About Bandipur Tiger Reserve:
- Location: It is situated in two contiguous districts (Mysore and Chamarajanagar) of Karnataka and located in the tri-junction area of the States of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala.
- Geographically, it is an “ecological confluence” of the Western and Eastern Ghats.
- History:
- It was once a hunting ground for the rulers of the neighbouring kingdom of Mysore.
- It was established in the year 1931 as Venugopala Wildlife Park by the Maharaja of Mysore.
- It was then expanded with the name Bandipur Tiger Reserve under Project Tiger in 1973.
- It is part of the larger Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, which is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- BTR is surrounded by:
- Nagarahole Tiger Reserve (Tamil Nadu) in the North West (Kabini Reservoir separates the two).
- Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (Tamil Nadu) in the South.
- Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (Kerala) in the South West.
- Rivers: It is surrounded by River Kabini in its north and River Moyar in its south.
- Climate: Bandipur has a typical tropical climate with distinct wet and dry seasons.
- Vegetation: It comprises diverse vegetation of dry deciduous to tropical mixed deciduous.
- Flora: It includes rosewood, Indian kino tree, sandalwood, Indian laurel, clumping bamboo, giant clumping bamboo, etc.
- Fauna:
- It is a shelter for the largest population of wild Asian elephants in South Asia.
- It comprises other mammals such as Bengal tiger, gaur, sloth bear, golden jackal, dhole, four-horned antelope, etc.
