Flora and fauna of Chennai

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1 Rivers and Lakes
2 Beaches
3 Flora and fauna
4 External Links

[edit] Rivers and Lakes

There are two semi-perennial rivers flowing through Chennai, and there are a number of lakes in and around Chennai, most notably Velachery Lake and Pallikaranai Lake.

[edit] Beaches

Facing north on Elliot's Beach in Besant Nagar.

The Marina is the country's longest (and among the world's longest) beach, and its 13-km length is often subdivided into more manageable units. The northern part of the beach (immediately south of the Cooum River) is called the Marina beach, and is followed by the San Thome beach, which lies north of the Adyar river estuary. Located on Marina Beach is a famous statue of Mahatma Gandhi.

South of the Adyar, the first section is called Elliot's beach or Besant Nagar beach, and is followed by the Tiruvanmiyur beach, the Kottivakkam beach, and the Neelangarai beach. The beach is visited by most people in the late afternoon and evening, when the sea breeze effect is at its strongest. It is also favoured by joggers at dawn and by couples at night.

Before the Madras Harbour was built, the Marina beach was just a strip of mud, teeming with mudskippers.

[edit] Flora and fauna

The Guindy National Park in the south of the city is the country's smallest National Park, with an area of 2.76 km². This is also a rare National Park that is located completely inside a large city. It has a scrub forest and the animals found here include chital and black buck, many species of snakes, birds, insects etc. ^[1]. The adjoining IIT campus also holds many Black buck, Spotted deer, Bonnet monkeys, Palm civets, mongoose, many species of birds, snakes, insects etc. A small deer population also thrives in the nearby Anna University campus. The GNP and the adjoining IIT Madras campus play a vital role in cleaning the city's atmosphere and is several degrees cooler than the city in summer.

The Arignar Anna Zoological Park (better known as Vandalur Zoo) is located southwest of the city and covers an area of 5.1 km². The Zoo was formerly located in Park Town under the name "Madras Zoo", and was the oldest zoo in the country (established 1854 ^[2]). It was moved to its current suburban location in 1980. It has about eighty species on display and includes a lion safari and two aviaries.

The southern stretches of the beach, from Tiruvanmiyur to Neelangarai, are favoured by the endangered Olive Ridley turtles to lay their eggs every winter, as are other beaches in Tamil Nadu and Orissa. At that time, many conservation volunteers work on the beach during the night to protect the eggs or to remove them to a hatchery. Hatchlings are usually released to the sea in March or April.

South of the city, along the East Coast Road, is the Madras Crocodile Bank Trust, which hosts several fresh-water and salt-water crocodiles, alligators, gharials, and also turtles and snakes. It is considered an important institute for herpetological research, and performs services such as snake venom extraction for preparing antidotes.

A large number of cattle egrets, pond herons and other waterbirds can be seen in the rivers Cooum and Adyar. In addition, the Government of India has plans to classify the Adyar Estuary into a protected eco-system.

Marshy wetlands such as Pallikaranai also play host to a number of migratory birds during the monsoon and winter. Unfortunately, this wetland is being degraded by pollution, garbage dumping and is converted into housing colonies, railway terminus, institutions etc. with utter disregard for its wildlife and ecosystem values.

Over 300 species of birds have been recorded in the city and its neighbourhood by members of Madras Naturalists' Society since its inception in 1978. The society aims at raising awareness among the citizens particularly students on the importance of wildlife in the city and conservation. They have regular meetings every month and publish monthly newsletter and a quarterly journal "Blackbuck". They also organise outings and camps for members.