Flora and Fauna of Chennai - Flora and Fauna

Flora and Fauna

The earliest-known documentation of plants in the erstwhile Madras dates to 1853, in a book titled Hortus Madraspatensis by the then conservator of forests, Hugh Cleghorn. The green cover in the city remains at 4%, while the state has 19.65% of forest cover.

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, and the like.. The adjoining IIT campus also holds many black bucks, spotted deers, bonnet monkeys, palm civets, mongoose, many species of birds, snakes, insects, and the like. A small deer population also thrives in the nearby Anna University campus. The Guindy National Park 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 Adyar Eco Park, also known as Tholkappia Poonga, is setup by the Government of Tamil Nadu to restore and protect the fragile ecosystem of Adyar estuary and creek. It is developed in a way to promote eco-tourism.

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 ). 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 of Cooum and Adyar. In addition, the Government of India has plans to classify the Adyar Estuary into a protected eco-system. About 75,000 birds migrate to Chennai every year.

Marshy wetlands such as Pallikaranai also play host to a number of migratory birds during the monsoon and winter. It is one of the prioritized wetlands of Tamil Nadu. Unfortunately, this wetland is being degraded by pollution and garbage dumping and is converted into housing colonies, railway terminus, institutions, and the like with utter disregard for its wildlife and ecosystem values. However, steps are being taken to restore this marshland.

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.