⦁ Bondla Wildlife Sanctuary
Bondla Wildlife Sanctuary (BoWLS), the smallest protected area in Goa (Figure 3), covers an area of 7.98 km2 (wiienvis.com). The sanctuary is located in Ponda Taluk of north-eastern Goa in the foothills of WG. This was established in the year 1969. The fauna of the sanctuary are Indian Boar, Mugger Crocodile, Rose Ringed Parakeet, Alexandrine Parakeet, Silver Pheasant, Indian Cobra, Russell’s Viper, Python Molurus, Bengal Tiger, etc. (forest.goa.gov.in).

⦁ Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary
Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary (CWLS), with an area of 85.65 km2 (wiienvis.com) is located in the Canacona Taluk in South Goa District (Figure 4). It was established in 1968 and the region is known for its dense forest and tall trees. Fauna in this sanctuary are flying squirrel, slender loris, Indian pangolin, mouse deer, four-horned antelope, white-bellied woodpecker, Malabar trongo, Malayan bittern draco. Several tribal communities, like Velip, Kunbil etc are. Reside in the sanctuary (forest.goa.gov.in).

⦁ Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary
Mhadei or Madei Wildlife Sanctuary (MWLS) established in 1999, with a spatial extent of 208km2 and is located at 15048’33”-14053’54”N and 74020’13” – 73040’33”E (Figure 5), near the town Valpoi in Sattari Taluk of North Goa District. The name for the protected area has been derived from the Madei River with Vazra Sakla falls (143m) and Virdi Falls. The region receives an average annual rainfall of 3000 mm. Elevation in the sanctuary ranges from 1027 m to 200 m and three highest peaks are Sonsogo (1027 m), Sada (812 m), and Vaghei (725 m). The area is endowed with the rich biodiversity and is part of the Project Tiger Reserve. MLWS is endowed with Bengal Tiger. Sloth Bear, Black Panther, Dhole, Jungle Cat, Indian Gaur, Barking Deer, Sambar Deer, Leopard, Ruddy Mongoose, Asian Palm Civet, Black-faced Langur, etc. MWLS is recognized as the International Bird Area and consists of about 255 species, which includes Nilgiri wood-Pigeon, Malabar Parakeet, Malabar Grey Horn Bill, Grey-headed Bulbul, Rufos Babbler, White-Belied Blue Flycatcher, Crimson –blacked Sunbird, etc. Reptiles include Indian krait, Russell’s viper, saw-scaled viper, spectacled cobra, Beddome’s keelback, black slender coral snake, brahminy blind snake, checkered keelback, collared cat snake, common bronzeback, common Indian cat snake, common sand boa, common wolf snake, common vine snake, copper-headed trinket snake, green pit viper, hump-nosed pit viper, Indian rat snake, Indian rock python, etc.The threatened and endemic amphibian species in MWLS are Marbled Ramanella, Maharashtra Bush Frog, Beddome's leaping frog (Beddome’s Indian frog), Malabar gliding frog and three rare caecilians species. The region consists of 257 butterfly species (of 330 species reported from the WG), which include. Southern Birdwing, Striped Tiger, Common Jezebel, Common Indian Crow, Blue Mormon, etc. (forest.goa.gov.in).

⦁ Bhagwan Mahavir National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary
Bhagawan Mahavir National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary is a single stretch of forest having of 240 km2 (wiienvis.com), with the core area of 107 km2 treated as National Park and 133 km2 as Wildlife Sanctuary. The area was initially a Game Sanctuary called Mollem Game Sanctuary and was declared as a sanctuary in 1967, which was renamed as Bhagavan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary and core area as National Park in 1992. It is also known as Mollem National Park, the only National Park in Goa. The sanctuary is located at 15015’30” – 15029’30”N & 74010’15” – 74020’15”E (Figure 6) on the western escarpment of the WG in Sanguem Taluk of Goa District. . Altitude of National Park ranges from 80 m to about 750 m above MSL and the tallest peak is in Karanzol railway station (750 m). The second largest waterfall in India, the Dudhsagar Waterfalls lies in Mollem National Park. Sanctuary is covered by pristine vegetation of West Coast tropical evergreen forests, West Coast semi-evergreen forests and moist deciduous forests. The area is covered by 722 Flora species of flowering plants belonging to 492 genera and 122 families of which 128 species are endemic and are mostly found in the core area of the National Park. Glyphochloa veldkampii M. A. Fonseca et Janarth. and Amorphophallus commutatus (Schott) Engl. var. anmodensis Sivad . & Jaleel is the two recently discovered species and is strictly restricted to National Park. Terminalia, Lagerstroemia, Xylia and Dalbergia are most common species found. Also, 37 Pteridophyte species are also found in the National Park. Mammals of this region are Black Panther, barking deer, Bengal tiger, leopard, bonnet macaque, common langur, civet, flying squirrel, gaur, Malabar giant squirrel, mouse deer, pangolin, porcupine, etc. The avian species include Malabar grey hornbill, Malabar pied hornbill, grey-headed myna, grey junglefowl, large green barbet, paradise flycatcher, racket-tailed drongo, ruby-throated yellow bulbul (the Goa state bird), etc. Lepidopterans of this park are Mormon, Common Jezebel, Common Mormon, common mime, plum Judy, common wanderer, crimson rose, etc. Malabar tree nymph and Tamil yeoman are the endemic butterflies found. Sanctuary is known for snake species, mainly King Cobra. Bronzeback tree snake, cat snake, hump-nosed pit viper, Indian rock python, Malabar pit viper, rat snake, Russell's viper, Indian cobra, etc. (forest.goa.gov.in).

