Faunal Diversity of Point Calimere Wildlife Sanctuary

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Point Calimere also known as Kodiakkarai in Tamil is a low head land on the Coromandal Coast situated in the Nagapattinam district of Tamil Nadu (Fig 1) and lies in the apex of Cauvery River delta and is covering an area of 21.47 Km protected area along the Palk Strait where it meets the Bay of Bengal. The Point Calimere Wildlife Sanctuary was created in 1967 June 13. Later in 1988 the sanctuary was enlarged to include the Great Vedaranyam Swamp and the Talaignayar Reserve Forest, and renamed the Point Calimere Wildlife and Bird Sanctuary, with a total area of 377 Km² In 1962 Dr. Salim Ali first identified The Point Calimere region as an arca of high significance for the conservation of birds Point Calimere is home to the endangered endemic Indian blackbuck and is one of the few known wintering locations of the spoon-billed sandpiper and grater flamingos in India. The area is dotted with salt pans and these holds large crustacean population that support the migratory birds. In 1967 the sanctuary was created and put under control of the Thanjavar Forest Division and then to the Wildlife Division in Nagapattinam when that was created in 1986.

The Point Calimere area is also associated with the mythological Hinda epic. The Ramayana. The highest point of the sanctuary, Ramarpatham means "Rama's feet" in Tamil is at an elevation of 4 m bears a stone slab with the impressions of two feet and is believed to be the place where Rama stood and reconnoitred Ravana's kingdom in Sri Lanka, which lies 48 km, to the south.

The Pont Calimere Wildlife Sanctuary is bounded on the cast by the Bay of Bengal and the Great Vedaranyam Swamp on the west. The northern boundary of the Point Calimere forest starts about six kilometres south of Vedaranyam and extends further south for about 4 km till the Palk Strait. The Point calimere Wildlife Sanctuary is located between the co-ordinates of 10 17-10-22 N Lantude, 7925-79152 E Longitude at an elevation of 0-6 m.

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