Thamihla Kyun Wildlife Sanctuary


Thamihla Kyun Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected area in Myanmar, located on the small uninhabited Diamond Island near the mouth of Pathein River. It was established in 1970 and is part of Ngaputaw Township in Ayeyarwady Region.
It is managed by the Forest Department.
Diamond Island is undulating with a coast line of consisting of sandy beaches and narrow cliffs running south and west. The highest elevation is approximately. Three rain fed reservoirs provide freshwater. There are about 90 craters from bombs dropped during the second world war.

Biodiversity

Flora

Thamihla Kyun Wildlife Sanctuary harbours mixed deciduous and evergreen forest. Hibiscus grow on the beaches. Tree species in the island's forest include beach almond, Casuarina equisetifolia, Coconut, silk-cotton tree, Ficus benghalensis, Lagerstroemia macrocarpa, Xylia dolabriformis, Terminalia belerica and Lannea grandis. The understorey is composed of evergreen shrubs and bamboo. The southern part of the island is open land with bare rocks interspersed with low vegetation.

Fauna

Faunal species present in the sanctuary and along the coast mainly include marine species such as olive ridley sea turtle, loggerhead sea turtle, green sea turtle, hawksbill sea turtle, and leatherback sea turtle. The later two are considered extremely rare. The island beach is mainly calcarious, which is suitable for turtles when laying eggs. As of 1999, about 20,000-30,000 green see turtle eggs and 7,000-15,000 loggerhead sea turtle eggs were estimated on beaches every year.
Asian grass lizard, king cobra and Indian cobra are present. Birds include brown-headed gull, black-headed gull, white-bellied sea-eagle, shikra, red-whiskered bulbul, white-throated kingfisher, black-hooded oriole, Asian koel, white-breasted waterhen, common snipe and common myna.