Kudremukh Range:
Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Limited (KIOCL) recentlly sought post-facto approval for submerging 700 acres of forest in Kudremukh Range at the heart of Western Ghats about 20 years ago.
- Kudremukh Range is located in the Western Ghats in the Chikmagalur district of Karnataka.
- These broad hills overlook the Arabian Sea and are connected by deep valleys and sharp cliffs.
- It is also known as the Horse Face Range (the literal meaning of Kudremukh in Kannada is horse-faced).
- It got its name from its main peak, Kudremukh Peak (1892 metres), which has a marked similarity to the face of a horse.
- Kudremukh National Park, the second largest wildlife protected area in the Western Ghats, is located in these ranges.
- It is believed that Kudremukh served as a landmark for sailors on the western coast for over 2000 years.
Kudremukh National Park
- It is spread across 600.57 sq km. in the Chikkamagaluru and Dakshina Kannada districts of Karnataka.
- Dense forest cover primarily consists of semi-evergreen and evergreen trees.
- Rare flora on the edge of extinction, such as the Nilambur Cobra Lily and the South Indian Jewel Orchid, can be found here.
- In addition, there are many trees, including eucalyptus, acacia, silk oaks, casuarinas, and others.
- It houses a variety of wildlife such as the leopard, Malabar giant squirrel, sloth bear, gaur, sambar, jackal, mongoose, tiger, wild dog, common langur etc.
- It is home to a variety of birds, such as the Malabar trogon, Malabar whistling thrush, and the imperial pigeon.
