Vibrant colors of Nature... De Western Ghats

vibrant colors of nature.jpg,
originally uploaded by Naseer Ommer.

The Western Ghats, known locally as the Sahyadri Hills, are formed by the Malabar Plains and the chain of mountains running parallel to India's western coast, about 30 to 50 kilometers inland. They cover an area of about 160,000 km² and stretch for 1,600 kilometers from the country's southern tip to Gujarat in the north, interrupted only by the 30 kilometers Palghat Gap. The range starts near the border of Gujarat and Maharashtra, south of the Tapti River, and runs through the states of Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala ending at Kanyakumari, at the southern tip of the Indian peninsula.



The Western Ghats mediates the rainfall regime of peninsular India by intercepting the southwestern monsoon winds. The western slopes of the mountains experience heavy annual rainfall (with 80 percent of it falling during the southwest monsoon from June to September), while the eastern slopes are drier; rainfall also decreases from south to north. Dozens of rivers originate in these mountains, including the peninsula's three major eastward-flowing rivers. These are important sources of drinking water, irrigation, and power. The wide variation of rainfall patterns in the Western Ghats, coupled with the region's complex geography, produces a great variety of vegetation types. These include scrub forests in the low-lying rainshadow areas and the plains, deciduous and tropical rainforests up to about 1,500 meters, and a unique mosaic of montane forests and rolling grasslands above 1,500 meters.The Western Ghats harbors approximately 5,000 species of vascular plants belonging to nearly 2,200 genera; about 1,700 species (34 percent) are endemic. There are also 58 endemic plant genera, and, while some are remarkably speciose (like Niligrianthus, which has 20 species), nearly three-quarters of the endemic genera have only a single species.





In the Western Ghats, the Agasthyamalai Hills / Agasthyamudi in the extreme south are believed to hold the highest levels of plant diversity and endemism. Nearly 87 percent of the region’s flowering plants are found south of the Palghat Gap (37 percent being exclusive to this sub-region); these figures falls to about 60 percent and 5 percent, respectively, in the Nilgiri Hills.



Avian fauna :




There are more than 450 known bird species from the western ghats, of which about 35 are endemic.

The mammalia



The Western ghat is home to about 140 mammal species, although less than 20 are endemic. While mammal diversity is lower here than in some other tropical hotspots, the WG does support a significant diversity of bats, with nearly 50 species and one endemic genus, represented by the bat Latidens salimalii (CR), which is endemic to the High Wavy Mountains in the Western Ghats.



Some of the most prominent mammals are the lion-tailed macaque ( Macaca silenus, EN), found in highly fragmented tropical rain forests in the Western Ghats, and the endemic Nilgiri tahr ( Nilgiritragus hylocrius, EN), which lives in the montane grasslands of the Western Ghats. One of the most threatened Indian mammals, the Malabar civet ( Viverra civettina, CR), is known only from the Malabar Plains, which are densely populated and the focus of most development activities.

The WG also has important populations of the Asian elephant ( Elephas maximus, EN). The Western Ghats is home to about 11,000 animals.

The Herpetofauna


The highest levels of vertebrate endemism in the Western Ghats are among reptiles and amphibians. Of the region's more than 260 reptile species, about 175 (66 percent) are endemic. One quarter of the nearly 90 reptile genera in the hotspot are endemic, and nine of these are represented by single species. Families such as Uropeltidae (47 of 48 species), Gekkonidae (18 of 30), and Agamidae (20 of 26) exhibit very high endemism.

Amphibians



Endemism is particularly marked among amphibians in this region: of approximately 175 species, roughly 130 are endemic. he genus Philautus is particularly well represented with over 50 species occurring, and nearly all of them are endemic. Unfortunately, the amphibian fauna fare particularly high levels of threat, driven particularly by the continuing levels of habitat loss. Among the endemics, over 85 species are considered threatened

King cobras of Western ghats.....

The largest venomous snake in the world...de King Cobra (Ophiphagus hannah) share a unique habitat with many other fauna & flora.my search for the wilderness started from de Love of Snakes........

King cobras live mainly in the rain forests and plains of India, southern China, and Southeast Asia. Their coloration vary greatly from region to region. King Cobra is pale olive or yellow olive in color with a pale yellow veneer. Individuals from India are crossbanded with yellow and a black posterior, whereas Chinese variants are black-brown crossbanded with pale white or ivory. Male King Cobras tend to be longer and thicker than female King Cobras.

King cobras are comfortable in the trees, on land, and in water, feeding mainly on other snakes, venomous and nonvenomous. They will also eat lizards, eggs, and small mammals.

King cobras can reach 18 feet (5.5 meters) in length, making them the longest of all venomous snakes (de specimen in Trichur Zoo was reportedly the largest). When confronted, they can raise up to one-third of their bodies straight off the ground and still move forward to attack. Flaring out their beautiful longitudinal hoods and emit a bone-chilling hiss that sounds almost like a growling dog.

King cobras are the only snakes in the world that build nests for their eggs, which they guard until the hatchlings emerge. The nest is builtout of chiefly, bamboo leaves n they carry the leaves with their body n a superb manner and rearranges them on the area,mostly n bamboo or reed belt. The wholeprocess is truley an artistic way which makes them unique. Though there are reports that they are too angry and ferocious,in my experience they're one of de best snakes in the world,who can understand the intentions of the visitor or intruder. During my research on the breeding habits of king cobras, they were too "coperative" and never tried to show off....





King cobras may be best known as the species of choice for the snake charmers of South Asia. Although cobras can hear, they are actually deaf to ambient noises, sensing ground vibrations instead. The charmer's flute entices the cobra by its shape and movement, not by the music it emits.

King cobra venom is not the most potent among venomous snakes, but the amount of neurotoxin they can deliver in a single bite, seven milliliters is enough to kill 20 people, or even an elephant. But they rarely bites!! At the first instance, king cobras are shy and will avoid humans whenever possible. Then they prefer pristine forested areas which is not frequented by man. But they are fiercely aggressive when cornered and may even chase for sometime. There are no reported King bites from India. A reason for unavailability of antivenin specific to king cobras in India.

My initial attempt with de digital media to start a Blog.Was wondering what it is... for് all these days... searched for it, asked friends n those n this field to find n answer, but failed to get one.

I'm into nature n nature studies for the past 30+ years. Started as a hobby @ one stage that turnedout to be passion n finally my Life itself. When I understood that without the Greens n its inhabitants, my own existance would have been in a dilemma....

I started exploring the real me and learned that there's no "ME"only "US" which includes the wonderful world of Nature and de flora n fauna surrounding it. To know more about Me,I need to explore de Nature...... my explorations started long back stillcontinues and 'm still searching...

..... a humble beginning... ..

to those who love ...... this is for you all........