About Biligiri Ranganatha Swamy Temple (BRT) Tiger Reserve:
- It is located in the BR Hills (Biligiri Rangana Hills) in Chamarajanagar District of southeastern Karnataka.
- The reserve gets its name from Biligiri, meaning “white rocky cliff,” which is home to the ancient Rangaswamy Temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu.
- It is also believed that the hill range gets its name due to white mist and silvery clouds which cover these lofty hills for a greater part of the year.
- It is considered to be the wildlife corridor that connects the Eastern Ghats to the Western Ghats, which in turn facilitates gene flow between the population species inhabiting both the mountain ranges.
- The reserve is home to the Soliga community — a forest-dwelling indigenous people who have lived within the BRT hills for centuries.
- Soligas was the first tribal community living inside a tiger reserve and getting their forest rights recognised by a court in a judgement in 2011.
- Vegetation:
- The vegetation is predominantly dry scrub jungle to evergreen forests and high-altitude shola grassland
- Dry deciduous and scrub forests are found in the foothills.
- Flora: The major species include Anogeissus latifolia, Dalbergia paniculata, Grewia teliaefolia, Terminalia alata, Terminalia bellirica, Terminalia paniculata, etc.
- Fauna: Animals including tiger, elephant, leopard, wild dog, bison, sambar, spotted deer, barking deer, four-horned antelope, sloth bear, wild boar, common langur, bonnet macaque, varieties of reptiles, birds, etc., are found in the Tiger Reserve.