⦁ Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary
Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary is located in southeastern Goa (Figure 7), extends over an area of 211.05km2 was established in 1999 (wiienvis.com). It acts as a vital corridor and is surrounded by Dandeli-Anshi Tiger Reserve of Karnataka on the eastern side, Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary of Goa on the southern side, Bhagwan Mahaveer Sanctuary and Mollem National Park, Goa on the northern side and forms a contiguous protected area with Madei Wildlife Sanctuary, Goa and Bhimgad Wildlife Sanctuary, Karnataka. Sanctuary has a rich source of perennial rivers, which make it rich in biodiversity. The sanctuary got a rich habitat of mammals such as Gaur (Bos gaurus) , Malabar giant squirrel (Ratufa indica) , four-horned antelope or chousingha (Tetracerus quadricornis) , leopard (Panthera pardus) , black sloth bear, etc. Birds of this sanctuary are rare Malayan night heron (Gorsachius melanolophus) , Nilgiri wood pigeon (Columba elphinstonii) , great pied hornbill (Buceros bicornis) , grey-headed bulbul (Pycnonotus priocephalus) , white-bellied blue flycatcher (Cyornis pallipes) , Wynaad laughing thrush (Garrulax delesserti), white-bellied treepie (Dendrocitta leucogastra) , rufous babbler (Turdoides subrufa) . The region has rare and endemic butterflies like, Malabar banded swallowtail (Papilio liomedon) , Malabar banded peacock (Papilio buddha) , Malabar tree nymph (Idea malabarica) , southern birdwing (Troides minos) , blue nawab (Polyura schreiber) , black rajah (Charaxes solon) , red spot duke (Dophla evelina) , etc. (forest.goa.gov.in).

⦁ Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary
Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary is located at 19001’ – 19013’N & 73028’ – 73037’ E (Figure 8) on the northern extreme of Western Ghats to protect the endangered species Giant Squirrel Ratufa indica elphinstoni and was declared as a sanctuary on 16th September 1985 (wiienvis.nic.in). The sanctuary covers an area of 130.78 km2 across three districts namely Pune, Raigad and Thane. Sanctuary has annual rainfall between 4000– 6000 mm. The average temperature ranges from 7 0C to 36 0C. During December to February, the high-velocity wind blows at a higher elevation and heavy fog during monsoon months. West Coast semi-evergreen forests cover covers around 99% of the sanctuary, and other types are evergreen, semi-evergreen and deciduous forests. Evergreen forest landscape forms a catchment to the Bhima, Ghod, and Goneri rivers and their tributaries. The evergreen forests are found in the area having elevation of more than 900 m with tree species Terminalia paniculata, Terminalia chebula, Memicylon edula, Eugenia jambolana, Actinodaphne hookeri, Atlantia racemosa, Xantolis tomentosa, Carvie callosa, Mangifera indica, etc. Semi evergreen forest found between 700 and 900 m. Below 700 m have the deciduous forest with tree species Acacia arabica, Azadiracta indica, Zizyphus nijuba, Saundad Prosopis spicierd, Terminalia arjuna, Terminalia bellerica, Bauhinia racemosa, Balanites roxburghii, Anogeissus latifolia, Butea monosperma, Cicca disticha, Borassus flabellifer etc. Fourteen Sacred groves in this region at villages Bhimashankar Rai, Bhaka Rai, Ahupe Rai, Vande , Valarali Ban, Dhakoha, Koteshwar, Umbaryn Bhairavnath, Vaghoba, Kondhval, Thathavadidevi, Kalbhairovnath, etc. Bhimashankar and Ahupe grove form the finest grove in the Western Ghats. Fauna of this sanctuary includes 210 species of birds, 23 species of mammals, 12 species of reptiles, and 14 species of butterflies. Some of mammal species are Leopard Panthera pardus ; Jungle Cat Felis chaus ; Jackal Caris aureus ; Indian Fox Caris bengalensis ; Striped Hyena Hyaena hyaena ; Wolf Canis lupas ; Sambar Cervus unicolor; Barking Deer Muntiacus muntjak ; Mouse deer Moschiola meminna ; Scaly Ant-eater Manis crassicaudata ; Wild Boar Sus scrofa; Common Langur Semnopithicus entellus; Bonnet Macaque Macaca radiata; Small Indian Mongoose Herpestes edwardsii etc. (Rahangdale et al., 2017).

