name: Chimmony Wildlife Sanctuary
Central coordinates: Latitude: 10.4053, Longitude: 76.5987
System: terrestrial
Elevation (m): 1126 to 2500
Area of KBA (km2): 79.59296
KBA classification: Global/Regional TBD
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: The Chimmony Wildlife Sanctuary, situated east of the Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary, is of considerable ecological importance. It forms a continuous stretch of natural forests with Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary. It is one of the westernmost segments of the proposed Anamalai-Anamudi Conservation Unit, which starts from Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary in the east and stretches up to Peechi Wildlife Sanctuary as a continuous belt. The landform of the Sanctuary has an extremely varying topography. The territorial boundary of the Sanctuary roughly coincides with the watershed of the Chimmony river (Menon 1997). The innumerable channels of the river had carved the entire landscape into such a diverse topography that it is unique to this region. The climate is fairly equable in the Sanctuary. The dry season extends from December to April and the wet season from May to November. The hottest months are March, April and May. The bulk of the annual rainfall comes from the southwest monsoon. The tract receives an average rainfall of about 2,980 mm annually. Chimmony Wildlife Sanctuary consists of West Coast Tropical Wet Evergreen Forests, West Coast Semi-evergreen Forests, Moist Deciduous Forests and teak plantation nearly 35 years old (Champion and Seth 1968, Jayson 1999). The Evergreen forest is composed of Palaquium ellipticum, Calophyllum tomentosum, Cullenia exarillata, Dipterocarpus indicus, Artocarpus hirsuta, Bombax ceiba and Syzygium cumini. Lower canopy consists of species such as Cinnamomum zeylanicum, Mallotus phillipensis and Zanthoxylum flavescens. Calamus travancoricus, Ixora sp. and Laportea crenulata are seen in the undergrowth. According to Jayson (1999), most of the area of the Sanctuary consists of Moist Deciduous Forest, which merges with Semi-evergreen at higher elevations.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance because it meets one or more previously established criteria and thresholds for identifying sites of biodiversity importance (including Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas, Alliance for Zero Extinction sites, and Key Biodiversity Areas) KBA identified in the CEPF Ecosystem Profile of the Western Ghats Hotspot (2007). Taxonomy, nomenclature and threat status follow the 2002 IUCN Red List.
Additional biodiversity: AVIFAUNA: A total of 160 species of birds has been recorded in a survey conducted by the Nature Education Society, Trichur, (NEST) in collaboration with the Kerala Forest Research Institute (Nameer 1992). Although no globally threatened species was recorded, five Restricted Range or endemic species were identified. The site lies in the Western Ghats Endemic Bird Area (Stattersfield et al. 1998), one of the biodiversity hotspots of the world. BirdLife International (undated) has identified 15 species which represents biome assemblages of the Western Ghats. This site comes under Biome-10 (Indian Peninsula Tropical Moist Forest). Based on the checklist prepared by NEST (Nameer 1992), nine of these biome species are found at this site. Once more detailed research is conducted, more species of this biome are likely to be found here. OTHER KEY FAUNA: Out of the 47 large mammals reported from Kerala, 22 are found in Chimmony (Jayson 1997). Rare, endemic and endangered species include Nilgiri Langur Trachypithecus johni, Lion tailed Macaque Macaca silenus, Slender Loris Loris lydekkerianus, Leopard Cat Prionailurus bengalensis, Wild Dog Cuon alpinus, Indian Giant Squirrel Ratufa indica, Asian Elephant Elephas maximus, Gaur Bos gaurus, Mouse Deer Moschiola meminna and Tiger Panthera tigris.
Habitats
Land use: nature conservation and research
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Forest | 50 | |
| Shrubland | 50 |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: MAIN THREATS: Grazing; Collection of firewood. The boundaries of the Chimmony Wildlife Sanctuary were drawn on the basis of physical barriers and ecological continuity was not considered. Extensive Evergreen and Semi-evergreen forests around the Sanctuary which harbour several endangered species, do not come within the limits of any protected area (O. P. Kaler, Wildlife Warden, 2001, pers. comm.). Beyond the eastern boundary of Chimmony lie large tracts of evergreen forests of Parambikulam. To the south and southwest are the evergreen forests of Vazhachal and Chalakudy Forest Division. These areas have to be included in the Anamalai- Anamudi Conservation Unit, thus joining Chinnar and Indira Gandhi Wildlife sanctuaries in the east to Peechi Wildlife Sanctuary in the west. Fortunately, Chimmony Wildlife Sanctuary is free from human habitation, except for the former Kallichitra tribal settlement. This settlement was relocated when Chimmony reservoir was filled up. However, the tribals are not happy in their new settlement and want more land and compensation. There is no cultivation inside the Sanctuary and the pressure of cattle grazing is also low.
| Threat level 1 | Threat level 2 | Threat level 3 | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agriculture & aquaculture | Annual & perennial non-timber crops | Small-holder farming | Ongoing |
| Agriculture & aquaculture | Livestock farming & ranching | Small-holder grazing, ranching or farming | Ongoing |
| Biological resource use | Logging & wood harvesting | Unintentional effects: subsistence/small scale (species being assessed is not the target) [harvest] | Ongoing |
Additional information
References: BirdLife International (undated) Important Bird Areas (IBAs) in Asia: Project briefing book. BirdLife International, Cambridge, U.K., unpublished. Champion, H. G. and Seth, S. K. (1968) A revised survey of forest types of India, Govt. of India Press, Delhi. Jayson, E. A.(1997) Status and distribution of larger mammals in Chimmony Wildlife Sanctuary. Indian Forester 133 (10): 939-947. Jayson, E. A. (1999) Habitat preference of five herbivores in the Chimmony Wildlife Sanctuary. Indian Forester 135:975-985. Menon, A. R. R (1997) Vegetation Mapping and Analysis of Chimmony Wildlife Sanctuary Using Remote Sensing Techniques. KFRI Research Report 120. p.no 19. Kerala Forest Research Institute, Peechi. Nameer, P. O. (1992) Birds of Chimmoni Wildlife Sanctuary: A Survey Report. Nature Education Society, Trichur and Kerala Forest Research Institute, Peechi. Pp. 16.
Contributors: Key contributors: P. O. Nameer and the IBA team.