The Western Ghats, also called the Sahyadri, is a mountain range stretching 1,600 kilometers along India's west coast and covering roughly 160,000 square kilometers. It is not a single uniform rainforest but a mosaic of montane rain forest, moist and dry deciduous forest, scrub, peat bogs, swamps and montane grassland, which is why it is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site rather than treated as one plain ecoregion. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
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Biogeographic Realm Protected StatusManaged or Multiple-Use Protection 1 Area (sq km) Connections
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Source Black-winged kite (Wikipedia)
Source Blue-capped rock thrush (Wikipedia)
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Dhole, Species Source Wikidata: Tiger
Additional Source Western Ghats (Wikipedia)Article text
Source Eurasian Hoopoe (Wikipedia)
Source Eurasian Otter (Wikipedia)
Source Great hornbill, Wikipedia
Source Wikipedia: Jungle cat
Source Wikipedia: King cobra
Source Lantana camara (Wikipedia)
Source Wikipedia: Leopard Cat
Source Lion-tailed Macaque (Wikipedia)
Source Purple frog, Wikipedia
Source Poecilotheria rufilata (Wikipedia)
Source Rust (fungus), Wikipedia
Source Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web: Prionailurus rubiginosus
Tiger, Species Source Wikidata: Tiger
Additional Source Western Ghats (Wikipedia)Article text
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1. Western Ghats (Wikipedia)
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The Western Ghats, also known as the Sahyadri, is a mountain range that stretches 1,600 km (1,000 mi) along the west coast of India.
- Biogeographic realm: indomalayan (derived from location stated in entity description)
Protected status (stated plainly in the entity own recorded description)
It is not a single uniform rainforest but a mosaic of montane rain forest, moist and dry deciduous forest, scrub, peat bogs, swamps and montane grassland, which is why it is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site rather than treated as one plain ecoregion.
Hosts: Tiger, Article text
The Western Ghats region has one of the highest tiger populations, estimated at 985 in 2022.
Hosts: Dhole, Article text
Other mammals include endangered and vulnerable species such as the lion-tailed macaque, Nilgiri tahr, leopard, Nilgiri langur, dhole, and gaur.
View the Source Lion-tailed Macaque (Wikipedia)
WikipediaHosts: Lion-tailed Macaque, Lead sectionQuote, Hosts: Lion-tailed Macaque, Lead section
an Old World monkey endemic to the Western Ghats of South India
View the Source National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministrationDemonstrates: MonsoonView the Source Purple frog, Wikipedia
Hosts: Purple Frog, Wikipedia intro: "the pignose frog, is a frog species in the family Nasikabatrachidae. The species is endemic to the Western Ghats in India. Although the adult frog was formally..."View the Source Eurasian Otter (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHosts: Eurasian Otter, Distribution and habitatQuote, Hosts: Eurasian Otter, Distribution and habitat
In India, it is distributed in the Himalayan foothills, southern Western Ghats and the central Indian landscape.
View the Source Wikipedia: King cobra
Hosts: King Cobra, Distribution and habitatQuote, Hosts: King Cobra, Distribution and habitat
In the Western Ghats, it was recorded in Kerala, Karnataka and Maharashtra, and also in Gujarat.
View the Source Eurasian Hoopoe (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHosts: Eurasian Hoopoe, Distribution and habitatQuote, Hosts: Eurasian Hoopoe, Distribution and habitat
Hoopoes make seasonal movements in response to rain in some regions such as in Ceylon and in the Western Ghats.
View the Source Great hornbill, Wikipedia
Hosts: Great Hornbill, Distribution and habitatQuote, Hosts: Great Hornbill, Distribution and habitat
Its distribution is fragmented in the Western Ghats and in the foothills of the Himalayas.
View the Source Lantana camara (Wikipedia)
WikipediaHosts: Lantana Camara, As an invasive speciesQuote, Hosts: Lantana Camara, As an invasive species
While a study in the Western Ghats, did not find significant impacts of L. camara invasion on a few native plant indicators, many other studies have found substantial impacts of its invasion on various biodiversity indicators.
View the Source Caecilian (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Caecilian, Cultural significanceQuote, Hosts: Caecilian, Cultural significance
Caecilians in the Eastern Himalayas are colloquially known as "back ache snakes", while in the Western Ghats, Ichthyophis tricolor is considered to be more toxic than a king cobra.
View the Source Rust (fungus), Wikipedia
Hosts: Rust Fungus, Host plants affectedQuote, Hosts: Rust Fungus, Host plants affected
Recently, a total of 95 rust fungi belonging to 25 genera associated with 117 forest plant species belonging to 80 host genera under 43 host families were reported from the Western Ghats, Kerala, India.
View the Source Wikipedia: Jungle cat
Hosts: Jungle Cat, CharacteristicsQuote, Hosts: Jungle Cat, Characteristics
White cats observed in the coastline tracts of the southern Western Ghats lacked the red eyes typical of true albinos.
View the Source Wikipedia: Leopard Cat
WikipediaHosts: Leopard Cat, Distribution and habitatQuote, Hosts: Leopard Cat, Distribution and habitat
In India, the leopard cat has been recorded in protected areas of the Himalayas and their foothills, of the Terai and Dooars, the Brahmaputra Valley, Garo Hills and in the southern part of the Western Ghats.
View the Source Black-winged kite (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Black-winged kite, Behaviour and ecologyQuote, Hosts: Black-winged kite, Behaviour and ecology
The black-winged kite breeds at different times of the year across its range.
View the Source Blue-capped rock thrush (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Blue-capped rock thrush, HabitsQuote, Hosts: Blue-capped rock thrush, Habits
Like thrushes, they fly up into trees and sit motionless when they are disturbed.
View the Source Asian elephant (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus), Distribution and habitatQuote, Hosts: Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus), Distribution and habitat
In a 2013 study, an estimated 10,000 elephants inhabited the Western Ghats
View the Source Poecilotheria rufilata (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Red Slate Ornamental Tarantula, Distribution and habitatQuote, Hosts: Red Slate Ornamental Tarantula, Distribution and habitat
It is endemic to South Western Ghats of India.
View the Source Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web: Prionailurus rubiginosus
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of ZoologyHosts: Rusty-spotted Cat, Geographic RangeQuote, Hosts: Rusty-spotted Cat, Geographic Range
The species is also found in the Varushanad Valley, Western Ghats, part of a biodiversity hotspot.
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