{"id":96090,"date":"2026-04-01T17:21:43","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T11:51:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=96090"},"modified":"2026-04-01T17:21:43","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T11:51:43","slug":"biligiriranga-hills","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/biligiriranga-hills\/","title":{"rendered":"Biligiriranga Hills, Tiger Reserve, Biodiversity, Conservation"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Biligiriranga Hills is also known as Biligirirangan Hills. They form a unique hill range in south-western Karnataka along the Tamil Nadu border. These hills lie in Chamarajanagar district and are protected under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972. The region acts as a crucial ecological link between the Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats, supporting rich biodiversity, varied climate and significant wildlife movement across southern India.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Biligiriranga Hills Features<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Biligiriranga Hills represent a geographically and ecologically significant hill system acting as a natural bridge between two major mountain ranges of India. The significant features of the hills include:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Location<\/strong>: The hills are located in Chamarajanagar district of Karnataka, bordering Erode district of Tamil Nadu.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Extent<\/strong>: The sanctuary spans about 540 sq km, stretching nearly 35 km north-south and 15 km east-west across varied terrain.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Significance<\/strong>: The hills form a vital ecological bridge between the Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats, enabling gene flow and species movement. This connectivity supports biodiversity across the Deccan Plateau and strengthens wildlife corridors.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Elevation<\/strong>: The elevation ranges from about 600 m at the base to 1,800 m at the highest peak. The hills rise prominently above surrounding plains like Mysore and Bangalore plateau.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Peaks<\/strong>: The highest peak of the hill range is Kattari Betta.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Geology<\/strong>: The hills are composed mainly of charnockite rocks and form a north-south ridge system. They represent a northeastern extension of the Western Ghats merging with fragmented Eastern Ghats.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Climate and Rainfall<\/strong>: The region experiences varied climate with temperatures ranging from 9\u00b0C to 38\u00b0C. Rainfall varies from 600 mm at lower elevations to nearly 3000 mm at higher altitudes.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Cultural Significance<\/strong>: The name \u201cBiligiri\u201d refers to white rocky cliffs or mist covered hills. The region houses the Ranganathaswamy temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu, attracting pilgrims annually.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Ecological Significance<\/strong>: The hills form a vital ecological bridge between the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/western-ghats\/\" target=\"_blank\">Western Ghats<\/a><\/strong> and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/eastern-ghats\/\" target=\"_blank\">Eastern Ghats<\/a><\/strong>, enabling gene flow and species movement. This connectivity supports biodiversity across the Deccan Plateau and strengthens wildlife corridors<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Biligiriranga Hills Biodiversity<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Biligiriranga Hills exhibit exceptional biodiversity due to varied habitats and their location between two major ecological regions of India.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Forest Types<\/strong>: The hills support diverse vegetation including scrub forests, deciduous forests, riparian zones, evergreen forests, sholas and montane grasslands due to altitude and climatic variations.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Floral Diversity<\/strong>: The forests contain nearly 800 plant species belonging to different families. Vegetation ranges from southern tropical evergreen and semi evergreen to moist deciduous forests, reflecting strong Western Ghats affinity.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Mammalian Fauna<\/strong>: Around 26 mammal species are recorded, including major ungulates such as gaur, sambar, spotted deer, barking deer and rare four horned antelope, indicating healthy herbivore populations.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Carnivores<\/strong>: Key predators include tiger, leopard, wild dog, lesser cats and civet cats. The tiger density is about 9 per 100 sq km, showing strong conservation value of the habitat.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Elephant Population<\/strong>: The hills support large herds of Asian elephants and act as one of the few habitats east of the Western Ghats where these animals occur in significant numbers.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Arboreal Species<\/strong>: The forests host arboreal mammals including two primate species and three squirrel species, notably the giant flying squirrel, indicating well developed canopy ecosystems.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Avifauna Diversity<\/strong>: More than 250 bird species have been recorded, making the region an important bird habitat. It includes rare species such as the white winged tit.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Endangered Species<\/strong>: Species like Icthyophis ghytinosus, an endangered caecilian and Microhyla sholigari highlight the region\u2019s endemic and lesser known biodiversity richness.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Biligiriranga Hills Conservation<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Various measures for the conservation and protection of the diverse flora and fauna of the Biligiriranga Hills has been adopted as highlighted below:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Sanctuary and Legal Status<\/strong>: The wildlife sanctuary was established in 1974 with 322.4 sq km area and expanded to 539.52 sq km in 1987.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>BRT Tiger Reserve<\/strong>: The area was declared <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/biligiri-rangaswamy-temple-tiger-reserve-brt\/\" target=\"_blank\">Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple Tiger Reserve<\/a><\/strong> in January 2011, with a notable tiger density of 9 per 100 sq km, making it an important conservation landscape for large carnivores in southern India.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Connectivity and Corridors<\/strong>: Major wildlife corridors include Edayarhalli-Doddasampige and Chamarajanagar-Talamalai routes. Elephant corridors like Punjur-Sathyamangalam enhance large mammal movement across landscapes.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Conservation Challenges<\/strong>: Threats include quarrying activities and illegal resorts within the reserve. The National Tiger Conservation Authority has directed action against such encroachments to protect the ecosystem.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Biligiriranga Hills link Western and Eastern Ghats, forming a rich biodiversity hotspot in Karnataka with forests, wildlife corridors, and key conservation value.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":96077,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[786],"tags":[6529,4935,5102],"class_list":{"0":"post-96090","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-general-studies","8":"tag-biligiriranga-hills","9":"tag-geography","10":"tag-geography-notes","11":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96090","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96090"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96090\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":96095,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96090\/revisions\/96095"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/96077"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96090"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96090"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96090"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}