News: The unauthorised construction of roads within Srivilliputhur–Meghamalai Tiger Reserve (SMTR) in the ecologically sensitive Western Ghats has recently drawn concern.
About Srivilliputhur–Meghamalai Tiger Reserve (SMTR)
- Location: It is located in the Southern Western Ghats of Virudhunagar and Madurai districts of Tamilnadu.
- It is the 5th Tiger Reserve of Tamil Nadu and the 51st tiger reserve of India.
- Formation: It was formed in February 2021 by combining two wild life sanctuaries namely –
- Grizzled Squirrel WLS
- Megamalai WLS
- It is part of a corridor linking the Periyar Tiger Reserve in Kerala to the forests of Tamil Nadu’s Southern Kalakkad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve.
- Rivers: It relies on three perennial rivers: Vaigai, Suruliyaru, and Shanmuganathi.
- Vegetation:It has a mix of tropical evergreen forests and semi-evergreen forests, dry deciduous forests and moist mixed deciduous forests with grassland.
- Fauna: Elephants, Tiger, Leopard, Nilgiri Tahr, Gaur, Spotted Deer, Barking Deer, Sambar Deer, Wild Boar, Porcupine, Nilgiri Langur, Lion-Tailed Macaque etc.
