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{{Short description|Wildlife sanctuary in South India}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{Infobox protected area
| name = Biligirirangana Hills
| alt_name =
| iucn_category = IV
| image = Hokkubare Honnebare peaks BR Hills.jpeg
| image_alt =
| image_caption = Peaks of Hokkubare and Honnebare
| image_size =
| map = India Karnataka#India
| elevation = 1707 m
| map_alt =
| map_caption = Map of Nilgiris Biosphere Reserve, showing Biligiriranga Swamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary in relation to multiple contiguous protected areas
| map_width =
| relief = 1
| mapframe = Yes
| mapframe-zoom = 10
| location = [[Yelandur]] Taluk, [[Chamarajanagar district|Chamarajanagar]], India
| nearest_city = [[Kollegal]] {{convert|30|km|mi}}
| coordinates = {{coords|11|59|38|N|77|8|26|E|display=inline, title}}
| established = 27 June 1974
| visitation_num =
| visitation_year =
| governing_body = [https://web.archive.org/web/20120207014313/http://www.karnatakaforest.gov.in/English/wild_life_eco_tour/wildlife_eco_tour.htm#natpark Karnataka Forest Department]
| world_heritage_site =
| url =
| image_map = Nilgiris Biosphere Reserve.jpg
}}
The '''Biligirirangana Hills''' or '''Biligirirangan Hills''' (as referred to in biology and geology<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1038/183483b0|title=Trap-Shotten Rock from the Biligirirangan Hills, Mysore State, India|year=1959|last1=Pichamuthu|first1=C. S.|journal=Nature|volume=183|issue=4659|pages=483–484|bibcode=1959Natur.183..483P|s2cid=4196566}}</ref>) is a hill range situated in [[Chamarajanagar District]] in south-western [[Karnataka]], at its border with [[Tamil Nadu]] (Erode District) in [[South India]]. The area is called '''Biligiri Ranganatha Swamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary''' or simply BRT Wildlife Sanctuary.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.karnatakatourism.org/tour-item/biligiri-ranganathaswamy-tiger-reserve-and-wildlife-sanctuary/ | title=BR Tiger Reserve and Wildlife Sanctuary }}</ref> It is a [[Protected area|protected reserve]] under the [[Wildlife Protection Act of 1972]]. Being close to the [[Eastern Ghats]] as well as the [[Western Ghats]], the sanctuary has floral and faunal associations with both regions. The site was declared a [[tiger reserve]] in January 2011 by the [[Government of Karnataka]], a few months after approval from India's [[National Tiger Conservation Authority]].<ref name=notification>{{cite web|last1=Anon|title=Karnataka Gazette Notification|url=http://gazette.kar.nic.in/17-02-2011/Part-4A-Page-137-168).pdf|website=Karnataka Rajyapatra|publisher=Government of Karnataka|access-date=16 September 2015|archive-date=19 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151119034912/http://gazette.kar.nic.in/17-02-2011/Part-4A-Page-137-168).pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Location==
[[File:Ancient Biligiri Ranganatha Temple.jpg|thumb|Biligiri Ranganatha Swamy temple]]
The hills are located at the north-west of the Western Ghats and the westernmost edge of the Eastern Ghats. Thus this area supports a diverse flora and fauna in view of the various habitat types present. A wildlife sanctuary of {{convert|322.4|km2}} was created around the temple on 27 June 1974, and enlarged to {{convert|539.52|km2}} on 14 January 1987. The sanctuary derives its name '''Biligiri''' (white hill in [[Kannada]]) from the white rock face that constitutes the major hill crowned with the temple of Ranganathaswamy ([[Vishnu]]), a major deity in Hinduism, or from the white mist and the silver clouds that cover these hills for a greater part of the year. An annual festival of Vishnu, held in the month of April, draws pilgrims from far and wide. Once in two years, the Soliga Tribals present a 1-foot and 9 inches slipper, made of skin, to the deity in Biligiriranga Hills.

