The Kalakad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve: A global heritage of biologicaldiversity

摘要

Kalakad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve (KMTR), once largely a reserve forest, became a Tiger Reserve in 1988. This Reserve at the southern end of the Western Chats, a global biodiversity hotspot, is a veritable home of ecological and biological diversity, It has about 150 localized plant endemics, and 33 fish, 37 amphibian, 81 reptile, 273 bird and 77 mammal species. KMTR also protects the catchment of numerous rivers, which supports the agricultural economy of three adjacent districts. This fascinating Reserve, and the unparalleled encouragement from the Tamil Nadu Forest Department, has over the decades attracted numerous biologists, who have studied in detail various species of the Reserve. The Reserve has enormous potential for future research and conservation of biodiversity and endangered species such as the tiger. Tiger conservation in the southern Western Chats should have landscape-level planning and the suggested Megamalai-Kalakad Tiger Conservation Unit offers an ideal framework to turn this suggestion into a reality. KMTR is an excellent illustration of how research and management need to go hand in hand to achieve conservation objectives.