Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple Tiger Reserve, Location, Flora & Fauna

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Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple (BRT) Tiger Reserve Latest News

An Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ) monitoring committee meeting held recently decided that new commercial construction shall not be permitted within 1 km from the boundary of the Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple (BRT) Tiger Reserve or up to the ESZ, whichever is nearer.

About Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple (BRT) Tiger Reserve

It is located in the Chamarajanagar district of Karnataka State.
It is in the middle of the bridge between Western and Eastern Ghats in South India.
It was declared a Tiger Reserve in 2011.
The total area of the Tiger Reserve is 574.82 sq.km.
The reserve gets its name from Biligiri, meaning “white rocky cliff,” which is home to the ancient Rangaswamy Temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu.
- It is also believed that the hill range gets its name due to white mist and silvery clouds which cover these lofty hills for a greater part of the year.
The Soliga tribe, an indigenous people, inhabit the area and co-exist with wildlife.
Vegetation: The reserve’s diverse climatic conditions and elevation changes have resulted in a much-diversified mosaic of habitats that includes practically all major forest vegetation types, including scrub, deciduous, riparian, evergreen, sholas, and grasslands.
Flora: The major species include Anogeissus latifolia, Dalbergia paniculata, Grewia teliaefolia, Terminalia alata, Terminalia bellirica, Terminalia paniculata, etc.
Fauna: Animals including tiger, elephant, leopard, wild dog, bison, sambar, spotted deer, barking deer, four-horned antelope, sloth bear, wild boar, common langur, bonnet macaque, varieties of reptiles, birds, etc., are found in the Tiger Reserve.