Sagareshwar Wildlife Sanctuary

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Sagareshwar Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected area in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is located at the meeting of three Tehsils of Sangli district: Khanapur, Walva and Palus. The wildlife sanctuary is man-made; it is an artificially cultivated forest without a perennial supply of water, and most of the wildlife species were artificially introduced. It has an area of 10.87 km².

[edit] Flora and fauna

The sanctuary is forested, but with grassy hill slopes. The forests are southern dry mixed deciduous and southern thorn forest. Protection from grazing and forest fire has resulted in good regeneration of dry deciduous species. The forest department introduced many plants in the area, including Tamarind, Neem, Nilgiri, Acacia, Agave, and Khair.

Large animals found in the sanctuary include several types of deer (Sambar Deer, Blackbucks, Muntjac, Chital) as well as wild boar and peacocks. Small carnivores like hyena, fox and porcupines are also found in the area. A large number of insects, birds and reptiles such as pythons and other snakes are also present.

[edit] Tourism

The sanctuary is a popular tourist destination, with the peak tourism season being from August to February. The most popular tourist activity is hiking to the top of a hill in the sanctuary, from which one can see the Krishna River flowing through fields of sugarcane and grapevines. Also in the area are numerous shrines to Shiva which were built during the Chalukya dynasty, and the Krishna Valley Wine Park in Palus.