⦁ Chandoli National Park
Chandoli National Park (CNP) is located at 730 40’ – 730 53’E & 170 53’ – 170 30’N (Figure 9) with the spatial extent of 308.97 km2 spread across Satara, Kolhapur, and Sangli Districts of Maharashtra. It was first established as a Wildlife Sanctuary in 1985 and later was declared as National Park in 2004(wiienvis.nic.in). CNP forms the southern part of Sahyadri Tiger Reserve (741.22km2) with Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary at the south. Temperature ranges from 7 0C – 38 0C (Imam, et.al., 2009). Mean rainfall per annum is 3500 mm. The reserve forest is in 61 % (122.61 km2), while 69.17 km2 is an un-classified forest and 3.30 km2 is a protected forest and the remaining area is under the revenue department, irrigation department, and private (Malki) lands. Sanctuary is mostly covered by dense-evergreen forest and a wide range of flora. Memocylon umbellatum (Anjani), Syzigium cumini (Jambhul) and Actinodaphone angustitolia (Pisa), Kokam, Amla, Umbar, Mangoes, Hirda, etc. are the common species. Sanctuary has diverse fauna with 23 species of mammals, 122 species of birds, 20 species of ambhibians, and reptiles. Bengal tigers, Indian leopards, Indian bison, leopard cats, sloth bears, Indian giant squirrels, barking deer, sambar deer, mouse deer, blackbuck etc are some of the species found (mahaforest.nic.in).

⦁ Kalsubai Harishchandragad Wildlife Sanctuary
Kalsubai Harishchandragad Wildlife Sanctuary, established in 1986, covers an area of 361.71 km2 (Figure 10) and is situated in Akola Tehsil of Ahmednagar District, Maharashtra. . The terrain is mostly rugged, hilly, and difficult to access, and Kalsubai hill at 1646 m is the highest peak. Vegetation seen in the sanctuary is moist mixed deciduous vegetation forest, semi-evergreen forest and semi-deciduous shrub savanna. Moist deciduous are seen in the southern and semi-evergreen and semi-deciduous are found near west coast side. Terminalia chebula, Syzgium gibsonii, Macaranga peltala, Cassia fistula, Xantoliss tomentosa, Actinoda hookri, Diospyrous montana, Albezzia procera, Trema orientalis, Memocylon umbellatum, Phyllanthus emblica, Dridelia retusa, Canthium umnelatum, T.bellerica are the main tree species found in this park (Koli, et.al., 2010). Fauna includes mammals like Leopard, Jungle Cat, Palm civet, Mongoose, Hyena, Wolf, Jackal, Fox Wild Boar, barking deer, Hare, Sambar, bats, etc. Reptiles include Monitor Lizard, Fan-throated lizard, Turtles, and many species of snakes can and birds are White nacked Storks, Herons, ibies, water bees, etc.

⦁ Karnal Bird Sanctuary
Karnal Bird Sanctuary (KBS) was declared in 1968, located at 18051’ – 18054’N & 7308’ – 73010’E with an area of 4.48km2 (wiienvis.nic.in) in Panvel Taluk of Raigad District in Konkan region, Maharashtra. The total forest area of this sanctuary has been increased to 12.10 km2 in the year 2003. On which 6.65 km2 of the area is reserved forest and 5.55 km2 acquired forests. The terrain of the sanctuary is undulating and ranges from 80 m to 445 m (Karnal Fort). The annual mean temperature is 27 0C, mostly humid and dry, except during December – February with a comparatively dry and cool climate. The region receives south-west monsoon with average rainfall is 3300 mm per annum. The entire sanctuary forms catchment for the River Patalganga. Sanctuary is rich with flora and fauna with 642 plant species and most of them are deciduous type. There are 147 avian species reside in this sanctuary and 37 are migratory birds including the blue-headed rock-thrush, the blue throat, the red breasted flycatcher, the ashy minivet, the black headed cuckoo-shrike. Rare species include Ashy minivet, three-toed kingfisher, Malabar trogon, Slaty-legged Crake (Rallina eurizonoides), and Rufous-bellied Eagle (Lophotriorchis kienerii) . Some of the other avians here are Emerald Dove, Racket Tail Drongo, Crested Serpent Eagle, Shaheen Falcon, Indian Gray Hornbill, Three Toed Kingfisher, Blach Headed Oriole, Green Pigeon, and Indian Pitta, Shama. Mammals include Four- Horned Antelope, Wild Boar, Common Langur, African Monkeys and Barking Boar and 114 species of butterflies (Hajare, 2015).

