Annexure I

SHIMOGA DISTRICT
General: Shimoga, one of the 19 districts of the Karnataka state, is situated in the mid- southwestern part of the State. It is bestowed with abundant natural resources. The western part is replete with fascinating natural beauty, being clothed with dense tropical forests stimulated by heavy rainfall. The eastern area consists of an open country with some fine lakes and stony hills making this part also attractive to the eye.
Location: The district is situated between 13°27’ and 14°39’ (N) latitude and between 74°38’ and 76°4’ (E) longitude. It is located about the mid- southwestern part of the State. Its greatest length from east to west is 152.9 km and from north to south it is 128.8km.
Topography:  The raise towards the crest of the Ghats is very rapid, a height of 1, 343 m being attained at Kodachadri, a mountain on whose summit meet the two boundaries of Shimoga and South Kanara districts. Kodachadri is a fine peak situated at about 16.1 km, northeast of Nagar.
Water Resources: One of the important rivers that flow through the Shimoga district is Sharavathi.Ground water is present in the voids of rocks and soil. It is an important source of irrigation in several parts of the State. The average rainfall of the place is 1, 526 mm per annum, yielding about 15, 751.37 million m3 of water. The major portion of this water goes underground.  The water table has been gauged in the district and it varies from 2 m to 15 m and the fluctuation of water table is 7.88 m. The surveys conducted have revealed that there is good scope for tapping groundwater for irrigational and other purposes like making additional wells feasible.

Mineral Resources:
Geology: Geologically, the Shimoga district consists of the most ancient rock formations of Archaean complex, which are chiefly composed of 2 systems; the Dharwar system (or Dharwar Schist) and the Gneissic system. Nearly the Dharwar Schist, the Shimoga band forming a prominent belt from West to East and Occupying a larger area, covers two-thirds area of the district. This belt is made up of various types of Schist, chiefly chloritic and in places micaceous or hornblondic, associated with volcanic rocks of different types. Along with them are found some highly altered sedimentary rocks such as quartzites, conglomerates, limestones, shales and banded ironstones (ferruginous quartzites). The Shimoga Schist belt is split up into several small bands by intrusion of the Granites.
Climate: The cold season is from December to February, which is one of generally clear light weather. It is followed by the hot season from March to May. The Southwest monsoon season is from June to September. October and November constitute the post monsoon or retreating monsoon season.
Temperature: After January, there is rapid increase of temperatures. April is usually the hottest month with the mean daily maximum temperature at 35.8°C and the mean daily minimum temperature 22.2°C. Nights during May are slightly warmer than that during April. With the onset of the Southwest monsoon in the district early in June, there is applicable drop in the day temperature but the nights still continue to be nearly as warm as during the summer season. Day temperature increases slightly from September and a secondary maximum in day temperature is reached in October, but the nights become cooler with the progress of the season. After October, both the day and night temperature decrease steadily till about January and later begin to increase. In December, the mean daily maximum temperature is 29.2°C and the mean daily minimum temperature is 14.9°C. (Karnataka State Gazetteer-Shimoga District, 1975)
Vegetation Cover: The Shimoga district comprises 10558 km2 (46.60%of the forest area) of the Western Ghats. Western Ghats of India, because of its geographical location, stable geological history, equitable climate, heavy rainfall and good soil condition supports a variety of tropical forest ecosystems (Champion & Seth, 1968). Phyto-geographically, these forests are rich, not only with high species diversity but also with several palaeoendemic species which are botanically a "relict" of an ancient and unique vegetation (Champion & Seth, 1968). The ecosystem diversity, here, ranges from Evergreen/Semi-evergreen forest to moist and dry deciduous types, scrubland savanna and grass-Shola complexes of higher altitudes. Most peninsular Indian rivers have their catchment in the forest ecosystem of the Western Ghats (Ahmedullah & Nayar, 1986; Daniels, 1997). The study area also comprises some of the forest types of Western Ghats. Ranging from high elevation grassland to evergreen forest.

Evergreen and semi-evergreen are found only in the Sharavathi Wildlife sanctuary and southern and Southwestern part of the study area that comprises Kavaledurga, Netuvasae, Nigalvni, Nagara, Nagodi (Lion-Tailed Macaque's habitat) and Kodachadri range (LTM's habitat) but these forests are also disturbed due to forest fire, tourism, lopping and logging. The southern part too comprises of Shola forests having evergreen and semi-evergreen types of vegetation. The southern and Southwestern side have pockets of very good forest patches of primary forest (old, climax one) dominated by Dipterocarpus indicus, Poeciloneuron indicum, Mesua ferrea and Palaquium ellipticum.

The moist deciduous forests and bamboo mixed jungle is found throughout the study area and dominated by 4 species of Terminalia (T. tomentosa, T.chebula & T. bellerica), Lagerstroemia lanceolata, Xylia xylocarpa and a very small number of Pterocarpus marsupium and Dalbergia latifolia. In highly disturbed areas, bamboo growth is luxuriant.

