As Tiruvannamalai continues to witness a steady rise in the day temperature, water stored in the percolation ponds and check dams in Jawadhu Hills in the district remains the major water source for wild animals this summer.
Forest officials said that Jawadhu Hills forest range comprises Pattarakadu and Veerapanur reserve forests (RFs), covering around 12,200 hectares of the forest area. The hills also have other forest ranges like Alangayam (Tirupattur), Odugathur, and Amirthi (Vellore) and Polur and Melpattu (Tiruvannmalai). Some of the wild species includes Indian gaur, peacocks, spotted deer, migratory birds.
Wildlife in these forest ranges depend on the water sources, mainly man-made percolation ponds and check dams. “After many years, Bheemam falls in the hills has become bone-dry before the start of summer. Earlier, the falls remained a key perennial water source for wild speciesin the hills,” M. Prabhu, forest range officer (Jawadhu Hills), told The Hindu.