⦁ Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary
Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary (KWLS) declared as a sanctuary in 1985 (wiienvis.nic.in) has spatial extent of 423.55 km2 and located in the Satara District (Figure 11), which connects Chandoli National Park and Radhanagari Wildlife SanctuariesThe average altitude is about 897 m above MSL, and average rainfall is of 3500 mm per annum. Koyna, Kandati, and Solashi Rivers flow through this sanctuary. The sanctuary forms a catchment for the Koyna River. Koyna Dam is located within the sanctuary, and the sanctuary forms the eastern and western catchments. The sanctuary has three dense forest regions: Vasota, Maharkhor, and Indavli Met. These dense forests are protected by natural protective boundaries such as Shivsagar Lake and on other two sides with the steep slope of Western Ghats. The region consists of North-Western montane rain forest (at > 1000 m) and the North-Western deciduous forest (at <1000 m) With threatened species like Entanda scandens, Boswellia serrata, Elaeocarpus spp. KWLS contains endemic trees which are Eupohoria longan, Elecoarpus tectorium, Harpullia arborea & Turpunita malbarica and Shrubs, bamboos and medicinal plants . The sanctuary has a diverse faunal species, including the keystone species, Bengal tigers. Indian leopards, Indian bison, sloth bears, sambar deer, barking deer, mouse deer, common gray langurs, smooth-coated otters and Indian giant squirrels. The region consists of endemic amphibian species, Bufo koyanansis and reptilians like Indian pythons and king cobras. Avian species include rare birds like Heartspotted, Rufous and Brown-capped woodpeckers, Goshawk, Long-tailed Nightjar and Fairy Bluebird (mahaforest.nic.in).

Mayureshwar Wildlife Sanctuary (MWLS) was declared in 1998 (wiienvis.nic.in) with a spatial extent of 5.14 km2 and is located near Supe village, Tehsil Baramati in Pune District (Figure 12). MWLS consists mainly of dry deciduous scrub forest containing Flora species like Acacia catechu, Acacia sp., Dalbergia latifolia, Ziziphus mauritiana, Carissa opaca, Alysicarpus bupleurifolius, Cyathocline purpurea, Eriocauion diane, Merremia emarginata, Cucumis melo, Cyperus kyllingia, Striga densiflora, Mareilea minuta trees and intervened by grasslands (Khyade and Jagtap, 2017). Bird species include Indian roller, black-winged kite, grey hornbill, grey partridge, Eurasian collared dove, white-throated kingfisher, ashy-crowned sparrow lark, shrike, laughing dove, blue-cheeked bee-eater, Indian silver-bill, eagle and babbler. Major fauna species are Indian Gazelle (Gazelia bennetti), Striped Hyena (Hyaena hyaena), Indian gray wolf (Canis lupus), Indian Jackal, Indian fox (Vulpes bengalensis) and Indian Hare (mahaforest.nic.in).

⦁ Nandur Madyameshwar Bird Sanctuary
Nandur Madyameshwar Bird Sanctuary was declared as a protected area in 1986 (Figure 13), having a total area of 100 km2 and is located in the Western Ghats at Niphad Taluk of Nashik District (wiienvis.nic.in). Total Flora species is nearly 460 including 80 species of aquatic plants, which include Ipomea fistula, Ipomea aquatica, Hygrophila auriculate, Phylanodiflora, Polygonum plebeium, Rumex dentatus, Hydrilla verticulata, Vallisneria spiralis, Eichhornia, Typha angustata, etc. Diverse avian fauna includes 230 species of birds in which 80 species are migratory. 24 species of fishes are present in the reservoir which include Ompok bimaculatus, Puntius gawa mullya, etc. (mahaforest.nic.in).