The scrublands are found on the slopes of hill tracks and plain lands where fire incidents occurred. In some cases, this type of vegetation found on the top of a hill. Carya arborea, Dilema pentagyna, Phoenyx sylvestris, Emblica officinalis and Randia domentorum dominate this type of vegetation.

The grasslands are found in the plain lands on the edges of the reservoir and also on top of the hills. Tall grass (Masse) and Phoenyx sylvestris dominated the grasslands on top of the hills. Nearly 122 islands are there in the study area. Number of Islands is more due to submersion of the vast area during the dam construction. These Islands comprising forests ranges from grasslands to evergreen forests. Acacia plantation (A.auriculiformis and A.emgium) is seen everywhere in the catchment area from plain lands to hilltops. Areca, rubber, Eucalyptus, Pine, Cashew and Casuarina plantations are also found in the area. In most of the cases, Areca plantations involve in forest encroachments and cover almost all the areas where water sources are found. The Southeastern and a part of Southwestern side involve extensive agricultural activities, comprising major crops like paddy, sugarcane, and pulses and now Keralite farmers have introduced ginger.

UTTARA KANNADA DISTRICT:

General: The Uttara Kannada (formerly North Kanara) is the north most coastal district of Karnataka. It has a geographical area of 10,291 km2(The district is divided into 11 Taluks and the entire forest area of the district is divide into 34 forest ranges). In Western Ghats stretching through the western peninsular of India in the North-South direction covers a substantial portion of the district. Topographically, the district may be divided into three district zones, viz., the flat and narrow coast, the abruptly rising hills and the flatter elevated Eastern zone that joins the Deccan plateau. Wide river mouths, small creeks and low hills projecting into the sea interrupt the continuity of the coastal line. Within few kilometres to the East, there are sudden rising hills, clad in forests. The hills of Western Ghats run in North-South direction. Parallel to the coast. In Uttara Kannada, the hills are steep towards the west with deep winding valleys. There are several great waterfalls in the district and the chief among all of them is Jog. The coastal tract has the finest estuaries of Karnataka (Daniels, 1989).
Location:  The district is located in the mid-western part of the state. It lies between 74° 9’ to 75° 10’ (E) longitude and 13°55’ to 15°31’(N) latitude and extends over an area of 10,327 km2 , which is 5.37 % of the total area of the state. It extends to about 328 km north to south and about 160 km east to west. The district that is a long and narrow strip of territory is surrounded by Belgaum district and Goa territory in the north, Dharwad district in the east, Dakshina Kannada and Shimoga districts in the south and the Arabian Sea in the west. There is an extent of only 10 m of plain land in the south and it is here that the southern boundary of this district and the northern boundary of the Dakshina Kannada district meet.

