Photos

South Western Ghats mountain range where this picture was shot demarkates the lush evergreen Forests to the semi deciduous Forests on the Rain Shadow regions.

Considered one among the 34 Bio-Diversity Hotspots existing in the World today, the Western Ghats are home to numerous Animal and Plant species which are endemic. It is also home to the world's largest population of the endangered Asiatic Elephants and the Tiger.

The Western Ghats harbors approximately 5,000 species of vascular plants off which about 1,700 species (34 percent) are endemic. Of the 490 tree species recorded from low- and mid-elevation forests, 308 species are endemic. The only gymnosperm tree, Podocarpus (=Nageia) wallichianus, is also endemic. Of the 267 species of orchids, 130 are endemic

The avifauna of the Western Ghats is diverse, off the 450 known bird species from the hotspot, 35 are endemic and 10 among the endemic species are considered threatened.

While Mammal diversity is lower here, the hotspot is home to about 140 Mammal species, among which about 20 are endemic. Among the flagship Mammal species, the most prominet are the lion-tailed macaque ( Macaca silenus, EN), found in highly fragmented tropical rain forests in the Western Ghats, and the endemic Nilgiri tahr ( Hemitragus hylocrius, EN), which lives in the montane grasslands of the Western Ghats.

The highest levels of vertebrate endemism in the Western Ghats are among reptiles and amphibians. Off the region's more than 260 reptile species, about 175 (66 percent) are endemic. Endemism is particularly marked among amphibians in this hotspot: of approximately 175 species, roughly 130 are endemic

After a short trek to this part of the River, I was told by my Guide that this was a prime Elephant territory. One could spot a herd if lucky when they come down to drink. Unfortunately we couldn't spot any during our visit, we got a little busy too after a while when we discovered our shoes were full of leeches. We had a tough time getting rid of them, it also made me wonder what protection animals like

Elephants have against them. Do they attack Elephants at all...?


Kakkayam, south Western Ghats, Kerala