NAGARHOLE FOREST ( കര്ണാടകയിലെ നാഗര്ഹോളെ വനം )

NAGARHOLE  FOREST ( കര്ണാടകയിലെ നാഗര്ഹോളെ വനം )

Nagarhole National Park, is a national park located in Kodagu district and Mysore district in Karnataka state in South India. This park was declared the thirty seventh Project Tiger tiger reserve in 1999. It is part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve Forest. The Nagarhole ecosystem supports the highest density of herbivores anywhere in Asia. Studies carried out in Nagarhole show that the estimated mean number of large herbivores in Nagarhole is 108 animals per sq km. Large herbivores are defined as ungulates and primates weighing more than 5kg and in Nagarhole these comprise of – Muntjak, Chital, Sambar, Four-horned antelope, Gaur, Wild pig, Asian Elephant, Common Langur and the Bonnet Macaque. Masai Mara in Africa, which has a biomass of 19200 kgs.ld pig, Muntjak and Common Langur are preyed upon by the Tiger, Leopard and Wild Dog. These herbivores are classified as principle prey species and occur at a estimated mean density of 91 animals per sq km. The prey species can be further divided on the basis of body weight into small (Langur, young

Chital and young pig ), medium (yearling and adult Chital, adult pig, yearling and young Sambar and young Gaur), and large (adult Sambar and adult Gaur) and studies show that Tigers preferentially selected large prey, Leopard medium and small prey and the Wild dog medium prey. Because the availability of prey in the appropriate size class is not a limiting resource in Nagarhole, selective predation has facilitated large carnivore co-existence in the park.

The principal reasons for large carnivore coexistence in Nagarhole as opposed to the African savanna are ecological factors such as adequate availability of appropriate sized prey, dense cover and tree density which is absent in the African savanna and the fact that behavioral factors such as habitat specificity, choice of hunting sites or inter-specific dominance play a relatively minor role in Nagarhole.

കബനിയുടെ കൈവഴിയായ ഒരു നദിയുടെ പേരാണ് നാഗര്ഹോളെ. നാഗ് എന്നാല് പാമ്പ് എന്നും ഹോളെ എന്നാല് അരുവി എന്നുമാണ് അര്ഥം. പാമ്പിനെപ്പോലെ വളഞ്ഞുപുളഞ്ഞ് ഒഴുകുന്ന അരുവിയാണ് നാഗര്ഹോളെ. നൂറ്റാണ്ടുകള്ക്കു മുമ്പ് മൈസൂര് രാജാക്കന്മാരുടെ നായാട്ടു കേന്ദ്രമായിരുന്നു ഇവിടം. അധികം താമസിയാതെ ഒരു ഫോറസ്റ്റ് ചെക്ക്പോസ്റ്റിന് മുന്നില് എത്തി. ഇവിടന്നങ്ങോട്ട് നിബിഡ വനമാണ്. നാഗര്ഹോളെയുടെ വശ്യത മുഴുവന് ഒളിച്ചിരിക്കുന്നത് ഈ വനാന്തരങ്ങളിലാണ്.

Prof. John Kurakar