In news- Karnataka’s first wild orchidarium to come up at Kali Tiger Reserve of Uttara Kannada district.
Key updates-
- The orchidarium is being constructed at Nujji vilage of Joida (Supa) taluk of the district and soon, it will be open for nature enthusiasts and visitors.
- About 40 varieties of wild orchids that are found in KTR are being grown in the orchidarium.
- The Western Ghats is home for a rich orchid population and a majority of them are found in the Kali Tiger Reserve, especially in the Anshi region of Uttara Kannada district.
- Out of 170 orchid species that are found in Karnataka, 80 species are from the Anashi region alone.
- Nearly 20 wild orchids are endemic to this region only. The orchidarium will act as a rescue and rehab site for wild orchids.
- Orchids mainly occur in two varieties, epiphytic and terrestrial.
- The new orchidarium is expected to help the researchers who can study orchid varieties at one repository.
Kali Tiger Reserve-
- Kali Tiger Reserve, earlier known as Dandeli-Anshi Tiger Reserve is located in Uttara Kannada District of Karnataka State.
- It was renamed to Kali Tiger Reserve in December 2015.
- Covering the taluks of Haliyal, Karwar and Joida, the Kali Tiger Reserve (KTR) is part of the Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka.
- The Kali River flows through the tiger reserve and is the lifeline of the ecosystem and hence the name. The tiger reserve is spread over an area of 1300 square kilometres.
- The Tiger Reserve comprises of two important protected areas of the region viz.,
- Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary and
- Anshi National Park.
- Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary (475.018 sq km) and Anshi National Park (339.866 sq km) are contiguous to each other and form a single tract of protected area located in biologically sensitive Western Ghats.
- These two protected areas were administratively unified under Dandeli-Anshi Tiger Reserve (DATR) in the year 2007.
- There are two sub-divisions, namely, Dandeli and Anshi wildlife sub-divisions, and consist of six ranges, namely, Kulgi, Phansoli, Gund, Anshi, Kumbarwada, and Castlerock wildlife ranges.
- Forests of the Tiger Reserve are primarily moist deciduous and semi-evergreen, with excellent patches of evergreen forests in the westernmost parts as well as in deep valleys.
- Animals found in the Tiger Reserve include Tiger, Leopard, Elephant, Bison, Wild dog, Sambar, Spotted deer, Sloth bear, Wild boar, Hanuman langur, Bonnet macaque, varieties of reptiles and birds including all four species of hornbills as its residents., etc.
- Kali Tiger Reserve is home to rare black panthers.
Source: The New Indian Express
