Anshi National Park is located in Uttara Kannada

Uttara Kannada

Uttara Kannada also known as North Canara or North Kanara, is a district in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It is bordered by the state of Goa and Belgaum District to the north, Dharwad District and Haveri District to the east, Shimoga District and Udupi District to the south and the...

 district, in the India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n state of Karnataka

Karnataka

Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...

, bordering the state of Goa

Goa

Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...

. The 340 square kilometre park adjoins the Dandeli

Dandeli

Dandeli [ Kannada:ದಾಂಡೇಲಿ ] is a town in Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka in North Karnataka, India in the Western Ghats, near Goa. It is best known for its wildlife sanctuary, tourism, industry and as an educational hub....

 wildlife sanctuary, and together with six other protected areas in the states of Goa and Maharashtra

Maharashtra

Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...

, forms a protected forest area of over 2200 square kilometres.

The park is a habitat of melanistic leopards

Black panther

A black panther is typically a melanistic color variant of any of several species of larger cat. Wild black panthers in Latin America are black jaguars , in Asia and Africa they are black leopards , and in North America they may be black jaguars or possibly black cougars A black panther is...

, tigers and elephants, amongst other fauna.

History

The forest in the area was declared the Dandeli wildlife sanctuary on May 10, 1956. The state proposed carving out a section of the sanctuary to form the Anshi national park, and the proposal was implemented on 2 September 1987.. The initial proposal covered 250 square kilometres. When the final notification of the park area was issued in 2002, it was extended by another 90 square kilometres.

Anshi and Dandeli were granted the status of Project Tiger

Project Tiger

Project Tiger was launched in 1972 in India. The project aims at ensuring a viable population of tigers in their natural habitats and preserving areas of biological importance as a natural heritage for the people. The selection of areas for the reserves represented as close as possible the...

 sanctuaries in January 2007.

Geography

Located in the Western Ghats

Western Ghats

The Western Ghats, Western Ghauts or the Sahyādri is a mountain range along the western side of India. It runs north to south along the western edge of the Deccan Plateau, and separates the plateau from a narrow coastal plain along the Arabian Sea. The Western Ghats block rainfall to the Deccan...

 range, Anshi's altitude varies from 200 m to 925 m above sea level. The park is situated in the North Western Ghats montane rain forests

North Western Ghats montane rain forests

The North Western Ghats montane rain forests is a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion of southwestern India. It covers an area of , extending down the spine of the Western Ghats range, from Maharashtra state in the north through Karnataka to Kerala state in the south...

 and North Western Ghats moist deciduous forests

North Western Ghats moist deciduous forests

The North Western Ghats moist deciduous forests is a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion of southwestern India. It lies between 250 and 1000 meters elevation in the northern portion of the Western Ghats range, from their northern end in Maharashtra state, through Karnataka to the transitional...

 ecoregions, both of which are deemed endangered by the World Wildlife Fund.

Park management

The management of National parks and sanctuaries in the state is the responsibility of the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wild life). Anshi National Park and the adjoining Dandeli

Dandeli

Dandeli [ Kannada:ದಾಂಡೇಲಿ ] is a town in Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka in North Karnataka, India in the Western Ghats, near Goa. It is best known for its wildlife sanctuary, tourism, industry and as an educational hub....

 wildlife sanctuary together form the Dandeli Wildlife Division of the Karnataka

Karnataka

Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...

 Forest Department, headed by a Deputy Conservator of Forests.

Flora

The forests in the area are rich in flora and fauna. Trees and plants that can be found here include Bamboo

Bamboo

Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....

, Bauhinia

Bauhinia

Bauhinia is a genus of more than 200 species of flowering plants in the subfamily Caesalpinioideae of the large flowering plant family Fabaceae, with a pantropical distribution. The genus was named after the Bauhin brothers, Swiss-French botanists....

, Eucalyptus

Eucalyptus

Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...

, Lantana

Lantana

Lantana is a genus of about 150 species of perennial flowering plants in the verbena family, Verbenaceae. They are native to tropical regions of the Americas and Africa but exist as an introduced species in numerous areas, especially in the Australian-Pacific region. The genus includes both...

, Silver Oak, Teak

Teak

Teak is the common name for the tropical hardwood tree species Tectona grandis and its wood products. Tectona grandis is native to south and southeast Asia, mainly India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Burma, but is naturalized and cultivated in many countries, including those in Africa and the...

 and Xylia xylocarpa.

Fauna

A variety of Bonnet Macaque

Bonnet Macaque

The bonnet macaque is a macaque endemic to southern India. Its distribution is limited by the Indian Ocean on three sides and the Godavari and Tapti Rivers along with a related competing species of rhesus macaque in the north....

, deer (barking, mouse

Chevrotain

Chevrotains, also known as mouse deer, are small ungulates that make up the family Tragulidae, the only members of the infraorder Tragulina. There are 10 living species in three genera, but there are also several species only known from fossils...

 and spotted), Indian bison

Gaur

The gaur , also called Indian bison, is a large bovine native to South Asia and Southeast Asia. The species is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1986 as the population decline in parts of the species' range is likely to be well over 70% over the last three generations...

