Mount Abu Wildlife Sanctuary

Mount Abu Wildlife Sanctuary
Location in India
Location	Rajasthan, India
Nearest city	Mount Abu
Coordinates	24°33′0″N 72°38′0″E / 24.55°N 72.633333°E / 24.55; 72.633333Coordinates: 24°33′0″N 72°38′0″E / 24.55°N 72.633333°E / 24.55; 72.633333
Area	288 km².
Established	1960
Visitors	NA (in NA)
Governing body	Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India

Mount Abu Wildlife Sanctuary is located in one of the oldest mountain ranges of India, the Aravalli range. It was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1960.

Geography

It spreads out into a plateau which is about 19 km in length and 6 km in breadth. In altitude, it varies from 300 meters at the foot to 1722 meters at Guru Shikhar, the highest peak in Rajasthan.

The rocks are igneous and due to the weathering effect of wind and water, large cavities are common in them.

Flora

It is very rich in floral bio-diversity starting from xenomorphic sub-tropical thorn forests in the foot hills to sub-tropical evergreen forests along water courses and valleys at higher altitudes.

There are about 112 plant families with 449 genera and 820 species. Of these, 663 species are dicots while 157 species are monocots.

Mount Abu is the only place in Rajasthan where one can observe a variety of orchids. The place is also rich in bryophytes and algae. Three species of wild roses and 16 species of feras some of which are quite rare have also been reported from here. The south-west part of the sanctuary is rich in bamboo forests.

About 81 species of trees, 89 species of shrubs, 28 species of climbers and 17 species of tuberous plants of medicinal importance have been identified in this sanctuary.

Fauna

A variety of fauna, including highly rare, threatened and endangered species are found in this sanctuary. The past history of Mount Abu indicates the presence of lion (last recorded in 1872) and tiger (last reported in 1970). Presently the leopard is the apex predator. Other animals found here are sambhar, jungle cat, small Indian civet, wolf, hyaena, jackal, Indian fox, common langur, wild boar, pangolin, common mongoose, Indian hare, porcupine and hedgehog. The sanctuary provides an ideal habitat for the sloth bear too. It is unique in the sense that more than 250 species of birds are found here, but the speciality of the Abu sanctuary is the grey jungle fowl.