State Forest Department is trying to negotiate with NGOs associated Ranathambore Tiger Reserve and is in talks with a local environmentalist, Nirmal Kulkarni to collect data of the tigers present in the sanctuary which covers an area of 208.48km.The data will be obtained through camera-traps, images and indirect evidences like tiger scat and their pug marks, Chief Wildlife Warden Richard D’Souza said.
Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary is a corridor for tigers, which usually come into the region from neighboring Dandeli-Anshi Tiger Reserve in Karnataka and also Maharashtra’s Sahyadri Tiger Reserve. D’Souza claimed that providing tiger reserve status to Mhadei isn’t a difficult task, but it will require restoration of the villagers living within the sanctuary.
As per Government estimates, 28 hamlets are located inside the sanctuary, carved out to protect wroughton’s free- tailed bat, which is an endangered species. The latest study by Dehradun based Wildlife Institute of India (WII) has established the presence of tigers over 322 sq km covering six wildlife sanctuaries in the coastal state.
The survey was conducted by WII with the help of 60 officers and staffs of Goa Forest Department. “Goa can potentially be home to a small breeding population of tigers which would be continued by immigrants from Anshi-Dandeli as well as Sahyadri,” WII said in a report to the Government.
Bird Watchers’ Paradise Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary is an International Bird Area and is home to a number of globally threatened species. Some species found here include the Nilgiri wood-pigeon, Malabar parakeet, Malabar grey hornbill, grey-headed bulbul, rufuous babbler, white-bellied blueflycatcher and crimson-backed sunbird. A total of 255 bird species have been recorded in the sanctuary. Of these, 53 showed direct signs of breeding here.
Reptile and Amphibian Life Snakes found in the Mhadei Valley, including the Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary include all of the big venomous snakes in India: Indian krait, Russell’s viper, saw-scaled viper and spectacled cobra plus banded Kukri snake, banded racer, Beddome’s keelback, black slender coral snake, common bronzeback, common Indian cat snake, common sand boa, common wolf snake, common vine snake, copper-headed trinket snake, green pit viper, humpnosed pit viper, Indian rat snake, Indian rock python, Indian trinket snake, king cobra, Malabar pit viper, monocled cobra, ocellate shield tail, ornate flying snake, red sand boa, Sri Lankan cat snake, streaked Kukri snake, striped keelback, Travancore wolf snake, tree snake, Whitaker’s sand boa and the yellow-spotted wolf snake.
Endemic species of amphibians in the sanctuary include: the endangered marbled ramanella, the vulnerable Maharashtra bush frog, Beddome's leaping frog (Beddome’s Indian frog) and Malabar gliding frog. The Mhadei area is known for 3 rare species of Caecilians of the Western Ghats (legless amphibians). Butterflies There are at least 257 recorded species of butterflies in the sanctuary of the 330 recorded species in the Western Ghats.
The largest butterfly in south India, the southern birdwing plus the stripped tiger, common jezebel, common Indian crow, Blue Mormon and other species of butterflies are found here. Prominent among these is the blue tiger butterfly which can be found until the summer. Caves The Barapada caves of Khnapur taluka (Karnataka State) which is just 5 km away from the sanctuary border, shelters Wroughtons free-tailed bat (Otomops wroughtonii). It is the only place in the world where this bat resides. These bats roost in the Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary and are classified as critically endangered.
Factfile Location:
In North Goa District, Sanguem taluka near the town of Valpoi. Accommodation: There are no public tourist facilities in the sanctuary, but there are Forest Department rest houses at Valpoi and Keri. There are three private eco-resorts in Chorla ghat, the Wildernest Nature Conservation Facility, the Adventure Resort and the Swapnagandha Resort. How to Get There: The Sanctuary is presently accessible by road only. It can be accessed by the following roads. Panaji – Mapusa – Bicholim – Sankhali – Chorla Ghat – Surla. Panaji – Mapusa – Bicholim – Valpoi – Nanoda. Margao – Ponda – Valpoi – Nanoda. Margao – Ponda – Amona – Sankhali – Chorla Ghat – Surla. The nearest major railway station is Margao on South Central Railway & Konkan Railway & is 106 km. away from the Sanctuary. The nearest commercial airport is at Dabolim (Vasco-da-Gama), about 110 km. from the sanctuary
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