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Tansa Wildlife Sanctuary
Why in News?
A forest guard spotted a Eurasian goshawk, a medium-large raptor, during routine patrolling at Tansa Wildlife Sanctuary, highlighting the region's ecological richness.
Key Points
- Eurasian Goshawk in Maharashtra:
- About:
- The Eurasian goshawk has been recorded in Maharashtra at least three times before.
- This bird of prey is widely distributed across Europe, Asia, and parts of North America.
- Its Scientific Name is Accipiter gentilis.
- Features:
- It has relatively short, broad wings and a long tail.
- It is blue-grey above or brownish-grey with dark barring or streaking over a grey or white base color below, but Asian subspecies in particular range from nearly white overall to nearly black above.
- Females are significantly larger than males.
- About:
- Tansa Wildlife Sanctuary’s Avian Richness:
- The sanctuary is renowned for its diverse bird species and serves as an important habitat for avifauna.
- Among its most significant discoveries is the critically endangered Forest Owlet in 2014.
- Conservation Significance:
- The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List classifies the Forest Owlet as critically endangered, indicating a high risk of extinction.
- Earlier, researchers believed this species was endemic only to the Satpura mountain ranges in central India.
Tansa Wildlife Sanctuary
- Location and Geography:
- It is situated in Thane District, Maharashtra, about 90 km northeast of Mumbai, in the foothills of the Western Ghats.
- The Tansa and Vaitarna rivers flow through the sanctuary, with the Tansa River dividing it into two parts.
- Water Resources and Catchment Area:
- The sanctuary forms the catchment area of Tansa Lake, along with the surrounding Khardi, Vaitarna, Wada, and Shahapur forests.
- Tansa, Vaitarna, and Bhatsa reservoirs serve as major water sources for Mumbai and Thane.
- Vegetation and Flora:
- Features Southern Tropical Moist Deciduous Forest, with patches of Evergreen forest.
- Key tree species include Kalamb, Bibla, Khair, Hed, Teak, and Bamboo.
- Fauna and Avian Diversity:
- Home to 54 species of animals and 200 species of birds.
- Major wild animals include Panther, Barking Deer, Mouse Deer, Hyena, and Wild Boar.
- Hosts two Critically Endangered Gyps vulture species and the Vulnerable Pallas’s Fish-Eagle (Haliaeetus leucoryphus).
