Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary

Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area)
Landscape in Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary
Location in Jharkhand Show map of Jharkhand Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary (India) Show map of India
Location	East Singhbhum, Saraikela Kharsawan district, Jharkhand, India
Nearest city	Jamshedpur
Coordinates	22°54′15″N 86°12′59″E
Area	195 km^2 (75 sq mi)
Established	1975
Governing body	Department of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of Jharkhand

Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary is a wildlife sanctuary in India in the state of Jharkhand. It was inaugurated in 1975 and provides habitat for an Indian elephant population.^[1]

Geography

Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary is situated in the Dalma Hills and covers around 195 km² (75 sq mi) in East Singhbhum and Saraikela Kharsawan districts of the state of Jharkhand.^[2]

Flora

Forest in Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary

The forest consists of wide variety of trees including mango, guava, lemon, mahuwa, jamun, sheesham, neem, baabul, bamboo, arjuna, karanj, kadam and sal.^[3]

Fauna

Crested serpent eagle at Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary

Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary is home to wide variety of wild animals. During a waterhole census in May 2022, Indian elephant, sloth bear, golden jackal, barking deer, wild boar, porcupine, mouse deer, langur, pangolin, Indian giant squirrel and mongooses were spotted.^[2] It hosts many species of birds including jungle fowl, Indian grey hornbill, Indian peafowl, kingfishers, common myna and Asian koel.^[4]

There are thought to be 85 elephant in the sanctuary as of 2024.^[5] They migrate to West Bengal during August and September and usually return in December and January.^[6]

In 2016, pugmarks of a tiger were found, and a tigress with a cub was videographed.^[7] In January 2025, a male tiger was in the sanctuary which migrated from Palamu Tiger Reserve through the forest corridor of Gumla and Khunti districts.^[8]

References

1. Chaudhary, S.K.; Pandey, A.C.; Parida, B.R. (2024). "Geospatial analysis of elephant habitat suitability and movement for mapping the elephant corridor in Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary (India)". Environmental Monitoring and Assessment. 196 (10): 936. doi:10.1007/s10661-024-13110-2.
2. "Effective habitat management in Dalma wildlife sanctuary results in rising elephant numbers". Hindustan Times. 3 June 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2025.
3. Chatterjee, N. D. (2016). "Ecological Biodiversity of Panchet Forest Division and Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary". Man–Elephant Conflict (Pp.19-59). SpringerBriefs in Environmental Science: 30–32. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-31162-3_2. ISBN 978-3-319-31161-6.
4. Verma, S. K. (2011). "A preliminary survey on the avian community of Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary, Jharkhand, India". Journal of Threatened Taxa. 3 (5): 1764–1770. doi:10.11609/JoTT.o2181.1764-70.
5. "Elephant Population In Dalma Dwindles: Census". Times of India. 29 June 2024. Retrieved 10 January 2025.
6. "Dalma wildlife sanctuary teeming with Asiatic elephants". Telegraph India. 15 January 2022. Retrieved 10 January 2025.
7. "We know how the 'Lalgarh tiger' died. But where did it live?". The Hindu. 2018. Retrieved 13 January 2025.
8. "Trap camera links loitering tiger to Palamu reserve, Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary on alert as big cat returns". Telegraph India. 1 February 2025. Retrieved 1 February 2025.

External links