Cauvery South Wildlife Sanctuary

About the sanctuary-

• It has an area of 68,640 hectares and it is the state’s 17th wildlife sanctuary.
• It covers reserve forest areas in Krishnagiri and Dharmapuri districts, is home to 35 species of mammals, 238 species of birds, Leith’s soft shelled turtles, smooth coated otters, marsh crocodile and four horned antelopes, and is a wildlife paradise.
• Grizzled giant squirrel, four-horned antelope, and Lesser Fish Eagle which are exclusively dependent on the Cauvery river and its riverine forest ecosystem, are also found here. 
•  The sanctuary was notified under Section 26-A of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.
• It will connect Cauvery North Wildlife Sanctuary of Tamil Nadu with the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary in neighbouring Karnataka thereby forming a large, contiguous network of protected areas for wildlife.
• This landscape maintains further continuity to the Nilgiri Biosphere through Malai Mahadeshwara Wildlife Sanctuary, Billigiri Rangaswamy Temple (BRT) Tiger Reserve in Karnataka and Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve and Erode District.  

• Two important and large elephant corridors namely, the Nandimangalam-Ulibanda Corridor and the Kovaipallam-Anebiddahalla Corridor fall in this area.