Kaundinya Wildlife Sanctuary
Kaundinya Wildlife Sanctuary is a well-known sanctuary and an elephant reserve situated in the Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh.
Established in 1990, Kaundinya is the only sanctuary in Andhra Pradesh with elephants in its expanse. Thirty-nine elephants migrated from the forests of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka and moved to the forests here. Today, it houses around 78 elephants and other animal species like Cheetal, four-horned antelope, sambar, mouse deer, hare, porcupine, wild boar, jungle cat, jackal, and sloth bear, panther, jungle fowl, and peafowls.
The habitat of the Kaundinya sanctuary is rugged with high hills and deep valleys. Two rivers Kaigal and Kaundinya flow through the sanctuary. Sprawling over an area of around 358 sq. km, the entire region is covered with southern tropical thorn-type forests. There are different species of trees like albizia Amara, ficus tomentosa, ficus religiosa, ficus bengalensis, and bamboo. It has an assorted collection of birds like Grey Pelicans, Rosy Pelicans, Painted Storks, Love Birds, Budgerigars, Cockatiels, etc.
