Flora and Fauna
Kodagu is considered rich with wildlife and has three wildlife sanctuaries and one national park: the Brahmagiri, Talakaveri, and Pushpagiri Wildlife Sanctuaries, and the Nagarhole National Park, also known as the Rajiv Gandhi National Park.
The flora of the jungle includes Michelia champaca, Mesua (Ironwood), Diospyros (ebony and other species), Toona ciliata (Indian mahogany), Chukrasia tabularis, Calophyllum angustifolium (Poon spar), Canarium strictum (Black Dammar), Artocarpus, Dipterocarpus, Garcinia, Euonymus, Cinnamomum, Myristica, Vaccinium, Myrtaceae, Melastomataceae, Rubus (three species) and a rose. In the undergrowth are found cardamom, Areca, plantains, canes, wild black pepper, Cyatheales and other ferns, and arums.
In the forest of the less thickly-wooded bamboo country in the west of Kodagu the most common trees are the Dalbergia latifolia (Black wood), Pterocarpus marsupium (Kino tree), Terminalia tomentosa (Matthi), Lagerstroemia parviflora (Benteak), Anogeissus latifolia (Dindul), Bassia latifolia, Butea monosperma, Nauclea parvifiora, and several species of acacia. Teak and sandalwood also grow in the eastern part of the district.
The fauna include: the Asian elephant, tiger, leopard, dhole, gaur, boar, and several species of deer.
Kodagu also offers a wide variety of birds, roughly around 300 birds have been sighted and reported over the years.
Read more about this topic: Kodagu District
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