Vallanadu Wildlife Sanctuary

Vallanadu Wildlife Sanctuary

Vallanadu Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected area of Tamil Nadu created for the protection of blackbuck antelope.

Vallanadu Wildlife Sanctuary

It is located on an secluded hillock in Vallanadu Village of Srivaikundam Taluk, a southernmost place in India where a natural population of blackbuck exists.

The sanctuary belongs to the South Deccan Plateau dry deciduous forest. The thorny hardwood and xerophytes: Dalbergia multiflora, Dichrostachys cinerea, Acacia latronum, Acacia planifrons, Albizia amara, Zizyphus sp. and a few Azadirachta indica, Dodonia viscosa, Carissa carandus,Pterolobium indicum, Euphorbia Acalypha fruticosa and Ocimum sanctum, species form the brushwood.

Blackbuck, spotted deer, macaque, jungle cat, monkey, wild cat, mongoose, black naped hare, scaly anteater, viper and rat snake also inhabitants of this sanctuary.

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 also found in this area.

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