Sharavathi LTM Wildlife Sanctuary

The Sharavathi Lion Tailed Macaque Wildlife Sanctuary takes its name from the Sharavathi River, which flows through it, and spreads across forests of Uttara Kannada and Shivamogga districts in the Western Ghats, with the Sharavathi Reservoir inside it. Set up in 1972 with 431 sq km, it was enlarged in 2019 to about 930 sq km when the Aghanashini conservation reserve for lion-tailed macaques and other reserved forests were joined to it, and was renamed. The expansion aims to protect freshwater Myristica swamps, home to the endangered lion-tailed macaque, leaf-nosed bats and hornbills.

The forest is tropical evergreen and semi-evergreen. Spotted deer, sambar, gaur, wild boar, porcupine, barking deer, mouse deer, langur, tiger, panther, dhole, python and king cobra live here, and birds include grey junglefowl, peafowl, woodpeckers, flycatchers, kingfishers, whistling teal, bee-eaters and drongos. Sagara, the closest town, lies 34 km off, Thalaguppa railway station 15 km, and Shivamogga airport about 80 km.