⦁ Radhanagari Wildlife Sanctuary
Radhanagari Wildlife Sanctuary, popularly known as “Bison (Indian bison or gaur or Bos gaurus) Sanctuary” lies between 16010” – 16030”N & 73052” – 74014”E (Figure 14) and declared in 1958 (wiienvis.nic.in) as Dajipur Wildlife Sanctuary and is located in Radhanagari taluk of Kolhapur District in Maharashtra with a spatial extent of 351.16 km2. The sanctuary has a population (>500) of Gaur and is located at the southern end of Sahyadri ranges and in the catchment area of “Shahu Sagar” and “Laxmi Sagar” (Yadav et al., 2014). The major vegetation types are southern semi-evergreen forest, southern moist mixed deciduous forest, and southern evergreen forest with 425 species of plants reported from the sanctuary. Sanctuary has 47 species of Mammals, 59 species of reptiles, 20 species of amphibians, 264 species of birds and 66 species of butterflies. Mammals include Indian leopard, sloth bear, wild boar, barking deer, mouse deer, sambar, giant squirrel, wild dogs and tigerCommonly seen birds are vultures, eagles, jungle fowl, quails, plovers, sandpipers, owlets, doves, owls, nightjars, kingfishers, bee-eater, hornbills, woodpeckers, bulbul, flycatchers, warblers, wagtails, sunbirds, ceylon frog-mouth, yellow-browed bulbul, dusky eagle-owl, great pied hornbill, Malabar whistling-thrush and endemic species Sunbird and the malabar grey hornbill. Winter visitors include Malabar crested lark, and some species of Himalayan birds such as the Indian blue robin duri etc. The presence of a large and diverse population of avian species made this sanctuary an important bird area (BirdLife International, mahaforest.nic.in).

⦁ Tansa Wildlife Sanctuary
Tansa Wildlife Sanctuary, with the spatial extent of 320 km2, forms a major catchment for Tansa Lake and is spread across Wada, Shahapur and Mokhada taluks of Thane District, Maharashtra (Figure 15) . . Major forest type is southern tropical moist deciduous forests and tree species are Tectona grandis, Acacia catechu, Terminalia tomentosa, Adina cordifolia, Mitragyna parviflora, Pterocarpes marsupium etc. Major mammals present are Panther, Barking deer, Mouse deer, Hyena, Wild boar, etc. Around 200 species of birds are present.

⦁ Vansda National Park : Vansda National Park is located at 200 51’ 16” – 210 21’ 22” N and 730 20’ 30” – 730 31’ 20” E with a spatial extent of 23.99 km2 in the northern zone of the Western Ghats, located in the Navsari District, Gujarat (Figure 16) and is also known as Bansda National Park. The park was established in 1979, and most of the area is covered with deciduous forest. Altitude ranges from 110 – 360 m. The average annual rainfall is 1850mm, and the temperature ranges from 8.8 0C and 43.8 0C with May being the hottest month. Indian leopard, rhesus macaque, common palm civet, Hanuman langur, small Indian civet, four-horned antelope, wild boar, Indian porcupine, barking deer, etc., are the fauna of this region. Reptiles are mostly venomous snakes like Russell's viper, cobras and kraits. About 155 species are found, including common grey hornbill, grey-fronted green pigeon, yellow backed sunbird, Malabar trogon, jungle babbler, forest spotted owlet, shama, and great Indian black woodpecker, etc. There are 443 species of flowering plants,110 species of trees, 43 species of shrubs, 63 species of climbers 199 species of herbs and 25 species of grasses (Bhalodia et al., 2002) which include teak, sadad, khakhro, kadad, humb, timru, kalam, bamboo, dudhkod, mahudo, behda, umaro, kusum, tanach, asan, shimlo, ambla, sisam, chopadi bondaro, etc.

⦁ Purna Wildlife Sanctuary : Purna Wildlife Sanctuary, located at 200 51’ – 210 21’N and 730 32’ – 730 48’E with a spatial extent of 160.84 km2 in the northern extremity of Western Ghats, of Dang District in Gujarat State (Figure 17). Climate is tropical, having moderate to heavy rainfall with an average rainfall of 2500 mm and temperature ranges from 100C – 400C, with January as the coldest month. The region has southern Indian tropical moist deciduous forests with 700 species of plants, also potential habitat for the tiger, Indian civet cat, Indian porcupine, four-horned antelope, barking deer, sambar, chital, hyena, jungle cat, etc. 139 species of birds were recorded from here, and common grey hornbills, grey jungle fowl, barbets, woodpeckers, shrikes, leafbirds, bee-eaters, flycatchers, forest owlets, etc. are the common species (Siliwal and Pilo, 2003).