Vellanadu Blackbuck Sanctuary

 Vellanadu Blackbuck Sanctuary

Vallanadu Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected area of Tamil Nadu in South India created for the protection of blackbuck antelope. Located on an isolated hillock in Vallanadu Village of Srivaikundam Taluk, it is the southernmost place in India where a natural population of blackbuck exists

Vallanadu is the southernmost place in India where a natural population of Blackbuck exists. The Vallanadu Blackbuck Sanctuary is an isolated hillock with scrub forest in Thoothukudi Revenue District situated on eastern side of Tirunelveli – Tuticorin highway. A learned man would immediately think how the Blackbuck – dweller of plains ended up in hillock would. The whole plain area of Tamilnadu used to have large number of Blackbucks in the 19th century. The developmental pressures, poaching and agriculture has cornered them to four places now – Guindy National Park in Chennai; Mudumalai sanctuary near Masinagudi; Point Calimere sanctuary in Nagapattinam; and Vallanadu in Tuticorin.

Vallanadu Blackbuck Sanctuary is a scrub forest area that is spread over 16.41 sq km. This sanctuary is situated in the Thoothukudi District. Thoothukudi District is situated in the extreme southeastern corner of Tamil Nadu. It is surrounded by the districts of Tirunelveli, Virudhunagar, and Ramanathapuram, and southeast by Gulf of Mannar and on the west and south-west by Tirunelveli District. The city is also known as "Pearl City". Thuthukudi is a seaport city, which serves southern Tamil Nadu, including the inland cities of Coimbatore, Madurai and Tirunelveli. It is one of the oldest cities in India.

Blackbuck, Spotted Deer, Macaques, Jungle cat, Mongoose and wild hares are the fauna that be seen in Vallanadu Blackbuck Sanctuary, in plenty in this reserve. Originally Blackbucks were spread over large tracts of India but today the Black Buck population is confined to small parts of India, like Tamil Nadu Sanctuaries. The original habitat of Blackbucks is open plain and not dense jungles. On the open plain the black buck is one of the swiftest animals.

Flora

The sanctuary is a South Deccan Plateau dry deciduous forest. The thorny hardwood and xerophytes: Dalbergia horrida (see Dalbergia), Dichrostachys cinerea, Vachellia horrida, Acacia planifrons, Albizia amara, Zizyphus sp. and a few Azadirachta indica, Dodonia viscosa[clarification needed], Carissa carandas, Pterolobium hexapetalum, Euphorbia, Acalypha fruticosa and Ocimum tenuiflorum form the undergrowth.

Fauna

Blackbuck, spotted deer, macaque, jungle cat, monkey, wild cat, mongoose, black naped hare, scaly anteater, viper and rat snake live here.

Peafowl, heron, stork, grey partridges, jungle crow, common quails, pied crested cuckoo, crested-hawk eagle, black-winged kite, curlew, lapwing, nightjar, sparrows, horned owl, and nearly 100 other species of birds are found in the area.

The blackbuck population is around 20-40. Thick acacia growth makes it difficult to determine a precise population count. The blackbucks regularly come out of the scrubs and graze in wastelands on the eastern side of the sanctuary.