The hills are in the Yelandur, [[Kollegal]] and Chamarajanagar [[taluka]]s of Chamarajanagar District of Karnataka. They are contiguous with hills in [[Sathyamangalam Wildlife Sanctuary]] in [[Erode District]] of Tamil Nadu to the south. By road, they are about {{convert|90|km}} from [[Mysore]] and {{convert|160|km}} from [[Bangalore]]. The road leading to the village on top of the hills may be approached either from [[Yelandur]] or [[Chamarajanagar]]. Kyathadevara Gudi or K Gudi is located close to BR Hills, where safari is conducted.

==Geography==
The BR hills are a starting point of the Eastern Ghats and contact the border of the Western Ghats, allowing animals to move between them and facilitating gene flow between populations of species in these areas. Thus, this sanctuary serves as an important biological bridge for the biota of the entire [[Deccan Plateau]].

The BR hills along with the [[Male Mahadeshwara Hills]] (MM Hills) range form a distinctly unusual ridge running north–south amidst the plains of Bangalore (~900 m), Mysore (~800 m) and [[Krishnagiri]](~450 m). The peaks of these lofty ranges rise as high as {{convert|1800|m|ft}} (BR hills {{convert|1400|–|1800|m|ft}}; MM Hills {{convert|1000|–|1200|m|ft}}). The highest hill is Kattari Betta, at 1800 metres. Various observations point to a possible biogeographic link between BR hills and [[Nilgiris (mountains)|Nilgiri]] ranges.
[[File:Brhpan.JPG|thumb|650px|Panoramic view of the Biligiriranga Hills. The pointed peak is Malkibetta, to its left is the high ridge of Honnematti.]]
[[Biogeography|Biogeographically]], the sanctuary is unique. It is located between 11° and 12° N and the ridges of the hills run in the north–south direction. It is a projection of the Western Ghats in a north-easterly direction and meets the splintered hills of the Eastern Ghats at 78° E. This unique extension / offshoot of Western Ghats constitutes a live bridge between the Eastern Ghats and Western Ghats with the sanctuary located almost in the middle of this bridge. Thus, the biota of BRT sanctuary can be expected to be predominantly of Western Ghats in nature with significant proportion of eastern elements as well.<ref>Srinivasan, U. and Prashanth N. S. (2006): Preferential routes of bird dispersal to the Western Ghats in India: An explanation for the avifaunal peculiarities of the Biligirirangan Hills. Indian Birds 2 (4): 114–119.[https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Umesh_Srinivasan/publication/242161670_Preferential_routes_of_bird_dispersal_to_the_Western_Ghats_in_India_An_explanation_for_the_avifaunal_peculiarities_of_the_Biligirirangan_Hills/links/53d5e4db0cf228d363ea12ab.pdf PDF] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151119023832/https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Umesh_Srinivasan/publication/242161670_Preferential_routes_of_bird_dispersal_to_the_Western_Ghats_in_India_An_explanation_for_the_avifaunal_peculiarities_of_the_Biligirirangan_Hills/links/53d5e4db0cf228d363ea12ab.pdf |date=19 November 2015 }}</ref>

==Climate and vegetation==
The sanctuary, ~35 km long north–south and ~15 km wide east–west, is spread over an area of 540 km<sup>2</sup> with a wide variation in mean temperature (9 °C to 16 °C minimum and 20 °C to 38 °C maximum) and annual rainfall (600 mm at the base and 3000 mm at the top of the hills) The hill ranges, within the sanctuary raise as high as 1200 m above the basal plateau of 600 m and run north–south in two ridges. The wide range of climatic conditions along with the altitude variations within the small area of the sanctuary have translated it into a highly heterogeneous mosaic of habitats such that we find almost all major forest vegetation types – [[scrubland|scrub]], [[deciduous]], [[riparian]], [[evergreen]], [[sholas]] and [[grassland]]s.

