Chandoli National Park was created in Sangli district in May 2004. Before becoming a national park, it was a Wildlife Sanctuary starting in 1985. Chandoli National Park is known for being the southern part of the Sahyadri Tiger Reserve, while the Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary is the northern part of the same reserve.

Sahyadri Tiger Reserve

The Sahyadri Tiger Reserve covers an area of 741.22 km (286.19 square miles) and includes Chandoli National Park and Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary. It was created by the National Tiger Conservation Authority as a tiger reserve under the Project Tiger initiative on May 21, 2007. At that time, the reserve was estimated to have nine tigers and 66 leopards.

Location

Chandoli National Park is located near the Chandoli Dam between longitudes 73°40' and 73°53' E and latitudes 17°03' and 17°20' N in Sangli District of Western Maharashtra. It lies between the Radhanagiri and Koyna Wildlife Sanctuaries and is part of the southern section of the Sahyadri Tiger Reserve. It is approximately 101 kilometers from Sangli.

History

The park has important historical places, including 17th-century forts from the Maratha Empire, Prachitgad and Bhairavgad. Much of the protected area was used as an open jail for prisoners of war during early battles under Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's rule. Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj used Prachitgad as a place to watch battles and for recreation.

Geography

The park is located along the top of the Sahyadri Range in the northern Western Ghats. It helps form and protect many water channels that flow all year, water holes, and the Vasant Sagar Reservoir. The height of the park varies from 589 to 1,044 meters (1,932 to 3,425 feet). The park gets its water from the Warna River and reservoir, as well as several smaller streams and rivers. Flat-topped mountains, rocky, lateritic plateaus called "Saddas," which have very little plant life, large rocks, and caves are unique features of the protected areas in the Sahyadri region of the Western Ghats.

Flora

The forest types found here include a mix of Malabar Coast moist forests and North Western Ghats moist deciduous forests. In the dwarf evergreen forests, common tree species include the anjani ironwood tree, jamun, pisa (angustifolia), fig, Olea (diocia), katak spinous kino tree, nana or Crape myrtle (lanceolata), kinjal, kokum tree, and phanasi false kelat (brachiata). Other trees that dominate the area are asan wood or ain or Indian laurel, amla or Indian gooseberry, umbar or devil fig (hispida), and harra or chebulic myrobalan.

Grasses commonly found here include bangala or bluestem grass sp., dongari or golden beard grass (fulvus), black spear grass, kalikusli or tangle grass, anjan grass or buffel grass, grader grass or karad or kangaroo grass (quadrivalvis), and grasses from the family Poaceae, such as saphet-kusli or Aristida funiculata. Insectivorous plant species, such as sundews and bladderworts sp., are also present in this protected area.

Fauna

The forests of Chandoli are home to nearly 23 species of mammals, 122 species of birds, and 20 species of amphibians and reptiles. Some of the most easily seen animals in the area include tigers, leopards, Indian bisons, leopard cats, sloth bears, and giant squirrels.

Many hoofed animals, such as barking deer, sambar deer, mouse deer, and blackbucks, also live in the region. A survey conducted in 2002 by the Forest Department found an increase in the numbers of tigers, leopards, gaurs, barking deer, mouse deer, sloth bears, and blackbucks. A similar survey in 2004 showed that the gaur population in the Kolhapur Wildlife Division grew from 88 to 243.

On May 23 and 24, 2018, a tiger was photographed using a camera trap in Chandoli. This was the first direct proof of tigers living in the reserve in eight years. Before this, in 2014, scientists used tiger droppings and computer models to estimate that there were between five and eight tigers in the reserve.

Development

Work done to improve and develop habitats in Chandoli National Park includes removing plants that do not belong there and harm the environment, keeping soil healthy, saving water, giving vaccines to cows, doing research, preventing fires, providing salt for animals, marking the park's borders, building watch towers, keeping trails in good condition, removing salt from water sources, improving grassy areas, and buying radios for communication.

Threats

The Maharashtra government is planning to build the Karadi-Bhogiv hydro-electric project in the area around the Warna Dam. This project is expected to use 6.78 km (2.62 sq mi) of forest land. In a positive development, about 7,894 people and many cattle living on 84.29 km (32.54 sq mi) of land across 32 villages within the park have been moved to areas outside the park. This relocation has helped protect and allow some of the vegetation in the protected area to grow again.