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Tami Nadu - Tamil Nadu Wild Life - Point Calimere Wildlife and Bird Sanctuary
Point Calimere Wildlife and Bird Sanctuary
Point Calimere Wildlife and Bird Sanctuary (PCWBS) is a 21.47-square-kilometre (8.29 sq mi) protected area in Tamil Nadu, South India along the Palk Straight where it meets the Bay of Bengal at Point Calimere at the southeastern tip of Nagapattinam District. The sanctuary was created in 1967 for conservation of the near threatened Blackbuck Antelope, an endangered endemic mammal species of India. It is famous for large congregations of waterbirds, especially Greater Flamingos. International name: Point Calimere Wildlife Sanctuary, IBA Code: IN275, Criteria: A1, A4i, A4iii. The 7-square-kilometre (2.7 sq mi) core area of this sanctuary has been proposed as a National Park |
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The sanctuary, located adjacent to and east of Kodaikarai and Kodaikadu villages, is basically an Island surrounded by the Bay of Bengal to the east, the Palk Straight to the south and swampy backwaters and salt pans to the west and north. Coordinates are between 10.276 to 10.826 N and 79.399 to 79.884 E. Low sand dunes are located along the coast and along the western periphery with coastal plains, tidal mud-flats and shallow seasonal ponds in between. Sand dunes in the east are mostly now stabilized by Prosopis and the higher dunes in the west are stabilized by dense Tropical dry evergreen forests. The tallest dune in the sanctuary and the highest point of land in Nagapattinam District is 7 metres (23 ft). at the northwest corner of the sanctuary at Ramar Padam.
PCWBS forms the easternmost and most biologically diverse part of Ramsar Site no. 1210 which, in 2002, was declared a place of international importance for the conservation of waterbirds and their wetlands habitats. This 385-square-kilometre (149 sq mi) site comprises PCWBS, Panchanadikulam Wetland, Unsurveyed Salt swamp, Thalainayar Reserved Forest and Muthupet Mangroves. It is all part of the Great Vedaranyam Swamp, except the reserved forest.
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