The forests harbour close to 800 [[species]] of plants from various [[family (biology)|families]] and shows a close affinity to the Western Ghats.<ref>Ramesh, B. R. (1989) ''Flora of BR Hills'' [[French Institute of Pondicherry]]</ref>

==Flora and fauna==
The Biligiris are [[charnockite]] hills, covered with [[tropical dry broadleaf forest]], part of the [[South Deccan Plateau dry deciduous forests]] ecoregion. The forests range from scrub forests at lower elevations, degraded by over-use, to the tall deciduous forests typical of the ecoregion, to stunted shola forests and montane [[grasslands]] at the highest elevations, which exceed 1800 meters.
The forests form an important [[wildlife corridor]] between the [[Western Ghats]] and the [[Eastern Ghats]], linking the largest populations of [[Asian elephant|Asian elephants]] and [[Bengal tiger|tigers]] in southern India.

[[File:Asian Elephant panning.jpg|thumb|Bull elephant walking in BR Hills forest]]

The most conspicuous mammals in the BR Hills are the herds of wild [[Asian elephants|elephants]]. The BR hills is the only forest east of the main Western Ghats mountain ranges in the central southern [[peninsula]] to harbor these pachyderms in large numbers. The forests were the study area for R. Sukumar, a scientist who studied the elephants of the area in the early eighties. A recent (2017) survey has revealed the presence of 62 [[Bengal tiger|tigers]] in this sanctuary.<ref>Ganeshaiah, K. N., R. Uma Shaanker and K. S. Bawa. (1998) ''Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary: Natural history, biodiversity and conservation''. ATREE and VGKK, Bangalore</ref> The forests are well known for many [[gaur]], the largest [[bovine]]s. BR hills are a good place for viewing many other large and small animals. There are about 26 species of [[mammal]]s recorded in the sanctuary.

The other mammals include [[sambar (deer)|sambhar]], [[chital]], the shy [[barking deer]] which are quite common here and the rare [[Chousingha|four-horned antelope]]. Carnivores include [[Tiger|tigers]], [[leopard]]s, [[Dhole|wild dogs]], lesser [[cat]]s and [[sloth bear]]s and among [[arboreal]] mammals two species of [[primate]]s and three species of [[squirrel]]s including the [[giant flying squirrel]] are recorded. A recent (2017) survey of tigers by [[DNA analysis]] of [[feces|scat]] samples has revealed 62 tigers, although the number may be more. 254 species of birds have been recorded in the BR hills.<ref>Srinivasa, T. S., S. Karthikeyan. and J. N. Prasad. (1997) ''Faunal survey of the Biligirirangan Temple Wildlife Sanctuary''. Merlin Nature Club, Bangalore.</ref><ref>Islam, Z. and A. R. Rahmani. (2004) ''Important Bird Areas in India: Priority areas for conservation''. Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai, BirdLife International, UK and Oxford University Press, Mumbai</ref><ref>Aravind, N. A., D. Rao, and P. S. Madhusudan. (2001) ''Additions to the Birds of Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary, Western Ghats, India''. Zoos' Print Journal 16 (7): 541–547.</ref><ref>Srinivasan, U. and Prashanth N.S. (2005): ''Additions to the Avifauna of the Biligirirangans''. Indian Birds. 1(5): 104 [http://indianbirds.in/pdfs/Srinivasan_BRHills.pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151119102058/http://indianbirds.in/pdfs/Srinivasan_BRHills.pdf|date=19 November 2015}}</ref> These include the enigmatic southern population of the [[white-naped tit|white-winged tit]] (''Parus nuchalis''), a specimen of which was collected by R. C. Morris and is now housed in the Natural History museum at Tring. A recently discovered species is the microhylid frog ''[[Microhyla sholigari]]'', named after the [[Soliga people|Soligas]], an indigenous tribe that inhabit these hills.

