A 35-year-old female elephant was found dead at Mavathuru, Bailuru wildlife range of Biligiri Ranganathaswamy Temple Tiger Reserve (BRT) recently.
About Biligiri Ranganathaswamy Temple Tiger Reserve (BRT)
o It is located in the Chamarajanagar district of Karnataka
o This unique Bio-geographical habitat is in the middle of the bridge between the Western and Eastern Ghats.
- The tiger reserve derives its name from 'BILIGIRI ', the white rocky cliff which has a temple of Lord 'VISHNU', locally known as ‘Rangaswamy’.
- It was declared a Tiger Reserve in 2011.
- The total area of the Tiger Reserve is 574.82 km.
- Vegetation: The forests of BRT Tiger Reserve are principally of dry deciduous type and are interspersed with moist deciduous, semi-evergreen, evergreen and shola patches occurring at varying altitudes.
- Flora: The major species include: Anogeissus latifolia, Dalbergia paniculata, Grewia teliaefolia, Terminalia alata, Terminalia bellirica, Terminalia paniculata etc.
- Fauna: Animals including tiger, elephant, leopard, wild dog, bison, sambar, spotted deer, barking deer, four-horned antelope, sloth bear, wild boar, common langur, bonnet macaque, varieties of reptiles, birds, etc., are found in the Tiger Reserve.