Topography: The district is hilly and thickly wooded in most of the parts. Its major part is essentially highland, the lowland being restricted to pockets along the courses of rivers. The coastal lands are the best-developed areas with a high degree of development and a high density of population. It is in this region, the Taluks of Karwar, Ankola, Kumta, Honavar and Bhatkal, are situated. The eastern margin is an undulating land, partly under forest and partly cleared up for agriculture (Suryanath U. Kamath, Karnataka State Gazetteer Uttara Kannada District, 1985).
Geology: The district consists of rock formations of Archaean complexes; the oldest rock of the earth crust. Rocks of the Archaezoic era occur over the whole of the district. The district is characterised by a system of ridges and a plateau on the west descending rapidly to a rather narrow strip of low land covered by alluvium, which with the abundant annual rainfall supports cultivation. The low land appears to be the creation of a later period than the upghat regions. It emerged from the sea during the glacial and inter-glacial period due to the change in sea level when water from continental ice cap was removed. Sea has transgressed up to the level of the edges of the Ghats, submerging land up to an elevation of about 200 m. When the sea level retreated after a long time, it did not only erode the height of the present coastal region but formed many sediment platforms.
The Archaean formations are divisible into an older group of sediments and igulous viatrusives, all very highly metamorphosed, which are classified as the Dharwar System and a younger group of plutonic intrusive termed as the Peninsula Gneiss. A capping of laterite, which is locally the source of iron and manganese ores and ocher, frequently overlies both.
In the western part of the district, nearly parallel to the coastline, there is a range of hills with several peaks over 700 m high descending westwards gradually towards the coast. This consists of a varied assemblage of granites and schist. Eastwards in the interior, the district is almost entirely hilly and consists of both the Dharwar and the Peninsular Gneiss, the latter frequently occupying the low ground. In this district, the Dharwars are typically represented by Chlorite-schist. Other rock formations belonging to this system are Quartzite, Magnetic-quartzite, Limonite-quartzite, Senicite-quartz-schist, and Phyllite fine-grained gray limestone. Dolamite, Epidiorite and other basic igneous rocks. The Dharwar rocks are highly placated. Their folding is clearly seen in the Limestones, which are thought to be the youngest in the Dharwar sequences.  Dolamite bands are known to occur in the western parts of the district.
The Peninsular Gneiss consists mostly of fine-grained Granite- gneisses out cropping in the lower levels of the central and southern parts of the district. The best exposures of this Gneiss are near southern boundary of the district where the Sharavathi River plunges down a vertical precipice in the magnificent Jog Falls. They generally show a lower degree of metamorphism than the Dharwars, as they have been emplaced subsequent to the Dharwar folding.
Pegmatites and Quartz veins are also known to occur in this area. The Archaean Granites and Gneiss with their sparse bonds of Dharwars are capped by laterite at many places in the district. They are typical tropical rocks resulting from the alteration under tropical conditions of the basement rocks. They are capping flat-topped ridges and bluffs all along the coast of a hundred feet in thickness and occasionally show local enrichment of iron and manganese ores.
Groundwater: Groundwater in the district occurs under water table conditions in the weathered mantle and jointed and fissured in bedrocks. Along the coastal belt, groundwater occurs in the sandy alluvium. A thick capping of laterite mantle on Granites, Schistose rocks and Sandstones, covers major part of Uttara Kannada district. These laterites are highly porous and hold and transmit sufficient quantity of groundwater. The average rainfall in the district is 2,741.7 mm. The groundwater recharge is mainly a result of infiltration of this rainwater and little extent through seepage from streams, tanks, reservoirs and water applied for irrigation. It is discharged artificially by abstraction of water from dug wells. The fluctuation of water table varies in the district from 312 m for hard rock area and alluvium.
Climate: Uttara Kannada has a tropical climate with a well-defined annual rainy season. The remaining 6 months have practically no rainfall. Isolated showers may occur in December and May. During March to May, it is at the most dry and hot. The temperature reaches at its maximum of 38ºC. It is not so cold in winter.
Soils: The soils of the district are basically derivatives of the Dharwad system - ancient metamorphic rocks in India; rich in iron and Mg. Exposed lateritic rocks along the coastal hills are very infertile and almost barren. During the last 15years, most of these hills have been brought under forest plantation dominated by Acacia auriculoformis. (M.D. Subashchandran, Divakar K. Mesta, Manjunath B. Naik, 1999)
Land Utilisation: About 80% of Uttara Kannada district's land is under the legal control of the Forest Department but actual forest cover is somewhat lower. The details are given in the table.
Vegetation of Uttara Kannada: In the slopes of the Western Ghats form north to south of the Uttara Kannada district, there is beautiful cover of dense forests of magnificent timber. The forests, stimulated by heavy rainfall, start growing within a few kilometres from the coast. They are generally lofty, dense and evergreen, characterised by a large number of trees. They occur together with fine canopies of tree crowns and shrub growth.

The maps by Pascal (1982, 1984) depict the details of vegetation. The broad vegetation zones of the district from the west to the east are coastal, evergreen, and semi-evergreen, moist and dry deciduous. These zones are broadly overlapped with the rainfall zones. The first two fall within the 200 to 40 cm rainfall zone. The moist deciduous forests occur within 200 to 125 cm rainfall zone and dry deciduous in the Northeastern parts have more than 125 cm rainfall. Human influences over the millennia have considerably altered the vegetation in every zone, so much of the coastal hills are rocky with mere scrub. Within the evergreen zone, especially along the banks of rivers occur secondary deciduous forests. Grassy banks are found even among higher hills. Together with the southern hill ranges of Goa and Belgaum, Uttara Kannada has geographical uniqueness, being the northern limits for distribution of endemic plant species like Arenga wightii, Dipterocarpus indicus, Pinanga dicksonii, Polyalthia fragrans, Myristica fatua, Var. magnifica, Gymnacranthara canaria, etc. (Ramesh & Pascal, 1997). Among the vertebrate animals, and endemic mammals- Lion-Tailed Macaque has its northern limit in the district. (M.D. Subashchandran, Divakar K. Mesta, Manjunath B. Naik, 1999)

Source: District statistical office, Karwar. (M.D. Subashchandran, Divakar K. Mesta, Manjunath B. Naik, 1999)

Annexure II

Feeding Seasonality of One Troop of Macaca silenus for 12 Continuous Months, 1974-1975

Source: Steven and Karen, 1975. The Lion tailed Monkey and its South Indian Rain Forest Habitat. In Primate Conservation, Ed.Prince Rainier III of Monaco / Bourne, Academic Press, New York.

Plant species eaten by LTM (Source:Umapathy and Kumar, 2000, Habitat Fragmentation and Feeding Ecology- Primate Report 58)
Oroxylum indicum, Bombax malabaricum, Cassia sp., Vateria indica, Diospyros sylvatica, Elaeagnus kologa, Elaeocarpus ferrugineus, E. conferta, Bischofia javanica, Glochidion bourdillonii, Mallotus tetracoccus , Macaranga peltata, Mesua ferrea, L.deccanensis , L. oleoides, Loranthus tomentosus, A. hirsutus Ficus glomerata, F. hispida, F. macrocarpa, F. nervosa, F. travancorica, F. infectoria,  F. integrifolia, Knema attenuata , Maesa indica