Brahmagiri Wildlife Sanctuary

Brahmagiri Wildlife Sanctuary is located in the Kodagu district of Karnataka, within the Western Ghats, about 250 kilometers from Bengaluru. The sanctuary gets its name from the highest peak in the range, Brahmagiri Peak, which stands at an elevation of 1,607 meters. It was declared a wildlife sanctuary on June 5, 1974, and covers an area of approximately 181 square kilometers.

The sanctuary is home to a diverse range of flora and fauna, including evergreen and semi-evergreen forests, grasslands with shola patches, and widespread bamboo plants.

Some of the notable mammals found here are the lion-tailed macaque, Indian elephant, gaur, tiger, jungle cat, leopard cat, wild dog, sloth bear, wild pig, sambar, spotted deer, Nilgiri langur, slender loris, bonnet macaque, common langur, barking deer, mouse deer, Malabar giant squirrel, giant flying squirrel, Nilgiri marten, common otter, brown mongoose, civets, porcupines, and pangolins.

The sanctuary also hosts a variety of reptiles, including pythons, cobras, king cobras, and Malabar pit vipers, as well as birds like emerald doves, square-tailed bulbuls, and Malabar trogons.