==Threats==
[[Quarrying]] in the fringes of the hills is rampant after the brief lull of activities during the time when the dreaded bandit [[Veerappan]] was on the run. After his death, the quarrying activities have taken off with renewed vigour with strong political backing. The forest department and the local NGOs were instrumental in banning disposal of plastic within the sanctuary.<ref name=DH>{{cite news|last=DHNS|title=Students make BR Hills plastic free|url=http://www.deccanherald.com/content/150702/students-make-b-r-hills.html|access-date=13 April 2011|newspaper=Deccan Herald|date=1 April 2011|archive-date=11 April 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110411012543/http://www.deccanherald.com/content/150702/students-make-b-r-hills.html|url-status=live}}</ref> After wildlife environmentalist, Giridhar Kulkarni informed the NTCA of the proliferation of illicit resorts inside the tiger reserve, the Chief wildlife warden of Karnataka recently issued orders against illegal resorts and homestays in the BRT Tiger Reserve.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-06-27 |title=Karnataka chief wildlife warden issues directions against illegal resorts, homestays in BRT Tiger Reserve |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/bangalore/karnataka-chief-wildlife-warden-directions-illegal-resorts-homestays-brt-tiger-reserve-8689063/ |access-date=2023-07-18 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}}</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Brown fishing owl.jpg|[[Brown fish owl]], BRT Chamarajanagar
File:Dark Blue Tiger butterflies at Biligiriranga temple wildlife sanctuary.jpg|Dark blue tiger butterflies, BRT WLS Chamarajanagar
File:Striped Tiger butterflies at Biligiriranga Wildlife Sanctuary.jpg|Striped tiger and common Indian crow butterflies, BRT WLS Chamarajanagar
File:Gaur and Chital deer grazing together at Biligiriranga wildlife sanctuary.jpg|Gaur (bison) chital herd, BRT WLS Chamarajanagar
File:Muntjac at Biligiriranga temple wildlife sanctuary.jpg|Common Indian muntjac or barking deer (male), BRT WLS Chamarajanagar
File:Sambar Stag at Biligiriranga temple wildlife sanctuary.jpg|Sambar stag, BRT WLS Chamarajanagar
File:Sloth bear pair behind the bushes at Biligiriranga temple wildlife sanctuary.jpg|Sloth bear pair, BRT WLS Chamarajanagar
File:Spot-bellied eagle-owl at Biligiriranga temple wildlife sanctuary.jpg|Spot bellied eagle owl, BRT WLS Chamarajanagar
File:Purple Rumped sunbird at Biligiriranga temple wildlife sanctuary.jpg|Purple rumped sunbird, BRT WLS Chamarajanagar
File:Dhole with mange.jpg|Dhole at Biligiriranga Hills, Karnataka
File:Dhole pups.jpg|Dhole pups at Biligiriranga Hills, Karnataka
File:Nightjar at Biligiriranga Hills, Karnataka.jpg|Nightjar at Biligiriranga Hills, Karnataka
File:Crested Serpent Eagle at Biligiriranga Hills, Karnataka.jpg|Crested Serpent Eagle at Biligiriranga Hills, Karnataka
File:Rat snake display.jpg|Rat snake display in Biligiriranga Hills, Karnataka
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Portal|India}}
* {{commons category-inline}}
* [http://theloapers.blogspot.in/2011/08/38-mm-hills-br-hills-shivanasamudra.html BR hills elephants encounter – Loaps]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070930224313/http://www.hindu.com/2005/06/07/stories/2005060711760500.htm Tiger census at BRT WLS]
* [http://www.atree.org/ ATREE]
* [http://www.vgkk.org Vivekananda Girijana Kalyana Kendra – A 25-year-old NGO dedicated to integrated tribal development in BR Hills] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190418055721/http://www.vgkk.org/ |date=18 April 2019 }}

{{Eastern Ghats}}
{{Western Ghats}}
{{Tiger Reserves Of India}}

[[Category:Mountains of Karnataka]]
[[Category:Eastern Ghats]]
[[Category:Mountains of the Western Ghats]]
[[Category:Protected areas of Karnataka]]
[[Category:Hill stations in Karnataka]]
[[Category:Populated places in the Western Ghats]]
[[Category:Geography of Chamarajanagar district]]
[[Category:South Deccan Plateau dry deciduous forests]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Chamarajanagar district]]

Biligiriranga Hills - Revision history

Matrika at 05:06, 22 February 2026