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The gregarious flowering of bamboo inside the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary, Kerala poses a potential threat to wildlife in the Nilgiri biosphere, a major tiger and elephant habitat.
About Bamboo Flowering
- Thorny bamboo (Bamboosa Bambos) is a monocarpic (flowering only once) plant.
- It belongs to the Poaceae family (grass family) and its flowering cycle varies from 40 to 60 years.
- They grow in more than 500 hectares of the 344.44 sq.km. of the sanctuary and are the mainstay of herbivores during summer.
- They have fully bloomed, a phenomenon said to occur once in the life cycle of bamboo plants.
- With the advent of the season and shortage of fodder and water, migration of wild animals starts from the adjacent sanctuaries in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu to Wayanad.
- Impact of Flowering
- It may adversely affect migration, especially by elephants, wild gaur, and other lower herbivores owing to the mass destruction of bamboo groves after the flowering.
- Farmers living near the sanctuary fear that the destruction of bamboo groves may worsen the increasing man-animal conflict.
- Threat to wildlife as well as the ecology, it is reported that over 25% of bamboo groves have bloomed since 2010, and the phenomenon is continuing.
- Profuse natural regeneration occurs from seeds after gregarious flowering. Seeds have no dormancy, and it helps germination under favourable conditions soon after seed fall.
- Protection from forest-fires and grazing is essential for proper establishment of seedlings.
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Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary
- It was set up in 1973 and is ranked 8th in the list of the World’s Biodiversity Hotspots.
- The sanctuary is a component of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve (5,520 km2) and of the Elephant Reserve No. 7 of South India.
- Location
- It covers the Wayanad Plateau situated at the confluence of three biologically distinct and diverse regions
- the main Western Ghat Mountains.
- the Nilgiri Hills.
- the Deccan Plateau.
- The plateau area is mostly located in Kerala, with small parts in the neighbouring states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
- Topography
- The landscape usually consists of hilly terrains interspersed with dense valleys, which have helped build its reputation as one among the most picturesque natural sites in the whole world.
- Climate
- The area is known for its rainfall, with both the southwest and northeast monsoon contributing to the downpour.
- The monthly maximum and minimum temperatures range from 31.2°C and 15.0°C respectively.
- Flora
- Its flora is characteristic of the Western Ghats and plantation crops flourish in the cooler temperatures here.
- The moist deciduous forest consists of Maruthi, karimaruthi, rosewood, venteak, vengal, chadachi, mazhukanjiram, bamboos etc. while the semi-evergreen patches comprise of vateria indica and Lagerstroemia.
- Fauna
- Of the 45 species of mammals here, 6 are endemic to the Western Ghats. The avian population (203 species) also boasts of 10 endemic, 6 ranges restricted and 5 globally threatened species. Thirteen of these are listed in the schedule I of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
- The area is said to be a favourite of the largest venomous snake in the world, the King Cobra. Of the 45 reptile species documented here till now, of which 8 are endemic.
- It is home to the last of the surviving vultures in the state. Also, the cinereous vulture (Aegypius monachus) or Eurasian black vulture, can be rarely seen as well.
- The four-horned antelope (Tetracerus quadricornis), or chousingha, known as ‘ullaman‘ in Malayalam, has also been sighted here.
- It is included in Schedule I of Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and categorized as Vulnerable by the IUCN Red List.
- Tribes: Kurumar, Paniyar, Kattunayakan, Urali, Kurichiar, Adiyar and Wayanadan Kadar.
(Image Courtesy: IWC)
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Source: TH
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