, Malabar Civet

Malabar Civet

The Malabar Large-spotted Civet , is a civet. It is also known as the Malabar Civet and called Jawadi Veruku - ജാവാദി വെരുകു് in Malayalam and Chirathe Bekku in Kannada. The species was once common along the lowland coastal tracts of Kerala and Karnataka in South India...

, Malabar giant squirrel, pangolin

Pangolin

A pangolin , also scaly anteater or Trenggiling, is a mammal of the order Pholidota. There is only one extant family and one genus of pangolins, comprising eight species. There are also a number of extinct taxa. Pangolins have large keratin scales covering their skin and are the only mammals with...

 and sloth bear

Sloth Bear

The sloth bear , also known as the labiated bear, is a nocturnal insectivorous species of bear found wild within the Indian subcontinent. The sloth bear evolved from ancestral brown bears during the Pleistocene and shares features found in insect-eating mammals through convergent evolution...

 make their home in the forests of the park. Besides, the black panther, elephants and tigers are rare species found in the park.

Reptiles spotted in the park include the King Cobra

King Cobra

The king cobra is the world's longest venomous snake, with a length up to 5.6 m . This species, which preys chiefly on other snakes, is found predominantly in forests from India through Southeast Asia to the Philippines and Indonesia...

, Krait, Python, Rat snake

Rat snake

Rat snakes are medium to large constrictors that can be found through a great portion of the northern hemisphere. They feed primarily on rodents and birds and, with some species exceeding 3 m , they can occupy top levels of some food chains. Many species make attractive and docile pets and one,...

 and Viper

Viperidae

The Viperidae are a family of venomous snakes found all over the world, except in Antarctica, Australia, Ireland, Madagascar, Hawaii, various other isolated islands, and above the Arctic Circle. All have relatively long, hinged fangs that permit deep penetration and injection of venom. Four...

.

Around 200 species of birds are recorded in the park. These include the Adjutant Stork

Leptoptilos

Leptoptilos is a genus of very large tropical storks. Two species are resident breeders in southern Asia, and the Marabou Stork is found in sub-Saharan Africa....

, Ashy Woodswallow

Ashy Woodswallow

The Ashy Woodswallow, Artamus fuscus, is a woodswallow which is found in south Asia.The plumage of this species is pale grey....

, Black-crested Bulbul

Black-crested Bulbul

The Black-crested Bulbul, Pycnonotus melanicterus, is a member of the bulbul family of passerine birds. It is found in the Indian Subcontinent including in India, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka, and eastwards in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia....

, Blue-headed Pitta

Pitta (bird)

Pittas are a family, Pittidae, of passerine birds mainly found in tropical Asia and Australasia, although a couple of species live in Africa. Pittas are all similar in general structure and habits, and have often been placed in a single genus, although as of 2009 they are now split into three...

, Brahminy Kite

Brahminy Kite

The Brahminy Kite , also known as the Red-backed Sea-eagle, is a medium-sized bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards and harriers. They are found in the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and Australia...

, Broad-billed Roller

Broad-billed Roller

The Broad-billed Roller, Eurystomus glaucurus, is a member of the roller family of birds which breeds across tropical Africa and Madagascar in all but the driest regions. It is a wet season breeder, which migrates from the northern and southern areas of its range towards the moister equatorial...

, Crested Serpent Eagle

Crested Serpent Eagle

The Crested Serpent Eagle is a medium-sized bird of prey that is found in forested habitats across tropical Asia. Within its widespread range, there are considerable variations and some authorities prefer to treat several of its subspecies as completely separate species. In the past, several...

, Great Hornbill

Great Hornbill

The Great Hornbill also known as Great Indian Hornbill or Great Pied Hornbill, is one of the larger members of the hornbill family. Great Hornbills are found in the forests of Nepal, India, the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra, Indonesia. Their impressive size and colour have made them important in...

, Golden-backed Woodpecker

Greater Flameback

The Greater Flameback, Chrysocolaptes lucidus, also known as Greater Goldenback, Large Golden-backed Woodpecker or Malherbe's Golden-backed Woodpecker, is a woodpecker species...

, Malabar Pied Hornbill

Malabar Pied Hornbill

The Malabar Pied Hornbill is a hornbill. Hornbills are a family of tropical near-passerine birds found in the Old World....

, Sri Lanka Frogmouth

Sri Lanka Frogmouth

The Sri Lanka Frogmouth or Ceylon Frogmouth is a small frogmouth found in the Western Ghats of south India and Sri Lanka. Related to the nightjars, they are nocturnal and are found in forest habitats...

 and Yellow-footed Green Pigeon

Yellow-footed Green Pigeon

Local name- Hariyal.The Yellow-footed Green Pigeon Treron phoenicoptera also known as Yellow-legged Green Pigeon is a common species of Green Pigeon found in South Asia. The species feeds on fruits of a large variety of fruit trees including a number of species of Ficus. They forage in flocks...

.