New Amarambalam Reserved Forest


New Amarambalam Wildlife Sanctuary is a wildlife sanctuary in the Western Ghats, situated in the Malappuram District of Kerala state in South India.It extends till Silent Valley National Park of the Palakkad District to the south and to Nadugani in the Nilgiri District of Tamil Nadu to the North.
, Munnar

Geography

Comprising an area of, The New Amarambalam Wildlife Sanctuary is the largest wildlife sanctuary of Kerala in South India. Since it shows very high altitudinal gradation from to, the protected area is coupled with high rainfall and thick forest cover. Amarambalam continues with the Silent Valley National Park, and also forms a part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve.

Bird sanctuary

The Indian Bird Conservation Network has identified 212 species of birds from the Nilambur and Amarambalam forests. Amarambalam is classified as an Important Bird Area of the Western Ghats Endemic Bird Area where 16 restricted range species have been identified; eight species have been sighted in Amarambalam. Beside the RRS's, there are one critically endangered and two vulnerable species. In 2001 BirdLife International has also identified 52 near threatened species of India. Three of the NTS bird species are found in the IBA, but more are likely to be found once detailed studies are conducted. Classified by BirdLife International, Amarambalam Reserve Forest lies in the Indian Peninsula Tropical Moist Forest : 15 bird species have been identified as typical biome assemblage, 12 species are found in this IBA. In 2003, Professor PO Nameer, Kerala Agricultural University, reported to have seen 11 species of woodpeckers, 11 species of flycatchers, nine species of babblers, seven species of bulbuls, and three species of barbets. As of 2004, there were populations of 10 IBA trigger species ranging from critically endangered/vulnerable to least concern according to IUCN categorisation and A1 to A3 according to IBA, namely Lesser adjutant, White-rumped vulture, Nilgiri wood-pigeon, Malabar parakeet, Malabar grey-hornbill, White-bellied treepie, Grey-headed bulbul, Rufous babbler, White-bellied blue-flycatcher and Crimson-backed sunbird. The bird community showed high evenness. Maximum species richness was obtained during November and highest diversity index was recorded during April.

Endemic fauna of the Western Ghats

As of 2000, Amarambalam comprises almost all mammals found in the Western Ghats: 25 mammals, including the endemic and threatened Lion-tailed macaque and Nilgiri tahr.

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